This thesis reports on a study of the use of first and second languages among students of a Spanish immersion program. Eight fifth- and sixth-graders with varying levels of Spanish proficiency participated in the study. Data were collected through student verbal reports, questionnaire-based interviews, classroom observations, and background…

Problems associated with criterion-referenced language testing are discussed in the context of both standardized proficiency testing and classroom assessment. First, different interpretations of criterion-referencing are examined. A range of approaches for defining criteria and performance levels in second language assessment are outlined, and…

This collection of 14 articles look at the issues in theory and application that arise in the use of simplification in language pedagogy. Articles include the following: (1) "Simplification in Pedagogy" (Christopher Brumfit); (2) "Simplification" (H. V. George); (3) "Fossilization as Simplification?" (Larry Selinker);…

Reciprocal teaching, a method of teaching first language reading comprehension, is explained and three distinct applications of the method and materials in second language instruction are described. Reciprocal teaching is viewed as a three-level hierarchy of components and strategies, reflected in the organization of materials and activities. The…

A demographic and educational profile was constructed of learners enrolled in California employment training programs. Summary data were derived from 47,318 Employability Competency System (ECS) Appraisal answer sheets received by the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) office from 1987 through 1990. ECS provides reading, math,…

Very little research has been done on first or second language acquisition in the Philippines. Most second language learning studies cited in the literature concern acquisition of English in English-speaking communities, and most American studies of Filipino language acquisition are superficial, consisting primarily of morpheme analysis. The…

Prepared by educators, theoreticians, and researchers, the papers in this collection address the connections and interdependencies between writing and cognition. The 24 papers deal with the following topics: (1) rhetoric and romanticism; (2) cognitive immaturity and remedial college writers; (3) current brain research and the composing process;…

A survey of the status and use of the English language in Algeria is presented. The following topics are outlined: (1) the role of English as a third language, (2) its place within the educational system at all levels and in each graduate institution, (3) the status of British expatriates teaching English in Algeria and of Algerian teachers of…

The Curriculum And Research for Equity (C-A-R-E) program materials are inservice teacher training modules (workshops, curricula, references, and research data) designed to promote educational equity in elementary school classrooms. The training manual is intended to help elementary education professionals identify, assess, and rectify the problem…

This paper advocates an integrated curriculum in which LOGO would play a role in the intellectual development of children. In particular, it is argued that curricular interventions that occur in the midst of spontaneous learning are most needed when major problems of transfer, generalization, and abstraction are to be solved or when children need…

A review of recent studies addressed the functional uses of code mixing across cultures. Expressions of code mixing (CM) are not random; in fact, a number of functions of code mixing can easily be delineated, for example, the concept of "modernization.""Modernization" is viewed with respect to how bilingual code mixers perceive…

A study to find patterns of cohesion and rhetorical structure that distinguish good from weak English essay writing is described. The corpus consisted of ten Swedish college essays written as part of the final exam in a first-year English course. Methodological problems encountered included the delimitation of units for the analysis of cohesive…

Although the development of Kiswahili in Tanzania has had a number of stumbling blocks, it is slowly developing into a language of modern technology. Individual institutions have contributed greatly to its spread and promotion. More books are now published in Kiswahili than ever before, and scientific and technical terminology has been developed.…

A review of the literature on a variety of issues related to testing vocabulary knowledge in a second language addresses these topics: problems in estimating vocabulary size, including the related questions of what constitutes a word, how a sample should be selected, and what are the criteria for knowing a word; sampling the basic and specialized…

Second grade good readers (N=46) and fourth grade good and poor readers (N=46; N=48) were subjects in a study that examined linguistic cue usage by good and poor readers in a Southern metropolitan area. A secondary purpose was to compare the standard and phoneme cloze procedures with oral miscue analysis. The subjects were identified as good or…