The use of an interview to test verbal ability in a second language and to establish a scale of oral proficiency is discussed. Sample questions are included in Spanish. (JB)

Reports on research seeking to isolate and analyze high frequency errors in secondary students of German, to identify learning tactics, and to apply the research results to improving language instruction. (AM)

Provides an overview of the most widely used methods of classroom oral testing, as well as evaluations of their practicality and conformity to the goals of communicative teaching and testing. Also described are ways the video camera and task-based activities have successfully been used to make oral testing a more realistic communicative…

Examined the output produced by 46 university students of Spanish at the intermediate level during focused or unfocused communication tasks that required the use of command forms in Spanish. Also examined whether the learners who experienced the focused communication tasks would maintain linguistic accuracy during an unfocused communication task…

Colleges and universities often permit students classified as learning disabled (LD) and other students not classified as LD to substitute courses for or waive the foreign language requirement. The Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) has become an increasingly popular assessment tool to determine which students can or cannot pass foreign language…

This article reports on the Pittsburgh Public Schools Oral Ratings Assessment for Language Students (PPS ORALS) project, a Title VI Foreign Language Assistance Program grant-funded project to create an online testing Software program that makes large-scale oral testing in a world language not only feasible, but also easy to create, administer, and…

This study assessed reading comprehension at different levels of second language learning. Adaptations of Carver's reading tests, a variation of the cloze procedure, were administered to 486 college students enrolled in beginning Spanish courses. Tests were found moderately reliable and were recommended for diagnostic purposes at beginning and…

Advocates a "process" viewpoint of language use for second language proficiency testing and explores its potential for greater insights from five perspectives: text linguistics and discourse analysis; interlanguage; expectancy; negotiation and interaction; and communication strategies. (Author/CB)

Presents the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' guidelines for determining proficiency in writing, speaking, listening, and reading Arabic. Definitions for both generic and Arabic proficiency skills are provided for low-, mid-, or high-novice, -intermediate, and -advanced levels. (CB)

Based on the results of native and foreign language assessments of high school learners, it is inferred that students with foreign language learning difficulties have subtle but underlying native language learning difficulties, especially in the phonological and syntactic codes of language. Implications for diagnosis and teaching are discussed.…

In order to obtain concrete information to improve test writing, this study analyzes 13 achievement test drafts written by graduate teaching assistants, lecturers, and adjunct faculty teaching introductory and intermediate college Spanish. The analysis focuses on factors of test method and content likely to create variance in test performance…

Articulation is one of the principal challenges of all foreign language programs. A key component of the articulation process is an assessment of student language abilities. On college and university campuses this process is usually conducted via a placement test. As developments in proficiency research have progressed, it is clear that programs…

In 2002, nearly 100,000 high school students took one of the Advanced Placement Program? (AP?)language examinations in French, German, or Spanish. One way in which the validity of these exams is ensured is through periodic college comparability studies. The purpose of such studies is to equate the AP scores with performance standards in the third…