The article analyzes software for assessing language, noting advantages and disadvantages of such programs as Computerized Language Sample Analysis and Lingquest 1 Language Sample Analysis. In addition, software for assessing phonetic and phonological performance is also considered. (CL)

The article suggests that comparability, representativeness, and typicality must be considered along with length when collecting language samples. A framework is offered for selecting or devising tasks, and one successful battery is described which has been field tested on language-disordered children with syntax problems. (CL)

A course devoted to the teaching of the pronunciation of German begins with a systematic comparison of English and German sounds. During each class, troublesome sounds are practiced or reviewed, new sounds are practiced, weekly reading assignments are discussed, and the day's assignment is read aloud. (SED)

Discusses each of the questions, the correct answers, and how student responses were evaluated in the Vergil and Catullus-Horace essay sections of the Latin Advanced Placement exam. (EKN)

Suggests that the English-as-a-foreign-language field would benefit by using the same types of tests as those of "Graded Objectives in Modern Languages," which are used in British schools to test foreign language learning. Presents test items which are typical of the British tests. (SED)

Thirty language and articulation tests for preschool children were reviewed using 10 psychometric criteria appropriate to norm-referenced tests. Half of the reviewed tests met no more than two criteria, and only three tests met over four criteria. Most frequently unmet criteria were those requiring empirical evidence of validity and reliability.…

Discusses the historical and present situation in second language testing in the United States, with respect to the major measurement trends represented. Suggests a number of desirable development activities for the future that may help to build on several current initiatives in the field that already show substantial promise for facilitating…

The language research study was designed to compare first, the meanings of concrete words having visual connotations and second, the groupings or clusters of adjective scales resulting from factor analysis as they were used by 143 blind, partially sighted, and normal school-age children. (CB)

The author uses a brief discussion of the many seemingly successful attempts to find a context for Chomsky's supposedly meaningless sentence Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," as a starting point for a discussion of devising multiple choice vocabulary tests where the correct choice is clear and unambigous. (FB)