This edited book documents practices of learning-oriented language assessment through practitioner research and research syntheses. Learning-oriented language assessment refers to language assessment strategies that capitalise on learner differences and their relationships with the learning environments. In other words, learners are placed at the…

Research on teaching listening and speaking skills has been conducted at many levels. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current implementation of classroom and extracurricular activities, as well as the use of educational resources for teaching both skills in public senior high schools in the Amazon region of Ecuador, particularly in…

Presents suggestions for more accurately and effectively assessing students' oral foreign language skills, covering classroom atmosphere, testing frequency, and audiotaping student responses. A sample score sheet and evaluation criteria are provided. (CB)

Describes techniques which enable high school teachers to use German in their classes as a means of communication and not just as an abstract problem for students to master. Covers using different media techniques, students as teachers, different approaches to the textbook, culture materials, and oral interview tests. (EKN)

Discusses the development of a communicative language testing unit for grade nine French immersion students. The interlocking of teaching and testing is suggested, by preparing a potential testing unit for every communicative, theme-oriented curriculum teaching unit, thus aiming toward goals compatible with both teacher and student. (SL)

A study in two high school language programs investigated students' oral proficiency (OPI) interview ratings after a typical four-year sequence, degree to which teachers could accurately predict students' ratings, and relationship between classroom achievement and OP ratings. Results provide valuable information for states and school districts as…

The instrument for Colorado's Foreign Language Proficiency Sample Project and directions for its administration are provided in this document. The project is a voluntary, teacher-designed and -administered effort to standardize high school student language proficiency assessment techniques. The materials are used in teacher workshops. The…

A study investigated the validity of a second-language student's actual speed of delivery of a passage read aloud as an indicator of second-language fluency. The study, conducted in Hong Kong with 83 secondary school students, used the oral dialogue test in a standardized secondary school-leaving examination. The dialogues were timed and the rate…

This paper investigates the role of cohesion in oral proficiency testing. This study analyzed the cohesion of oral reports given by 16 Cypriot high school students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) using a modification of M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan's rating scale. It then compared the objective cohesion ratings with impressionistic…

This achievement test booklet is designed to assist the teacher in determining the length of time pupils should spend in Level 1 of English as a second language, and to test proficiency in the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening and speaking tests may be used in kindergarten through grade 12, reading and writing tests in…

The issue of using language proficiency or language dominance to assess programs for high school students with limited English speaking backgrounds is addressed. The development and initial analyses of the Competency Based Oral Language Assessment (COLA) are discussed. Three components of oral language are rated separately: semantics; syntax and…

Two studies are reported. The first investigated the feasibility of integrating learning strategy instruction into high school beginning and intermediate level Russian and Spanish classes. The second study assisted teachers and students of Japanese, Russian, and Spanish to implement informal assessment activities in their classrooms. A literature…