The proceedings of a two and one-half day symposium concerning the assessment of functional language ability through the oral interview process included the following papers: "The FSI/ILR/ACTFL Proficiency Scales and Testing Techniques: Development, Current Status, and Need Research" (John L. D. Clark, Ray T. Clifford); "The ACTFL…

The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner…

A resource is presented for those who work in bilingual education and who are involved in test selection. Initial information is provided regarding tests that might be used for student identification, placement and diagnosis, progress monitoring, exiting decisions, and program evaluation purposes. No endorsement or recommendation is implied and no…

A project in Thailand to develop domain-referenced English language tests for use with Thai secondary and college students is described. The first phase consisted of developing standardized tests for listening, speaking, reading, and writing based on existing syllabuses, determining the common levels of English proficiency in those domains, and…

One aspect of the development of a performance assessment is addressed--the field testing of the tasks. In a performance-based assessment, the tasks must allow each examinee a fair and equal opportunity to give the best possible demonstration of his or her ability, and must elicit a performance sample that enables scorers to evaluate each examinee…

Information on the Ontario Test of English Achievement is presented. Attention is directed to the background and objectives of the test, test development, subtest characteristics and properties, validity, and recommendations concerning test use. The objective of the test was to determine the language competence of incoming students to assist…

South Africa's perpetuation, through its various public agencies, of separating its ethnic/language groups has gradually fostered a negative response among university educators toward the role of second language teaching and testing. As a result of this attitude, future language teachers are not learning the necessary skills or appropriate…

Problems in the second language classroom that hinder students from speaking the language freely and creatively arise from three sources: the teacher, the student, and the material. Problems involving the teacher include the common lack of an overall and inclusive definition of the course goal, the role and dysfunction of teacher "authority" in…

The rules and regulations governing Texas schools' treatment of the language and academic needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) public school students are reviewed. First, a historical overview of the state's laws and regulations governing programs for the LEP population is presented. Second, the state's language and academic assessment…

A study was undertaken to identify useful methods for measuring progress in English language proficiency among students at the Yemen-America Language Institute (YALI) in Sana'a, Yemen. The study examined factors critical to such progress as well as the profiles of student attitudes and demographic characteristics. A questionnaire was administered…

A discussion of the use of standardized tests in second language assessment focuses on the usefulness of program-based language tests aligned with specific curricula and capable of motivating students to participate in classroom activities that are a preparation both for the test and for life after the test. The purpose of this paper is to show…

An article on the suggestopedic method for adult second language instruction describes the learning processes emphasized in the method and outlines the instructional processes used. The approach is based on the creation of a pleasant, relaxing, and stimulating environment where all information has positive emotional content, and uses subconscious…

An experiment evaluated the impact of an integrated formal, analytic, and functional communicative approach to second language teaching in French immersion on French language proficiency. The impetus for the study arises from research indicating that immersion children show persistent weaknesses in their grammatical skills despite the fluent,…

This document discusses the various problems students and teachers face in Asian language education programs at both the elementary secondary and university levels. Asian languages are much more difficult to learn than more commonly-taught languages like French or Spanish, and the available curriculum and testing materials are inadequate. There…

A handbook designed to acquaint college and university language departments with recent developments in oral proficiency testing gives an overview of the rationale, development, procedures, and implications of oral proficiency evaluation. The discussion is placed in the context of college and university language teaching. An overview section…