Proficiency: Panacea, Framework, Process? A Reply to Kramsch, Schulz, and, Particularly, to Bachman and Savignon

Lowe, Pardee

doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05295.x

Cited by 35 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Kramsch (1986) joined the attack on the guidelines, essentially but elegantly restating the century-old argument (Latham, 1877) that their specificity narrowed the range of teaching, by encouraging people to teach only what could be tested. Lowe (1986), with long experience in government oral proficiency testing, answered the critics, defending the Guidelines, but agreeing that some further study and research was needed.…”

Section: The Actfl Proficiency Guidelinesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Language Testing in The Modern Language Journal

Spolsky

2000

The Modern Language Journal

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The Modern Language Journal published on average two articles a year dealing with language tests in its first 80 years. This probably reflects the actual (if not the desirable) level of interest in language testing of the language teaching profession. For the early years, before more specialized journals appeared, it gives an excellent picture of the history of the field in the United States. Later, the coverage became spottier, but there continued to appear a number of important articles especially on topics like prognosis and aptitude tests, the cloze test, oral testing, and the controversy over the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. As a whole, the articles show a valuable concern with the use rather than the form of language tests.

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Section: The Actfl Proficiency Guidelinesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Language Testing in The Modern Language Journal

Spolsky

2000

The Modern Language Journal

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“…In 1980 ACTFL held its National Conference on Professional Priorities, which recommended increasing empirical and action research; the MLJ published key research studies and papers on reading (e.g., Allen, Bernhardt, Berry, & Demel, 1988;Lee & Musumeci, 1988;Swaffar, 1988) and reported results of teaching innovation (e.g., Benmaman, Moore, Morgan, & Rowe, 1982;Twarog & Walters, 1981). In 1980, Paul Simon published The Tongue-Tied American, and, in 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education published A Nation at Risk: An Imperative for Educational Reform, which advised the country that its students were not being well prepared in core subjects; ACTFL responded with its Proficiency Guidelines and the MLJ published numerous studies and critiques both to challenge and to defend them (e.g., Bachman & Savignon, 1986;Kramsch, 1986;Lantolf & Frawley, 1985;Lee & Musumeci, 1988;Lowe, 1986;Magnan, 1988;Schulz, 1986). Benseler represented the NFMLTA at meetings of the Joint National Committee for Languages, the profession's lobbying arm in Washington, DC, and published articles on national and state initiatives in FL and International Studies (e.g., Draper, Graham, Johnstone, & Minert, 1986) and a page filler showing congressional voting records (MLJ, 70, 1986, p. 241).…”

Section: David P Benselermentioning

confidence: 98%

MLJ Editorial Policy: Reflections on the Profession, Definition of Its Disciplines

Magnan

2001

The Modern Language Journal

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The MLJ, with its origin in 1916, was the first foreign language (FL) pedagogical journal in the United States to serve a variety of languages and teachers on both the secondary and postsecondary levels. This article traces the development of its editorial policy through examination of each editor’s policy statements and personal reflections and the contents of the Journal including articles, "News & Notes," and other columns, readers’ comments, and announcements used as page filler. The examination reveals the MLJ’s proactive role in helping to shape a unified, national FL teaching profession and in developing FL education and second language acquisiton (SLA) as scholarly disciplines anchored in empirical research, which has, especially in the past 2 decades, filled many MLJ pages. The history of reflections of the profession provided here offers insights into the development of the disciplines we know today and suggests possibilities for future editorial policy of the MLJ.

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“…"Plus" ratings are also assigned when the examinee's speaking proficiency exhibits features of the next higher level. Overall, the examinee's level of speaking proficiency is measured on an 11-point scale (Lowe 1983(Lowe , 1986.…”

Section: Overview Of the Opimentioning

confidence: 99%