Previous studies dealing with the age at which children acquire constituent order preferences have been in conflict. This study was designed to determine if children with normal language development demonstrate constituent order preferences as early as age three and one-half, or a mean age of four years, one month. To test this competency, an…

This paper presents the validation of an adaptive test developed for placement purposes in French at the post-secondary level, the French CAPT. Results from a second experiment are presented in which verbal protocols were obtained from nine college students of various levels with the thinking-aloud technique used during completion of the exam. The…

This paper describes a battery of evaluation instruments designed to test the language skills of limited-English-proficient (LEP) elementary school students (K-6). The battery assesses students in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), uses educational tasks similar to those required in mainstream instruction, and reflects…

A discussion of the status of German second language instruction, particularly at the postsecondary level, focuses on the role of standards, curriculum, and testing in increasing interest in and support for foreign language education. A substantial decline in German enrollments in the first half of the 1990s is noted, and possible reasons are…

This paper discusses research conducted in the spring of 1991 that measured the relationship of reading subtest scores to teacher ratings of students' reading abilities. Sixty-eight advanced-level students in an intensive English program took an institutional version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and a specimen reading…

Materials compiled for a conference on the assessment of Japanese second language proficiency include a partially annotated bibliography of references concerning proficiency testing as it may relate to the Japanese language and an overview essay entitled "Towards the Development of Proficiency and Other Tests in Japanese as a Foreign Language…

This paper examines points in oral test interviews where an interviewee explicitly seeks clarification from the interviewer on the content of a question posed, prior to attempting to answer a question. Some of the interviews are drawn from the Finnish Foreign Language Diploma for Professional Purposes examination (Tyoelaman kielidiplomi); others…

The question of whether students perform linguistically differently when writing under examination conditions than when writing term essays is addressed in this working paper. The study was prompted by the feeling by many students that their linguistic performance deteriorates in examination conditions and that this deterioration makes a…

A discussion of the role of second language proficiency assessment in the evaluation of language programs argues that for four reasons, the use of proficiency is inappropriate as a central element in evaluation. The reasons are: (1) the construct of proficiency has not been operationalized in a way that enables it to be used usefully; (2)…

This paper summarizes a study conducted to determine whether sustained silent reading (SSR) can contribute to improvement in grammar and reading comprehension in university academic English as a foreign language (EFL) courses. A total of 186 beginning and intermediate students enrolled in the English for Academic Purposes program at the…

This paper outlines the development of a performance assessment measure of language speaking ability, the Language Ability Assessment System (LAAS), which is highly reliable and can be examined for reliability through modern measurement theories, such as generalizability theory (G-theory) and the many-facet Rasch theory. LAAS was developed to…

Testing guidelines based on teachers' experience and on a review of literature concerning approaches to the testing of oral second language skills, are presented in this paper. Considerations in developing the test included coordination with the syllabus, choice of format, grading, and administration. Suggestions are offered from the practices of…

As part of the National Evaluation Program of the Swedish school system, proficiency in the English language is evaluated for students in grade 5 (at age 12 years). Variation between classes and variation within classes were studied in a multilevel factor analysis (MFA) using a sample of 3,162 students in 162 classes for whom student questionnaire…

A handbook compiled for use in a one-day workshop on oral proficiency testing for teachers of Russian gives an overview of oral proficiency assessment principles and the available techniques. One section explains the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Educational Testing Service (ACTFL/ETS) Oral Proficiency Interview process and…

Instructional models for foreign language reading and listening comprehension are outlined and synthesized, and an instructional procedure based on immediate recall, a standardized method for assessing first-language comprehension, is proposed. First, the interrelated processes of reading and listening comprehension, as currently defined in the…