Describes a simple teacher-scored method which can be used to determine the proportion of correct usage in freshman ESL compositions. Concludes Correctness Scores provide a useful tool for investigation of hierarchy of significant errors in English and is a technique well-suited to supply data for future work along these lines. (Author/BK)

Bachman's framework of language testing and standard of authenticity for language testing instruments were used to evaluate three instruments--the SPEAK (Spoken Proficiency English Assessment Kit) test, OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview), and a performance test--as language tests for nonnative-English-speaking teaching assistants. (Contains 53…

Preliminary criteria are presented to consider in the writing of English for academic purposes (EAP) reading comprehension tests. The criteria pertain to the test as a whole as well as to the form of individual questions. A checklist is appended. (42 references) (Author/LB)

A study of three grammar consciousness-raising tasks dealing with word order among Japanese university students showed that the tasks successfully promoted both proficiency gains and second-language negotiated interaction in participants. Negotiation quantity was determined by the combination of task features present rather than the nature of the…

In a discussion of the limitations of reading tests to assess literacy, Street's "autonomous model of literacy" is critiqued and an alternative approach, described as a pragmatic model, is proposed. The alternative approach reflects the social dimension of literacy activities and views reading and writing as inseparable. (32 references) (Author/LB)