123
Measures of listening
Table 4-3 shows correlations of listening scores with total scores
in both languages using the LAB and the LAS measures. The sentence
comprehension subsection of the LAS was judged to be a similar measure
of listening when compared with the listening subsection of the LAB.
Listening skill appears to be correlated with language achievement
across languages. The fall LAB listening score in Spanish is signifi
cantly correlated with total English score although the fall listening
score in English shows only a tendency toward significance. Both the
spring LAB listening scores in English and Spanish are highly correlated
with English total score. The English score shows a remarkable change.
Both the English and Spanish scores are significantly correlated with
total Spanish score.
Discussion of listening scores
The students' knowledge of English and their skill in listening
may have increased over the time period between the administration of
the LAS in February and LAB in April. It may also possibly be that
since there are not parallel forms of the LAB and the same form was
administered in the fall and spring, the students' October LAB experi
ence provided them with sufficient prior knowledge to improve the
spring test scores. The LAB listening scores are significantly cor
related consistently in both the fall and spring with rank on total
Spanish scores. An alternative and more probable explanation is that
as students' English skills increase, as measured by their increased
skill in listening comprehension, the relationship between listening