Newspeak, the engineered language of George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four," is discussed in the context of Orwell's wider views on language and politics and the need for linguistic intervention as part of the struggle against tyranny, and the related or opposed ideas of some of Orwell's contemporaries and Saussure. Orwell worried that…

This paper reports a second-cycle validation study of the test of English at Matriculation (TEAM) following revisions made to the test in 1993. Candidates' scores from four academic sessions (1993-1997) were used to assess the relationship between the performance at the beginning of their degree course and their eventual academic outcome. Results…

This article investigates how 120 teenage bilingual Chinese/English readers comprehended a verb and a noun in a Chinese text. The data are parallel translations made by examination candidates, all in the British educational system. A brief justification of the use of the data is given. This is followed by an overview of approaches to the theory of…

Examines the way in which many high stakes tests have been introduced for reasons of political expediency rather than educational benefit. Discusses the consequences of using tests in this way and suggests that when tests are used as disciplinary tools, their introduction leads to a narrowing of the curriculum rather than an improvement in…

Examines the major issues relating to the introduction of an assessment of English language proficiency for students prior to graduation from tertiary education. Looks at the ongoing debate relating to the introduction of an exit language test and considers possible alternatives to a formal standardized test for reporting on language proficiency.…

Reports on the development of a learning package for a newly introduced test in Hong Kong, the Graduating Students' Language Proficiency Assessment (GSLPA)-English. Examines reactions of teachers and students to the learning package during piloting of the materials. (Author/VWL)

Explores primary school teachers' perspectives on assessment in English in Singapore and discusses the impact of assessment on the importance of research into teachers' views on curriculum and assessment issues. Participants completed questionnaires and participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate teachers are strongly aware of…

Explores the possibilities for the application of principles that informed the construction of a set of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) standards for schools in Australia to the development of English language standards for an English-as-a-Foreign-Language context in China. (Author/VWL)

Within the context of the overall development of a range of assessment instruments for setting standards (language benchmarks) for primary and secondary teachers in Hong Kong, this article describes the origins of a project that developed the Benchmarks Test. Looks at the process of piloting, moderating, ratifying, and implementing the test of…

Reports on the development of the Matriculation English Test oral subtest (METOS) in China. Having undergone repeated piloting and moderation, the METOS format has attained validity on the strength of its being a message-based test of the interactive and contextualized use of English. (Author/VWL)

Examined the effect of background knowledge and second language proficiency in relation to two sets of specific reading materials. One came from an IELTS reading module related to science and technology; the other was from a highly-specific popular science text. Results showed that both language proficiency and background knowledge predicted…

Reports findings of an investigation of the ways 60 teachers of English in Hong Kong public secondary schools perceive and implement learner training. Results indicate that even though these teachers have generally positive attitudes towards learner training they do not always help their students develop strategies in the classroom. (Author/VWL)

Examined the dynamics of classroom interaction through an analysis of interactive patterns that emerged during an English conversation class. Explored the potentials and constraints of the identified patterns. (Author/VWL)

Argues that students' mother tongue should be allowed in the second language classroom sometimes and for certain purposes. Conducted an empirical study within the context of tertiary level English reading classes in China to see whether students' mother tongue is used, the purposes for using it, and the attitudes of teachers and students toward…

Reports data from the initial stage of a large-scale, multi-method survey of the current use of Chinese and English in the professional workplace in Hong Kong. Results indicate that reading and writing in English are demanded frequently in the professional Hong Kong workplace, but that English appears to play a less important role in workplace…