Advocates using the tape recorder as (1) an incentive, to make language learning more attractive and therefore more effective and (2) a means for diagnosing language successes, errors and needs. (FB)

Provides short descriptions of the major standardized language proficiency tests currently available for English and French as a second language. Contains annotated lists of references on testing global language proficiency and communicative competence and on the testing of individual skill proficiencies. (EKN)

Results of a study which examined inter- and intrarater reliability of the Oral Interview test suggest that communicative tests such as the Oral Interview can be used reliably, in spite of their subjective nature. (EKN)

Discusses the lack of motivation in the United States for learning foreign languages. Suggests that starting second languages earlier will produce more people both proficient in a second language and sensitive to other cultures. (EKN)

Discusses the benefits of short answers and how they differ in German and English. Provides hints on how to teach students to produce reduced answers that are grammatically acceptable in spoken German. (EKN)

A 1977 survey of 24 United States foreign correspondents who had covered the Middle East suggested that they believed that news media coverage of the Middle East had improved since 1973; however, the results also pointed up problems with correspondents' knowledge of local languages and reporting techniques. (GT)

Overseas doctors working in the United Kingdom fall into two groups: those who studied medicine in English and those who did not. This article details the active and passive language skills that doctors working in England need and those in which the overseas doctors are deficient. (Author/PJM)

Discusses the present state of assessing students' oral language proficiency. Includes a comparison of achievement and proficiency test formats, an explanation of the ratings system, and a discussion on the need for a common standard. The adoption of frequency ratings by the academic community is a way off. (PJM)

Responds to some of the arguments in Firth and Wagner's (F&W's) article appearing in this issue. Argues that whether one uses a psychological or sociological paradigm, it makes sense to follow the practice of assigning preference to experimental rather than naturalistic settings and agrees with F&W that other factors besides one's proficiency in…

Investigates variability in interlanguage consonant cluster simplification strategies within the four factors--style, gender, proficiency, and interlocutor. Examined how these factors determine Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) speakers' production of English word-initial consonant clusters. (Author/VWL)

A study evaluated the language production of 12 children (ages 5-8) who continued stuttering for 36 months or more after onset, 10 who recovered 18-36 months post onset, and 10 who recovered within 18 months of onset of stuttering. The majority of the children performed in the average range on measures of language production. (Author/CR)

Discusses the work of Seiichi Makino, a scholar of Japanese, noting that his work in establishing the Japanese proficiency guidelines helped make it appear that Japanese language teaching was part of mainstream American language teaching. (Author/VWL)

Examined whether beginning second language (L2) learners who focus on Spanish derivational morphology learn more vocabulary than learners who do not, if they can apply morphological knowledge respectively and productively, and if their success depends on their L2 proficiency. (Author/VWL)