Evaluates a multimedia program produced to support test takers facing a new performance test for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers in Hong Kong as part of a language certification test. Describes how groups of trainee ESL teachers in Hong Kong were first introduced to the test via the print syllabus produced by the Hong Kong…

This article describes development of the Profile of Multiple Language Proficiencies (PMLP), a measure of both English and American Sign Language skills in deaf children. The PMLP showed reasonable initial reliability and appears to be an easy-to-use measure. Discussion addresses issues that influence the reliability and validity in evaluating…

Addresses matters of ethics, standards, and professionalism in language testing. Terminology is defined, and current standards and codes relevant to language testing are reviewed. Personal experiences illustrating the ethical choices faced by professional language testers are provided. (11 references) (Author/CK)

Examined the extent to which native-English speaking and English-as-a-Second-Language listeners performed better on a test when the speaker shared their native language. Four groups of listeners with different native languages heard lectures presented in English by speakers of different native languages. Both native and nonnative listeners scored…

Presents the design and validation of an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) test for a commercial publisher. (Author/VWL)

Tells the story of how a college student who failed the Hong Kong Advanced Supplementary (AS) Level Use of English (UE) examination was determined to pass it the following year in order to go from a higher diploma program to a degree program that interested him. Discusses the process through which he refound his direction in learning English after…

Describes the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Advanced Placement in International English Language (APIEL) and evaluates both tests on three basic types of validity criteria: content, construct, and criterion-related. Concludes that the TOEFL has serious limitations, and that the APIEL may be more useful. (EV)

Explored the relative impact of the test-developer on the performance of test takers using multiple-choice reading comprehension tests that had no specifications. Six passages each with three different sets of multiple-choice items constructed by three groups of individuals were trialled on 335 Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners.…

Investigated the impact of performance conditions on perceptions of task difficulty in a test of spoken language, in light of the cognitive complexity framework proposed by Skehan (1998). Candidates performed narrative tasks whose characteristics and the conditions under which they were performed were manipulated, and the impact of these on task…

Describes the development and validation of the Portuguese Speaking Test, a simulated oral proficiency interview that uses a semidirect approach to examine proficiency in personal conversation, direction-giving, description, narration, topical discourse, and real-life situations. (CB)

Analyzed Francophone university students' (N=182) performance on eight English-As-a-Second-Language cloze tests (in terms of cloze-taking ability, language knowledge, content domain, and knowledge of contextual constraints). Results revealed that cloze performance was dependent on language factors and nonlinguistic-specific knowledge related to…

Examines the nature and extent of foreign-language competence desired for graduate English majors and the degree to which such expectations can be met by the regular two years of language study. Suggests that the foreign-language requirement needs a new orientation and new sign-posting through more appropriate testing instruments. (KEH)

The study used 32 children (mean age 11 years) with moderate sensorineural hearing losses to examine whether Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL) scores were significantly affected by mode of presentation. No differences were found between auditory-only and auditory-visual modes of presentation. (Author/DB)

Measurement of adult English as a second language students' reading comprehension of metaphors indicated that idiomatic language resulted in lower comprehension. Because the vehicles of many metaphors have become lost and are not retrievable from surface structure, it may be necessary to teach metaphors as vocabulary items. (Author/CB)

Presents suggestions for more accurately and effectively assessing students' oral foreign language skills, covering classroom atmosphere, testing frequency, and audiotaping student responses. A sample score sheet and evaluation criteria are provided. (CB)