A synthesis of research on the Franco-Ontarian school environment focuses on the maintenance of French by Franco-Ontarian students, their French language proficiency, and their native language instruction. The relevance of these issues in other French language minority settings is discussed. (MSE)

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)

A framework is proposed for an integrated course in which knowledge of a language is consciously related to the processes of interpersonal communication and the cultural aspects of marketing and negotiation. (Editor)

Comparisons of 91 deaf children's (ages 5-15) understanding of 25 sentences presented in American Sign Language (ASL), simplified English, and standard English showed no significant differences in the children's ability to comprehend the three different forms. Findings do not support proposals to substitute ASL or simplified English for standard…

Focuses on the increasing use of the so-called stative verbs found in the progressive aspect from the perspective of the nonnative speaker of English. The use of stative verbs in the progressive is a predictable consequence of the meaning of the present progressive and the particular discourse contexts in which progressive statives are found.…

Oral proficiency testing is contrasted with traditional academic testing to show its appropriateness as a technique for measuring the ability to speak and understand a foreign language. Implications for teaching foreign languages are discussed. (MT)

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)

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.…

The adaptation of Likert scaling in children was investigated by means of pilot studies using children aged 6 to 10. Preliminary results indicate the modified Likert methodology is valid to use with children. Suggested directions to use when administering a modified Likert scale to children are presented. (Author/CT)

Surveyed 210 Vietnamese refugees to determine factors affecting employment and job satisfaction. Results showed Vietnamese subjects reporting job satisfaction had been in the U.S. longer. They were more proficient in speaking English than dissatisfied refugees but not more positive about job-seeking resources. (Author/BH)

Discusses the findings of five studies which investigated the effects of informal contact on classroom learners' second language abilities. These findings are discussed in terms of six factors which might have contributed to the finding in four of the five studies that informal contact did not lead to increased proficiency. (SED)

Reviews some trends in the measurement of oral fluency in a foreign language and offers an alternative to integrative and discrete point testing and to the oral interview. This alternative looks at two components of fluent speech--speech rate and consonant attraction--as they fit into the parameters of fluency. (SED)

Reports results from a detailed syntactic analysis of spoken language samples collected from poor and good readers at eight years of age. Results showed an undeniably strong association between reduced language comprehension and reading impairment at age eight, an association that appeared to strengthen by age nine. (SED)