12.453, Qs: French Assessment Test, Aids/American Eng

[The LINGUIST Network]

LINGUIST List:  Vol-12-453. Mon Feb 19 2001. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 12.453, Qs: French Assessment Test, Aids/American Eng

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Wayne State U.<aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Dry, Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at linguistlist.org>
            Andrew Carnie, U. of Arizona <carnie at linguistlist.org>

Reviews (reviews at linguistlist.org):
	Simin Karimi, U. of Arizona
	Terence Langendoen, U. of Arizona

Editors (linguist at linguistlist.org):
	Karen Milligan, WSU 		Naomi Ogasawara, EMU
	Lydia Grebenyova, EMU		Jody Huellmantel, WSU
	James Yuells, WSU		Michael Appleby, EMU
	Marie Klopfenstein, WSU		Ljuba Veselinova, Stockholm U.

Software: John Remmers, E. Michigan U. <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>
          Gayathri Sriram, E. Michigan U. <gayatri at linguistlist.org>

Home Page:  http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, Wayne
State University, and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karen at linguistlist.org>
 ==========================================================================

We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then  strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list.   This policy was
instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we
would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate.

=================================Directory=================================

1)
Date:  Sun, 18 Feb 2001 17:15:39 -0800
From:  "Sharon L. Shelly" <sshelly at acs.wooster.edu>
Subject:  language placement tests

2)
Date:  Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:42:12 +0100
From:  "Ulrike Kaunzner" <kaunzner at lingue.unibo.it>
Subject:  pronunciation exercises US

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Sun, 18 Feb 2001 17:15:39 -0800
From:  "Sharon L. Shelly" <sshelly at acs.wooster.edu>
Subject:  language placement tests

A former graduate student of mine, who is now a missionary and
high-school teacher in Haiti, has sent me the following query.  I'm
at a loss for a good answer.  I figure that the kinds of standardized
placement exams that I'm familiar with will not be of much use to
her, for a couple of reasons:  (a) they usually assume higher-level
literacy skills; and (b) they generally require quite a bit of
technical support (AV and/or digital) that will probably be hard to
come by in this setting.

If anyone has any good advice or recommendations, I'd be happy to
forward them to her.  Many thanks!

SLS

>
>The school here is attempting to revamp its French program.  We have
>a pretty unusual situation.  A high percentage of our students speak
>French at home, but don't read and write it because they have been
>in an English school.  They also speak Creole, which confuses things
>further.  Another group of students has had virtually no exposure to
>French - they speak English at home and are not around French and
>Creole much because of living on an American compound or some
>similar arrangement.  Then we have a lot of kids who fall somewhere
>in the middle - maybe they understand some Creole, but haven't had
>exposure to French, or they speak Arabic at home but have a little
>French knowledge from elsewhere.  Right now, kids from all these
>categories get put in the same class in high school French.  You can
>imagine that it is quite a challenge to teach such a group!
>
>The school is looking for some kind of placement test to help sort
>the students into the proper classes.  Does such a thing exist for
>high school French?  Or is there a college one the school could
>purchase and modify for their purposes?
>
>Thanks!
>

-
Sharon L. Shelly
Associate Professor of French
College of Wooster
Wooster, OH 44691
Telephone:  (330) 263-2562
Fax:  (330) 263-2693
E-mail:  sshelly at acs.wooster.edu


-------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:42:12 +0100
From:  "Ulrike Kaunzner" <kaunzner at lingue.unibo.it>
Subject:  pronunciation exercises US



Most of the English pronunciation exercises (manual with CD or tapes)
which I can find in our European bookstores are for British English. I
desperately need material for groups who have to be sensitized for
American Business English; listening comprehension and pronunciation
plays a major role in our training. Can you give me indications about:
1. pronunciation exercises on CD and/or tape (I mainly need repetition
exercises because of a certain methodological approach)
2. texts, speeches, dialogues, business talk, etc. on CD/tape
Thank you very much!

U. Kaunzner, University of Bologna

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-12-453