Realschulen (secondary schools) in Baden-Wurttemberg now permit a reading comprehension test, plus dictation, for the graduation examination in FL, instead of the traditional translation. The test is described: Part A tests receptive skills, Part B reproductive-productive. Suggestions are given on content and conducting tests. (Text is in German.)…

Native language acquisition is a natural and non-natural stage-by-stage process. The natural first stage is development of speech and listening skills. In this stage, competency is gained in the home environment. The next, non-natural stage is development of literacy, a cultural skill taught in school. Since oral-aural native language development…

Reviews the literature on the native language approach and the direct method of reading instruction for bilingual children in several countries. (MKM)

A survey-interview exercise is described as it evolved through English-as-a-second-language students' efforts to develop better spoken language skills. The exercise provided students with experience in using spoken English in interaction, learning first-hand about local ideas and attitudes, and reflecting on and discussing the experience in the…

Argues that some important aspects of listening as an interactive skill have been neglected in second-language teaching, including the receipt tokens "yeah,""mm hm," and "mm," and that such items should be taught as part of the development of conversational skills. Characteristics of these items' placement in talk sequences, prosodic shape, pause…

This paper outlines the development of a performance assessment measure of language speaking ability, the Language Ability Assessment System (LAAS), which is highly reliable and can be examined for reliability through modern measurement theories, such as generalizability theory (G-theory) and the many-facet Rasch theory. LAAS was developed to…

The long-range objectives of ESL in bilingual/bicultural programs include: 1) writing acceptable prose; 2) reading English acceptably; 3) competence in grammatical analysis; 4) competence in verbal persuasion; 5) competence in skills of a coordinate bilingual; 6) functional comprehension of both cultures and 7) use of language variety. (CHK)

Linguistic needs of non-linguist students of Belgian universities are assessed; skills that should be taught and approaches to use are discussed. The needs are twofold: scholastic and professional. Skills should be reading comprehension and oral and written knowledge. Approaches should be comprehensive. (SC)

Language testing must be an integral component of any foreign language program. It should relate closely to the objectives of the program so that students are tested on what they practice in the classroom. Although language testing during the past few decades has been concerned primarily with measuring only linguistic knowledge, more consideration…

A 10-WEEK INTENSIVE COURSE IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE WAS DEVELOPED AT MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN COLLEGE AND CONSIDERABLE EXPERIMENTING WAS DONE WITH DIFFERENT METHODS, MATERIALS, AND TECHNIQUES. THE GOVERNING ASSUMPTIONS WERE THAT LANGUAGE BASICALLY CONSISTS OF SPEECH OR SOUND, AND THAT THE MASTERY OF A SOUND SYSTEM INVOLVES THE MASTERY OF THE…

This manual, intended for elementary and advanced learners of Spanish who still have pronunciation problems, contains 18 lessons dealing with the pronunciation of vowels, consonants and diphthongs, stress and intonation. Each of the lessons begins with an explanation, in Spanish, of the sound and the way it is pronounced, and includes a variety of…

This is a self-teaching textbook for learning Hindustani, based on the principle of exposure to the target language and practice. It is part of a series originally prepared for the Armed Forces and now offered to the public. The emphasis is on speaking rather than on reading or writing. The text is designed to be used with a native speaker of…

A description is given of experiments involving the standardization of aspects of oral fluency testing. Oral fluency is understood to imply a "communicative competence" requiring an ability to formulate accurate and appropriate utterances of more than one sentence in length. Throughout the test emphasis is laid on ease of application and…

This pamphlet reports on an investigation into the problem of standardizing the marking of oral examinations at the Ordinary Level of the General Certificate of Education. Investigations were made into two languages - German and Welsh. Language teachers received a list of 63 questions, of which 20 were to be presented to the examination candidate,…