The present study reports data from a large-scale foreign language proficiency assessment to explore trends across a large urban school district. These data were used in conjunction with data from teacher and student questionnaires to make recommendations for foreign language programs across the district. This evaluation process resulted in…

In this study, the authors evaluated the strengths and limitations of a self-assessment based on ACTFL Can-Do statements ("ACTFL," 2013]) as a tool for measuring linguistic gains over an internship abroad in Russia. They assessed its reliability, determined how its items mapped with the ACTFL scale, and measured the degree to which…

This paper investigates the place of culture in the Tunisian English for the biology curriculum. To this end, the English language materials used were evaluated. The findings suggested that the materials used do not answer students' needs with respect to exponents of communicative functions, appropriate intonation patterns, norms of politeness,…

This study sought to improve the language learning outcomes at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Young men and women between the ages of 19-24 are taught a foreign language in an accelerated environment. In an effort to improve learning outcomes, computer-based practice and teaching of language performance criteria were provided to…

While researchers have examined the effectiveness of various online gloss types on incidental L2 vocabulary learning, little research on online gloss languages has been conducted. Previous attempts which compared the effects of L1 and L2 glosses have reported mixed results. To fill the gaps, this study examined the effectiveness of Chinese and…

This chapter addresses the question of the growth of accuracy and complexity in L2 French from the perspective of developmental sequences of morphosyntax, developmental stages and linguistic profiling. The six developmental stages for L2 French proposed by Bartning and Schlyter (2004) are presented and exemplified and new results are added to the…

This chapter provides the reader with a framework for understanding the needs of students that have concurrent needs as English Language Learners and Emotionally Behavioral Disturbed. Issues related to effective assessment practices, service delivery, and appropriate intervention are discussed. (Contains 1 table.) [For complete volume, see…

In this monograph, Anatoliy V. Kharkhurin presents the results of his empirical investigation into the impact of multilingual practice on an individual's creative potential. Until now, the relationship between these two activities has received little attention in the academic community. The book makes an attempt to resuscitate this theme and…

Adult learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Canada do not receive sufficient instruction through classes alone to achieve distinguished levels of proficiency or develop high levels of expertise. This article will explore what is meant by proficiency and look at language learning in terms of the model that has commonly become known…

The suggested role for assessment in developing "Roadmaps for Learning" has potentially important implications for the learning of second or foreign languages in school, a major concern of applied linguistics. In this response, the authors consider how the findings of a detailed ethnographic study of classroom-based assessment in two…

This study analyses intermediate and advanced learner-learner and learner-native speaker (NS) interaction looking for collaborative dialogue. It investigates how the presence of a NS interlocutor affects the frequency and nature of lexical language-related episodes (LREs) spontaneously generated during task-based interaction. Twenty-four learners…

This article focuses on the proficiency level of texts in Computer Learner Corpora (CLCs). A claim is made that proficiency levels are often poorly defined in CLC design, and that the methods used for level assignment of corpus texts are not always adequate. Proficiency level can therefore, best be described as a fuzzy variable in CLCs,…

The recently published article "English Proficiency Tests and Communication Skills Training for Overseas-Qualified Health Professionals in Australia and New Zealand" (Wette, 2011) aims to address perceived problems and misconceptions associated with the testing of English language skills and professional communicative competence of…

Dyslexia is hard to diagnose in a second language. Poor performance on a test of reading may be caused by poor language proficiency in the second language or by limited schooling rather than by poor reading ability per se. This confound was supported in a study of 88 adult second language learners and 65 native language speakers. The incidence of…

In this study, repeated measures item response data from an English language proficiency (ELP) test administered over 2 years were analyzed by item response theory-based approaches to model change over time. First, change over time was modeled by an item side change approach where change was parameterized at the item level. Second, more…