The report summarizes an assessment of the extent to which Manitoba schools are meeting the learning objectives for speaking and writing skills specified for senior (secondary) levels 1 and 4 in the basic French curriculum for the province. For each level and skill area, a random sample of students representing urban and rural school populations…

The report, entirely in French, summarizes an assessment of the extent to which Manitoba schools are meeting the learning objectives for speaking and writing skills specified for senior (secondary) levels 1 and 4 in the basic French curriculum for the province. For each level and skill area, a random sample of students representing urban and rural…

The report, entirely in French, details an assessment of the extent to which Manitoba schools are meeting the learning objectives for speaking and writing skills specified for senior (secondary) levels 1 and 4 in the basic French curriculum for the province. For each level and skill area, a random sample of students representing urban and rural…

The handbook describes language examinations offered and examination systems administered by members of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). An introductory section describes the rationale behind the founding of the organization, lists its 22 current members, and states its aims and objectives. Subsequent sections detail the…

The paper discusses some issues that language variation creates for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, identifies research strands relevant to program development, and describes two dialect program exemplars. It also suggests considerations for educational policy formation with respect to dialects. The introductory section gives…

Data from a national survey of students and teachers working within Norway's system of mixed-ability instruction in the elementary and early secondary schools suggest that, after ten years of implementation, the teaching and testing system is workable and that some aspects work relatively well. Instruction in English as a second language in a…

The paper reports some of the results of a preliminary survey of the language proficiency of matriculation students of French in Britain and Australia. The technique used (especially the use of Chief Examiners' reports) is justified and the deficiencies that exist in current matriculation examinations are noted. In particular, the examinations are…

Most instructional materials developed in the past 10-15 years do not provide for sufficient activities to allow the student to become involved in anything other than drill and memorization. Furthermore, in those situations where "communication activities" do occur, they are designed to teach the sentence as a structural, grammatical…

The handbook reviews approximately 150 educational tests and their uses within the total process of educational assessment for students who have academic difficulty because of mental retardation; learning disabilities; physical handicaps; emotional, sensory, and social disorders; other health impairments; and related problems. Introductory…

This module is one in a series of four performance-based modules developed to prepare vocational educators to serve limited English proficient (LEP) students. It discusses the intake process and the purpose and importance of assessing LEP students for both English and native language proficiency and vocational interest and aptitude. The module is…

This collection of papers is a resource for classroom teachers and program administrators who want to know not only what the communicative approach to language teaching is all about but how the goal of communicative competence is being met in teaching contexts similar to their own. Papers and authors include: "Functional Approaches to…

This handbook is a compendium of communication testing techniques submitted by French teachers from the United States, France, and Canada. The majority of the handbook consists of sample oral communication tests. The introductory section defines communication, outlines communications testing, and discusses listening comprehension, oral expression,…

This book addresses the question of what tests are measures of. Intelligence, achievement, and personality tests not based on empirical investigation have questionable validity. Some researchers now suspect that almost all tests given to students in all subjects, as well as general tests of intelligence and personality, are essentially language…

The idea of reducing the redundancy of a verbal message in a statistical way is presented as a practiced technique of language testing. Considering the temporality of speech comprehension, and the necessarily sequential intake of information, these cues may include the serial order of elements and transitional probability. To give the background…

This paper questions the purpose of testing in second language instruction. Comments are based on an examination of tests used by the Defense Language Institute for students of English as a second language. Two kinds of tests are used: the English Comprehension Level (ECL), used primarily as a basis for setting exit requirements, and "Book…