Automated corrective feedback (ACF), in which a computer system helps language learners identify and correct errors in their writing or speech, is considered an important tool for language instruction by many researchers. Such systems allow learners to correct their own mistakes, thereby reducing teacher workload and potentially preventing issues…

COVID-19 has disrupted higher education globally, and there is scarce information about the "learning loss" in university students throughout this crisis. The goal of the study was to compare scores in a large-scale knowledge diagnostic exam applied to students admitted to the university, before and during the pandemic. Research design…

The research on language acquisition and retention has primarily focused on monolinguals and bilinguals, with comparatively few studies including trilinguals. To address this gap, the current study compares the acquisition and retention of a novel morphosyntactic rule in Spanish in twelve monolinguals, twelve bilinguals, and twelve trilinguals.…

Language tests are useful for many purposes, including monitoring language learning progress and evaluating language programs. This study investigated the interpretations and usefulness of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview -- Computer (OPIc) scores across four languages at a large US…

The global quarantine measures and restrictions have posed a challenge to the structure and procedure of university summative assessment process. Foreign Languages Acquisition and Linguistic Education assessment are interdisciplinary processes, informed by the nature of linguistic content and types of communicative and professional activities…

Against the background of concerns for how paper-and-pencil testing fits into contemporary language teaching, this brief research report presents the findings of a first study on the difference in scores between in-class testing and online testing in a communicative and proficiency-oriented program. A total of 244 students of third-semester…

Since 2012 an interdisciplinary and culturally heterogeneous team composed of more than 30 people has been engaged in the complex process of conceiving, designing and validating an online placement test with formative orientation called SELF (Système d'Evaluation en Langues à visée Formative), developed and already deployed in six different…

The global pandemic and subsequent quarantine measures and restrictions have posed a challenge to the structure and procedure of university summative assessment process. Qualification assessment for Foreign Languages major programs in particular is a strict regimen process that involves different stages (oral and written exams, final project viva,…

Coventry University Institution Wide Language Programme (IWLP) offers beginners language learning modules to approximately 3,000 students. Each module is taught over 11 weeks for a total of one hour and 40 minutes and two of the weeks are used for in class tests, so tutors generally agree that students need to practise their skills outside the…

Research on linguistic variation suggests that usage patterns are deeply embedded in native and non-native speakers' knowledge of grammar. This study explores the transfer of these variable sociolinguistic patterns at the initial stages of third language acquisition. We elicited narratives in Portuguese from two mirror-image groups of sequential…

This study represents program-level action research. A U.S. university Spanish language program had a goal for students to reach the ACTFL (2012) Intermediate Mid level after 2 years. An empirical question that resulted after regular end-of-year testing was whether the students were doing their best on assessments. To investigate this, 253…

This study attempts to ascertain if the WebCAPE placement exam can be used to measure improvement in an upper division grammar course. The WebCAPE online placement exam is a widely used instrument designed to help university language programs place students into the basic language course best corresponding to their proficiency level. This is done…

This edited volume brings together large-scale research as well as case studies from a range of geographical contexts and represents a variety of educational settings involving second language learners and users. Its aim is to explore the interrelated issues of psychology and technology use in second language learning settings as well as in more…

In 2008 the Spanish Government announced the inclusion of an oral section in the foreign language exam of the National University Entrance Examination during the year 2012 (Royal Decree 1892/2008, of 14 November 2008, Ministerio de Educación, Gobierno de España, 2008). Still awaiting the implementation of these changes, and in an attempt to offer…

Communicative approaches to language teaching that emphasize the importance of speaking (e.g., task-based language teaching) require innovative and evidence-based means of assessing oral language. Nonetheless, research has yet to produce an adequate assessment model for oral language (Chun 2006; Downey et al. 2008). Limited by automatic speech…