Describes the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Advanced Placement in International English Language (APIEL) and evaluates both tests on three basic types of validity criteria: content, construct, and criterion-related. Concludes that the TOEFL has serious limitations, and that the APIEL may be more useful. (EV)

Explored the relative impact of the test-developer on the performance of test takers using multiple-choice reading comprehension tests that had no specifications. Six passages each with three different sets of multiple-choice items constructed by three groups of individuals were trialled on 335 Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners.…

Investigated the impact of performance conditions on perceptions of task difficulty in a test of spoken language, in light of the cognitive complexity framework proposed by Skehan (1998). Candidates performed narrative tasks whose characteristics and the conditions under which they were performed were manipulated, and the impact of these on task…

Describes the development and validation of the Portuguese Speaking Test, a simulated oral proficiency interview that uses a semidirect approach to examine proficiency in personal conversation, direction-giving, description, narration, topical discourse, and real-life situations. (CB)

Analyzed Francophone university students' (N=182) performance on eight English-As-a-Second-Language cloze tests (in terms of cloze-taking ability, language knowledge, content domain, and knowledge of contextual constraints). Results revealed that cloze performance was dependent on language factors and nonlinguistic-specific knowledge related to…

Examines the nature and extent of foreign-language competence desired for graduate English majors and the degree to which such expectations can be met by the regular two years of language study. Suggests that the foreign-language requirement needs a new orientation and new sign-posting through more appropriate testing instruments. (KEH)

The study used 32 children (mean age 11 years) with moderate sensorineural hearing losses to examine whether Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL) scores were significantly affected by mode of presentation. No differences were found between auditory-only and auditory-visual modes of presentation. (Author/DB)

Measurement of adult English as a second language students' reading comprehension of metaphors indicated that idiomatic language resulted in lower comprehension. Because the vehicles of many metaphors have become lost and are not retrievable from surface structure, it may be necessary to teach metaphors as vocabulary items. (Author/CB)

Presents suggestions for more accurately and effectively assessing students' oral foreign language skills, covering classroom atmosphere, testing frequency, and audiotaping student responses. A sample score sheet and evaluation criteria are provided. (CB)

Examination of the reliability and validity of paper-and-pencil pronunciation tests of English as a second language in Osaka (Japan) showed very low reliability. Correlations with more direct measures of pronunciation showed very low validity of written pronunciation tests. Sample tests are appended. (Author/CB)

Native speakers act as standard-providers, evaluators, and the evaluated in the development of oral proficiency interviews. Thus, proficiency guidelines cannot be accepted as valid until there is evidence that oral interviews and rating scales mirror the process of the native speaker, both in evaluating and in exhibiting proficiency. (CB)

Multiple choice items formatted as a question with one of four distractors giving the correct answer are a clearer and more valid way of testing the reading comprehension of foreign learners of English than is the common format in which the testee must complete a sentence stem by choosing one of four distractors. (Author/CB)

Discusses a study of the expressive qualities of oral language. Results suggest that there is a natural rather than an arbitrary relationship between words and their meanings. Practical applications of this theory of phonetic symbolism in the area of commercial advertising are presented. (CFM)

Discusses the development of an interview test of English proficiency in the 0 to 1+ range on the Australian Second Language Proficiency Rating Scale. Items were written toward 29 specified objectives using specially developed algorithms. A sample set of algorithms used in one of the tests and 23 references are appended. (Author/LMO)

Using a questionnaire given to oral examiners working in the field, this study investigates the different perspectives that examiners bring to their assessment of conversation on a prepared topic. The oral examination studied consisted of three parts--discussing stimulus material, conversing on a prepared topic and discussing issues of personal…