This study introduces the first Arabic Vocabulary Levels Test (Arabic-VLT), created for foreign learners of Arabic. We present compelling evidence to substantiate its validity and reliability. The Arabic-VLT was developed according to five levels, beginning with the most frequently used words (Level 1) to the least frequently used ones (Level 5),…

This book addresses the validity of think-aloud protocols (TAPs) in L2 writing research through a mixed methods study and proposes effective approaches for their valid implementation. The book uncovers the reactive effects that TAPs have on L2 writing performance and processes, and examines how individual factors moderate this reactivity. It…

The primary purpose of this study was to provide preliminary validity evidence for a 140-item form of the Vocabulary Size Test, which is designed to measure written receptive knowledge of the first 14,000 words of English. Nineteen native speakers of English and 178 native speakers of Japanese participated in the study. Analyses based on the Rasch…

This article outlines a researcher's struggles with conducting "ethical" research when her case study reveals racializations faced by a minority teacher in a Canadian ESL program. How might becoming privy to research participants' experiences of inequity in ESL education complicate the notion of research ethics when "doing the right…

In second language acquisition (SLA) research, two types of second language (L2) knowledge, explicit and implicit, have been discussed for almost three decades. Although many SLA researchers agree that L2 instruction should give priority to implicit knowledge, researchers have not agreed on what type of test (e.g., oral narrative test and timed…

A study was undertaken to develop a partial credit scheme for scoring cloze-type questions on an English collocation test, obtain construct validity evidence for the test and the scoring scheme using the Rasch Partial Credit Model, and compare partial credit scoring with the more commonly used dichotomous scoring with the same test instrument.…