A case is made for the use of "banding" as a method of assessing language progress. In a banding system, the range of language proficiency from beginner to native speaker is divided into bands, each one representing a distinct, discernible, and describable level of ability. Banding seems to be most useful in circumstances when the specific purpose…

The first part of the paper presents theoretical arguments in favor of more student-centered approaches to the evaluation of progress in foreign language learning. It is argued that subective self-assessment procedures are not necessarily less reliable than objective tests and that the language student cannot assume full responsibility for the…

Several articles of interest to teachers of English as a second language (ESL) are included. The Institute of Languages at the University of New South Wales describes "Projects for a 'Survival' English Course for Overseas Students." Howard Tucker and Barbara Harley discuss an educational series of 24 television programs for immigrant…

Various approaches to language assessment of the preschool child are reviewed, and the use of language sample analysis as part of a language assessment package is considered. The pros and cons of such approaches as checklists, screening tests, and language sample analysis are considered. Procedures for administering the language sample analysis…

The Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings Scale (ASPLR), a performance-based instrument, is described. The origins of and rationale behind the Scale are discussed. The construction and use of the Scale are detailed. It is hoped that the usefulness of the ASPLR extends beyond the "on-arrival" English as a second language program…

THIS STUDY DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT DIFFERENTIAL BINAURAL STIMULATIONS CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE WHAT EFFECT HEARING SIMULTANEOUSLY THE TEACHER'S VOICE IN ONE EAR AND HIS OWN VOICE IN THE OTHER WOULD HAVE ON A STUDENT'S ABILITY TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES IN…

This guide is intended for the use of the interviewers who determine the oral proficiency ratings of candidates for the Foreign Service. The following materials have been collected: (1) "The Measurement of Speaking and Reading Proficiency in a Foreign Language," (2) "Definitions of Absolute Ratings," (3) "Factors in…

Presented is the experimental edition of the Florida Language Profile-Part A materials booklet, which is designed to measure the cognitive and language skills of children in kindergarten and first grade. Contents include pictures related to concepts such as size and quantity, shape, position and direction, similarity and difference, telling time,…

Presented is the experimental edition of the Florida Language Profile-Part B materials booklet, which is designed to measure the language and cognitive skills of children in kindergarten and first grade. Evaluated are concepts such as finding letters, naming upper and lower case letters, reading simple paragraphs, naming numbers, counting objects,…

This speech-communication examination is a "dyadic" test in which students, issued a set of cards to be marked according to directions, are assigned partners with whom they communicate and respond to in turn. This latest version of dyadic tests has been administered in rural and urban public schools in Hawaii, to speakers of nonstandard…

This paper provides background on the procedures currently used in the language interviews conducted by the Peace Corps in testing Peace Corps Volunteer/Trainee performance in host country languages. The purpose of these face-to-face interviews, which are based on the interviews used by the Foreign Service Institute, is "to give the student…

The 2-year study evaluated the language performance of 69 hearing impaired, preschool children born following the rubella epidemic of the early 1960's in order to develop an instrument for objectively assessing language achievement and a predictive index of language achievement. Two language rating scales were developed which were tied to the…

THE ADDITION OF A TEACHER-ASSISTANT (TA) PROVIDED A RICHER ENVIRONMENT AND CURRICULUM RESULTING IN A HIGH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY GAIN FOR THE CULTURALLY DEPRIVED KINDERGARTENER. AFTER SIX ORIENTATION SESSIONS AND A WEEK OF OBERVATION, A TA WAS ASSIGNED AS A SECOND TEACHER TO ONE OF THREE MORNING AND THREE AFTERNOON KINDERGARTEN SESSIONS AT THE THREE…

Suggests a monolingual, strictly oral "multiple choice" testing system, with suggestions regarding method, correcting and grading. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Reports on an experiment designed to test the reliability of the cloze procedure in second language testing, specifically as a measure of overall language proficiency, and as a measure whose results are independent of style. (AM)