RELC Journal

Comparing literacy statistics in the 1970 and 1980 censuses, the paper analyses the literacy trend in Singapore with the following major findings: (1) There has been a substantial growth in general literacy in the Republic from 1970 to 1980. Concurrently and more significantly, there has also been a distinct trend toward equality in literacy among various ethnic groups and between males and females. (2) The percentage of population with bi-literate or multi-literate ability increased tremendously, testifying to the success of the bilingual educational programme in Singapore. (3) English and Chinese both made parallel growth in literacy during the intercensal years. Literacy in Chinese remained in 1980 the language with the largest number of literates in population. But English is known by large numbers of persons from all ethnic communities. (4) While Malay and Tamil did not make much gain in literacy population-wise, both have made some progress within the Malay and the Indian communities respec tively.

To arrive at an answer to the question of which kinds of train ing to offer in its ESOL teacher preparation program, the Communi cations and Language Arts Division of Brigham Young University — Hawaii Campus conducted an international needs assessment survey of TESOL educators and employers dealing with the areas they felt prospective ESOL teachers should be prepared in. This report' discusses previous related research, explains the specific purposes and methods of the BYU-HC survey, analyzes the responses to ques tionnaire items in four general and sixty specific areas of TESOL training, and arrives at conclusions based on this analysis. In the analysis, responses of the overall group surveyed and those of a number of geographical and institutional-status subgroups are com pared and significant intergroup differences are noted. Generally, questionnaire respondents expressed a need for more extensive train ing in TESOL methods and materials and in specific techniques for teaching language skills - especially listening comprehension.

An analysis of the idea units of a passage in prose can be used to examine the effects of a text on its readers and the extent of their comprehension. How to analyze the idea units in a specific text and arrange the lexical items and grammatical relations between these items in a coherent order in a text base is first demonstrated. This model text base indicates the relative structural importance of each explicit lexical item in the text. The text base is then used to verify the number and types of items and relationships between these items in readers' written recalls of the text. Ten sample recall protocols of the text are analyzed and discussed in an attempt to illustrate how a pro positional text base can be used to understand the process of reading comprehension of ESL students.

The author takes up the suggestion made by Johnson (1981) that some of the assumptions made about cloze tests may be mis leading. Research which has now been going for thirty years indicates that cloze procedure is a criterion-referenced test which will identify whether an individual or a group possesses the basic skills in the target language. Cloze is a very blunt instrument for testing but within its limits it is valid and reliable. However, changing the variables such as deletion rate, scoring procedure or using a different text may well result in a radically different test each time. The raw data obtained from a cloze test cannot be used as continuous data, such as would be derived from most psychometric-type tests, but as an indicator of one of three levels: frustrational, instructional and independent. Finally, guidelines are given for the preparation of a cloze test.

There is growing recognition that perceptions and interpreta tions of stylistic choices made by native and non-native users of a language can differ greatly, often giving rise to serious failures of communication and to feelings of uncertainty and insecurity on the part of non-native users particularly. Brief examples are given, firstly of Indian scholars' reactions to prose written in English by Indians, and secondly of misunderstandings in spoken communication between native and non-native users of English. The bulk of the paper how ever draws attention to some of the differing modes of stylistic varia tion which may be observed from one speech community to another, and which form part of the linguistic repertoires of language users. These, it is suggested, constitute a major part of the linguistic and sociolinguistic contexts within which stylistic choices and stylistic judgments are made. Eight such modes of variation are reviewed, as follows: bilingual or multilingual code-switching; code-switching styles; code-mixing styles; monostylistic usage; haphazard variation; vertical shifting; horizontal shifting; and vertical with horizontal shifting. Language users operate within one, or more than one, sty listic mode at any one time, and may additionally alternate between two or more. Correspondingly, they make assessments of modes of stylistic variation, in their own and others' language, the accuracy of which may contribute much to the nature and far-reaching effects of stylistic judgments generally.