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Proficiency Requirement‐Based and Nonproficiency Requirement‐Based Second Language Programs: How Do Students Rate?
Author(s) -
Villar Susan McMillen,
MeuserBlincow Frances
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1993.tb01150.x
Subject(s) - graduation (instrument) , active listening , test (biology) , reading (process) , modalities , psychology , sample (material) , population , mathematics education , language proficiency , language assessment , medical education , linguistics , demography , medicine , sociology , engineering , mechanical engineering , paleontology , social science , philosophy , chemistry , communication , chromatography , biology
This status study endeavors to answer the research questions: (1a) Are there differences between the performance of CLA students at the University of Minnesota and students of nonproficiency requirement‐based programs at other institutions on the CLA Spanish Graduation Examination of all four modalities? Further, (1b) Are there differences between the performance of students from private institutions and those from public institutions? Because a random sample was not feasible at the time the tests were given it seemed necessary to ask (1c) Are there differences between the performance of volunteer groups and entire population groups? This article also deals with a reasonable extension to the original question, which is: (2) What might account for differentialevels of performance that the test scorn show? Although this study only includes Spanish students, the results should be applicable to other language programs. The testing instrument, the CLA Spanish Graduation Examination, which consists of four separate tests, one for each of the four modalities, was administered during Spring 1990. The results from these tests provide data which compare quantitative results on reading, listening, writing, and speaking proficiency of students from the proficiency requirement program at the University of Minnesota with those from six nonproficiency requirement programs at six other randomly selected postsecondary institutions within the state of Minnesota.