Heidi Dulay

Some Guidelines for the Assessment of Oral Language Proficiency and Dominance

According to the Survey of Languages Supplement to the July 1975 Current Population Survey, more than 7.6 million school age students in the United States live in households where languages other than English are spoken. Given these language environments, ones degree of bilingualism may theoretically range from a point approximating monolingualism to a state of balanced bilingualism. With such a range of possible degrees of bilingualism, there is a pressing need for some general guidelines on its measurement, especially in light of recent federal and state legislation requiring school districts to assess the language dominance and proficiency of their bilingual children in each of the languages. We therefore begin by defining four dimensions of bilingual measurement in a manner that is both theoretically sound and educationally useful. Next, we address three major topics in the assessment of language proficiency and language dominance: (1) selection of the language components to be assessed; (2) appropriateness of certain elicitation tasks used; and (3) general checkpoints that can be used to evaluate language proficiency dominance instruments. We hope this survey will bring into focus some of the important issues and questions facing those attempting to assess the linguistic proficiency and dominance of linguistic minority students enrolled in the United States public schools.

The Relative Proficiency of Limited English Proficient Students

This paper focuses on previously overlooked subpopulations of limited English proficient (LEP) students – “English-superior” and “equally-limited” LEP students. These students are defined in terms of their relative proficiency in English and the home language, a procedure that also yields the “non-English-superior” student group, whose needs most current bilingual programs address. Available data pertaining to the size and home language characteristics of these three student groups are presented, together with a clarification of terms, criteria, and procedures used in relative proficiency assessment. Recommendations pertaining to the instruction of the three LEP groups are offered.

Language Dominance and Proficiency Testing: Some General Considerations

Language dominance is, on its face, a relatively simple concept. It refers to the degree of bilingualism manifested by individuals who know two languages, that is, the relative level of proficiency in each of the languages. A person may know both equally well, in which case we speak of balanced bilingualism. Or, the speaker may exhibit greater control of one over the other, in which case we consider the first language to be dominant over the second. These definitions of relative proficiency are certainly correct. They are by no means simple, however, inasmuch as the level of proficiency, which in order to determine dominance must be measured in each language, involves multiple factors along several distinct parameters. In this paper, we will discuss briefly various of the dimensions which are relevant to language proficiency testing and some of the special problems involved in the testing of equivalent proficiencies. We will then critically review some of the major approaches that have been followed in th...