The role of different types of testing instruments in second language programs is discussed. Knowledge-based tests, including discrete-point and integrative tests are contrasted with direct tests, including the Foreign Service Institute Scale and the Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ASLPR). The ASLPR is described in detail in terms…

As part of the current trend toward adopting modern, objective-standardized test methods in evaluating the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the schools of the Socialist Republic of Romania, this review of pedagogical literature makes available to the English-reading audience information that has appeared in Romanian materials.…

A profile method was used to analyze the patterns of four English proficiency tests (Comprehensive English Language Test for Speakers of English as a Second Language: Structure, CELT: Listening, Reading for Understanding Test, and The New Cloze Test) regarding two examinee characteristics: their language proficiency levels and native language. One…

A manual for use in training French and Spanish language examiners at the Foreign Service Institute is presented here. After a discussion of the history of the language proficiency test and of the testing procedure and evaluation techniques, the following topics are covered: (1) language proficiency ratings based on the absolute criterion of the…

This study endeavored to determine (1) the reliability with which selected individual tests of language, visual and auditory perception, and auditory-visual perceptual integration can be administered through group testing; (2) the decrease in administration and scoring time by using these instruments in a group manner, and (3) the relationships…

Developing test instruments for the Pattern Drills Program in the Pittsburg Public Schools has convinced the writer that the more test development activities and the teaching process reinforce each other, the stronger the program is. The Pattern Drills Program aims to develop bidialectism in non-standard English speakers by teaching standard…

This issue of the 1971-72 series of "Language in American Indian Education" contains articles on bilingual education and the testing of language skills. The first, "The Language of the Sioux," is a bibliographic essay dealing with the studies that have been made to date of the Sioux language and its dialects. A Title 7…

To help assess the writing ability of college freshmen studying English as a second language (ESL), this study was undertaken to identify particular structures of subordination associated with writing maturity and to develop a diagnostic instrument to test student control of those structures. Following sentence-generating principles of…

This is a teacher's guide for "Poor Simpleton," a language test designed for students of English in bilingual programs. The guide explains the nature of the test, how to administer and score it, and how to analyze test results. The test is a modified version of the cloze procedure. Unlike most cloze tests, which are…

Sketches some of the dilemmas in language assessment and presents exemplary practical approaches to assessment in the language arts areas of listening, oral language, reading, and writing. (SD)

This study tested the effectiveness of the cloze procedure, used aurally, to teach listening comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL). Subjects were the classes of two teachers (n=74, n=75); one teacher taught using the aural cloze procedure, and the other taught using conventional listening instruction techniques. In aural cloze…

The annotated bibliography describes foreign language assessment instruments currently used in elementary and middle schools. The instruments are drawn from a wide variety of program models: Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES), middle school sequential instruction, and immersion (total, two-way, partial). The bibliography has six…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the avenues for choosing pictures and visual images in testing situations for foreign and second language examinations. The paper demonstrates how quantitative and qualitative research from cognitive psychology, visual and verbal behavior studies, as well as Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) have…

This study explores the relationship between English and Japanese in bilingual children. The Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests (BVATs) were administered to 40 children of Japanese heritage and their mothers residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. All the subjects were either enrolled in bilingual programs in public elementary schools or attending…

Investigates what can be learned about second language (L2) speech acts using English language multiple choice (MC) instruments and discourse completion tests (DCTs). The study focuses on the primary language (L1) responses of native speakers and the L2 responses given by speakers of Chinese to MC questionnaires and DCTs dealing with the…