Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning (ICALL) uses advanced technology to provide customized learning and individualized feedback to foreign language students (Heift & Schulze, 2007). Some comprehensive ICALL programs claim the ability to take learners from no knowledge of a language to levels of advanced knowledge and comprehension.…

The purpose of this research was to ascertain if the reading comprehension skills of English-speaking fifth grade students improve when they study a second language. The research was done in an inner-city elementary school in Rochester, New York. The researcher provided a weekly after-school workshop in foreign languages for a group of children…

An investigation of the predictive power of the Modern Language Association (MLA) Cooperative Test Scores in French, German, and Spanish in relation to performance in student teaching is described, and criteria used by the raters to define successful performance are identified. Subjects were 103 students who completed foreign language teaching…

This book is a survey of all the modern language examinations in the United Kingdom at "GCE"'O' level, Scottish 'O' grade, and "CSE" Mode 1, available in 1979 in French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, as well as the "16+" examination offered by a consortium of boards in the north of England. It is an attempt…

This monograph consists of the foreign language sections of the seven "Mental Measurements Yearbooks" (1938-1972) and "Tests in Print II" (1974). The brief foreign language test descriptions from TIP II, totaling 105, are provided first, followed by the lengthier reviews, which total 184, from each of the seven MMYs. In…

THE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS ARE THE SUBJECTS OF THIS FINAL PROJECT REPORT. FOLLOWING AN ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS THAT LED TO THE AWARDING OF A GOVERNMENT CONTRACT TO MLA TO DEVELOP NATIONALLY STANDARDIZED QUALIFICATION TESTS AND A…

The survey of foreign language testing described in this paper resulted in the issuing of three handbooks and a special validation report, encompassing the results of research, consultation with professional committees, and significant position statements in four major areas of foreign language testing: placement of incoming students in foreign…

Sample examinations in French, German, Spanish, and Russian for the elementary and intermediate levels are contained in this publication. The French examinations test: (1) speaking ability, (2) listening comprehension, (3) vocabulary, (4) grammar, and (5) reading. The tests on German measure vocabulary, grammar, listening, and reading…

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…

This report is a summary of the results of the administration of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) Proficiency Tests to native speakers in Chile, Columbia, France, German, Italy, and Spain. The notion of a "superior" level of competence in reading, writing, aural comprehension, and speaking a second language is specified…

THIS STUDY, CONDUCTED BY THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE, WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE FRENCH, GERMAN, AND SPANISH SKILL TESTS OF THE MLA COOPERATIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TESTS AND THE MLA PROFICIENCY TESTS FOR TEACHERS AND ADVANCED STUDENTS MEASURE ALONG A CONTINUUM OR WHETHER…

Results of a study of the efficacy of foreign language instruction at the elementary school level are presented. The study provides new information permitting comparison of three program types--Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES), partial immersion, and immersion--currently used in schools in the United States. The results are based…

This compendium of over 250 evaluation instruments in use by project sites throughout the U.S. is designed to assist bilingual/bicultural educators in locating, developing, or adapting evaluation instruments suitable to local assessment needs. The titles and descriptions of instruments listed are those provided by staff in bilingual/bicultural…

This report summarizes a study published in 1967 by Harvard University which assessed foreign language proficiency of U.S. college seniors majoring in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian. The measures used were the following: the MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests (Form A): Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing; the Modern…

This publication represents the first attempt to address the problem of adequate evaluation processes for testing language dominance and proficiency in bilingual education. It is produced by individuals intimately acquainted with the fields of language testing and bilingual education. Issues in language testing as well as its history are…