An oral language continuum designed to help elementary students develop techniques for a variety of speech situations, learn to listen, and learn to be aware of the responsibility of the speaker is presented. The continuum is divided into four sections. Student needs, implications for teaching, and suggested activities are arranged sequentially.…

A survey of 25 international students studying in Massachusetts colleges gathered information on 4 specific aspects of their American college experience (recruitment, orientation, adaptation, and acculturation) as well as about their experiences with English. In interviews, nine students said they had had no problems with the English language;…

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC®) is an ETS-developed measure of proficiency in English as a second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL), designed to assess aspects of English language listening comprehension (LC) and reading comprehension (RC). In general samples of native speakers of Japanese, Korean, French,…

This digest links the development of listening comprehension to the emerging reading comprehension of young American Indian students, and suggests ways that teachers can use locally produced materials to enhance young students' emergent literacy. Reading comprehension is the key to literacy, and prior knowledge supports listening and reading…

The Rasch model for test analysis is a latent-trait model, which specifies the relationship between observable test performance and the unobservable traits or abilities assumed under test performance. In most cases, the test constructor has no clue as to whether the latent traits postulated by the model are indeed the abilities he wants to…

Notes for a conference presentation outline and illustrate an experimental technique to develop foreign language listening skills using video and computer. Materials are drawn from a pilot project entitled "Allo Allo," designed to teach students how to listen in French. The approach expands the definition of listening to include both aural and…

A replication of a previous study assessed the construct validity of a national test for academically oriented Swedish upper secondary students. The analysis consisted of a comparison of test results of 10 percent of the Swedish test population to results obtained from a sample of native English speakers of the same age. Analyses of the Swedish…

An examination of materials development for independent study in listening comprehension of English as a second language (ESL) begins with an outline of current directions in second language instruction. The discussion that follows has two parts. The first is a review of some changing perspectives on the role of listening in language learning and…

A study was conducted that was designed to determine if experienced ESL (English as a second language) teachers, working in pairs, can reach the same judgments regarding the oral proficiency of non-native speakers of English and to determine the reliability of such judgments. In addition, the question of whether different sets of judges rate…

Information for second language teachers in Great Britain, also applicable to the situation in the United States, is presented. The material is organized as a response to the availability of second language instruction to students across all ability levels. In addition, issues related to new developments in theory-into-practice (such as the…

A project was conducted to (1) produce normative data for the Literacy Assessment Battery (LAB) and (2) evaluate the LAB as a potential supplement to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for use as a selection and classification instrument for the military services. The distribution of auding and reading skills in the population…

A career-oriented foreign language program is discussed that takes into account marketable skills of foreign language majors for a number of careers. The program is threefold. First, it recognizes the need for language skills to supplement technical, business, and professional skills to expand educational knowledge; capabilities in diplomacy and…

This second edition is a complete reworking of the 1968 text to include later views of language learning and teaching, and theories of linguistics and psychology. The text is intended particularly for use in methods classes in conjunction with observation of experienced foreign language teachers. The early chapters deal with general principles…

This paper reviews some of the strategies the receiver uses in the process of comprehending a message in a foreign language and discusses some of the ways in which the listener/reader goes beyond the actual physical form of the message during this process. The role of guessing is discussed in the context of the following theories: the…

Similarities and differences in language acquisition and variations in patterns of language dominance were studied with three four-year-old girls. The ideoqraphic study of child speech involved a monolingual English-speaking child, a monolingual Spanish-speaking child, and a bilingual English-Spanish-speaking child. The following measures were…