Outlines an oral interview format and scoring system for use with foreign language students during their first and second semesters of language study. (EKN)

Discusses the hypothesis that the difficulty of a multiple-choice comprehension test does not just depend on the difficulty of the text, but rather on the text and the questions. Presents ways to evaluate the difficulty of the text, the questions on it, and the test as a whole. (EKN)

The issues of language assessment and placement raise several important questions: (1) What are the basic premises upon which current language assessment instruments have been developed? (2) What is the state of the art in language proficiency assessment? (3) What implications do current research findings have for language proficiency assessment?…

Describes steps taken at the University of Pennsylvania to change foreign language requirement, including studies of student achievement by administering CEEB Language Achievement Tests and FSI Oral Proficiency Interview and the development of performance standards by faculty in order to make requirements proficiency-based. (BK)

Reports on survey of beginning German at colleges and universities in the U.S. Results show grammatical knowledge is most important objective followed by speaking, listening, and reading comprehension, cultural awareness, then writing. Results indicate growth within the profession. (BK)

Comparability may be obtained for the Language Assessment Scale and the Bilingual Syntax Measure through a change in classification strategies which will also improve the equivalence of the tests and their correlation with achievement. Use of the tests along with teacher ratings should then provide meaningful criteria for classification.…

Presents the results of three studies that support the hypothesis that there are two types of proficiency in second language learning, "compartmentalized control" and "integrated control." Relevance to the Monitor Model and a method of teaching for integration are discussed. (Author/AM)

Results of a 10-item oral language test presented only orally, orally with pictures, and orally with concrete aids replicate earlier research findings showing that bilingual children manipulate language more easily than unilinguals. Unilinguals' errors were due to incomplete development while bilinguals' were caused by that and first-language…

The article provides a table of the 50 most commonly used assessment instruments for use with visually impaired individuals. Cognitive, achievement, reading, mathematics, spelling, language, listening/auding, perceptual motor, early childhood, and career education tests are reviewed. (Author/SBH)

Presents opinions of persons who took the examination on the oral portion of the revised People's University Certificate, English 1. Suggests changes, such as lengthening the time allowed for the examination and re-introducing reading passages and exercises suitable for students with less practice in communication. (IFS/WGA)

Discusses the concept of communicative competence in second language learning and various models for testing this skill. (AM)

Two methods of teaching reading comprehension, one the traditional-frontal approach and the other a self-test approach, were used with university students of English as a second language. The test result at the end of the course revealed little difference between the students taught by the two methods. (CFM)