Five experiments were carried out to gain insight into foreign language learning as it takes place in the classroom environment, and to create optimal learning conditions for beginning Swedish-speaking learners of English as a Foreign Language. The experiments examined receptive and productive comprehension of English vocabulary in…

Studied aspects of listening comprehension skills in 107 second, fourth, and sixth graders in Finland using the Sentence Verification technique. Findings, comparable with previous research, show age-related improvement in listening comprehension for narrative, but not expository, passages. Cluster analysis produced four comprehension strategies.…

Reports the methodology used to measure the reading ability of third and fourth grade pupils in Finnish "comprehensive" schools in 1964 and 1979. Notes that 1979 students had significantly higher abilities in all areas measured, despite decreases in standard deviations. Interprets results in the light of acceleration theory. (SB)

Twelve chapters describe an 18-nation study of educational attainment at the elementary and secondary school levels. Professional researchers participated in the project, developed through UNESCO and conducted under the auspices of educational research centers in Australia, Belgium, Chile, England, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France,…