Presents a measurement instrument for evaluating a second language learner's oral skills, which is based on a mathematical theory of communication, and which relies on native speaker judgment. (AM)

Short-form versions of the Screening Test of Spanish Grammar and the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test were devised and tested on 60 lower social status bilingual Latino children (four to seven years old).

Discusses the value of self-evaluation to the adult second language learner; the tools of self-evaluation; and the relationship of self-evaluation to other forms of evaluation, to learning, and to instruction. (AM)

Presents a study testing the hypothesis that students of informal as opposed to formal teachers would score better on the Richmond work-study tests than on the language and mathematics tests. Results find differences between formal and informal classes to be insignificant but individual students to differ in hypothesized directions. (Author/AEM)

Concludes that the PLAI is a unique test that can be very useful in assessing children's ability to deal with the language of instruction. (FL)

Briefly describes the rationale, history of development, and current status of the "proficiency-based" testing movement in the United States. and cites areas in which additional research and development work are recommended to enhance both the validity and the practical value of this approach. (Author/LMO)

Reviews research on the use of the "T-Unit" as a measure of language ability, demonstrating that the measure has limited utility in the case of second language, since it bases itself solely on syntax and does not reward speakers for sophistication in such areas as vocabulary. (Author/CB)

Employs a form-content theory to analyze usage of clitics in Spanish. A questionnaire (in Appendix) compares responses by English-dominant subjects to those of Spanish-dominant subjects. Results are compared with spontaneous production of clitics in the context of free conversations with 67 informants from the Caribbean area. (Author/LMO)

The study describes the Shewan Spontaneous Language Analysis (SSLA), establishes its reliability and validity, and reports on its use with 47 aphasic adults who had suffered a single unilateral occlusive cerebral vascular accident two to four weeks prior to testing and 30 normal adults. (Author/DB)

When preintermediate English-as-a-foreign-language students did a controlled dictation test and then amended their protocols during an unexpected second exposure to the passage, an analysis of the scores showed a modest improvement in performance, counterbalanced by a marked drop in dispersal and a loss of validity. (Author/CB)

Discusses the results of a workshop examining the application of American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency testing to African languages, focusing on the possibility of an alternative testing procedure for those languages for which certified testers are not available and the potentials and problems of a team assessment…

Problems in the use of foreign graduate students as teaching assistants include cumbersome language proficiency testing, limited English proficiency, internal struggles in training programs, and rapidly increasing foreign graduate student enrollments. (MSE)

Results indicated significant differences between scores of the 18 low vision children (ages 1.5-4.5 years) and normal seeing agemates on auditory comprehension and verbal ability components of the Preschool Language Scale. (Author/DB)

Three standardized language assessment measures (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, Test of Early Language Development, and the Preschool Language Scale) were individually administered to 25 nonreferred, White, middle-class preschoolers. Correlations among the three measures were statistically significant suggesting an interrelationship of…

Discusses the provisional proficiency guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and explores their application to two important areas of foreign language education--testing and curriculum development. Reviews the features of proficiency and achievement tests and describes two proficiency-based curriculum projects.…