This study investigated the interrater reliability of proficiency-level judgments of graduate student trainee raters on oral proficiency interviews (OPIs). Trainees' ratings were compared with the judgments of a certified American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) tester for 150 interviews. (Author/JL)

Describes an algorithm that can be used for the construction of an oral presentation. The article suggests how nonnative English-speaking students can be taught to make their presentations more cohesive and to evaluate their cohesiveness with the help of video recordings. (21 references) (Author/CK)

Describes the different priming procedures and experimental variables used for gaining access to the nature of the lexical representation of morphological information and summarizes the experimental data collected across different languages. Notes that responses to a target word in auditory word recognition tasks can be facilitated when the word…

Explored a model for teaching communicative performance that integrates teaching of norms of interaction in French with teaching of aspects of Spoken French. Students were filmed performing role plays that required reproduction of French conversation rules. Filmed performances were reviewed and students discussed responses to learning foreign…

Four classroom techniques are presented for teaching English-as-a-Second-Language. They focus on analysis of conversational styles, debate, mystery personalities, and learning styles. (Author/VWL)

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)

Discusses the cognitive characteristics, neurobiological bases, and language and reading abilities of individuals with hyperlexia. A study of 12 children (ages 7-13) with hyperlexia is summarized that illustrates the dissociation between decoding and comprehension and the limited use of meaningful context to aid decoding. (Author/CR)

Distinguishes two approaches to teaching speaking skills: (1) a "direct approach" in which new linguistic information is practiced explicitly; (2) and an "indirect approach", involving creating situations that lead learners to acquire communicative skills. Argues that a significant shift is occurring in the second approach and raises questions…

Examines through a text analysis of spoken and written discourse the meaning and function of the double genitive (DG) in English in comparison to the inflected preposed genitive. The study shows the DG to possess unique and specific pragmatic functions not adequately described for nonnative students. (22 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…

Reviews the measurement of oral language in children, discussing methods for ensuring that diagnosis and treatment of language disorders include consideration of these measures and examining the ways in which treatment outcomes can ultimately inform diagnosis. The paper suggests that the functional receptive language skills of any student…

Investigated whether a background in science would make a difference in the oral interactions of elementary teachers in their science lessons. Observations of 50 British elementary science teachers and comparison of the oral discourse of teachers with and without significant science background indicated that those with a science background asked…

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…

A description of a German conversation class organized around video production projects includes the pedagogical rationale, course format, and detailed descriptions of individual taping projects. (17 references) (Author/CB)

An analysis of the linguistic and social contexts of the occurrence of verbal "-s" marking in early Black English, within a historical and comparative perspective, shows that both third person singular and nonconcord "-s" are subject to regular, parallel environmental conditioning. (68 references) (Author/CB)