In this digital age, digital multimodal composing (DMC) has permeated the L2 classroom as a technology-enhanced L2 writing task. Despite the learning potential of DMC for L2 students, instruments that measure L2 students' DMC competence are rare. As such, the present study sought to develop and validate an L2 student DMC competence scale in the…

This article offers a critical review of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology English Proficiency Test (MSRT), a high-stakes exam required for postgraduate graduation, scholarships, and certain employment positions in Iran. Despite its widespread use, the design and implementation of the MSRT raise concerns about its validity and…

Studies have shown that raising L2 learners' metaphor awareness contributes to the acquisition of figurative language, which fosters students' development of language skills. However, the instruments measuring metaphor awareness, in the majority of relevant research, did not seem to have undergone proper methodological procedures for checking…

The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE-A), a widely used high-stakes language proficiency test for university admissions and migration purposes, underwent a notable change from a three-hour to a two-hour version in November 2021. The implementation of the new version has prompted inquiries into the washback effects on various stakeholders.…

With recent technological advances, researchers have begun to explore the potential use of spoken dialog systems (SDSs) for L2 oral communication assessment. While several studies support the feasibility of building these systems for various types of oral tasks, research on the construct validity of SDS-delivered tasks is still limited. Thus, this…

With the increasing interest in Positive Psychology within the realm of L2 learning, the role of positive emotions, particularly Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) has garnered attention in Second Language Acquisition research (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014). Despite the growing interest in FLE in Turkey, the widely used Foreign Language Enjoyment…

This study examined whether the five scales of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory produced valid scores when used in university English language courses across four different countries. We surveyed 1,147 students in English language courses in Iran, Mexico, China, and Egypt and analyzed their responses by performing measurement…

Recent literature in the field of L2 vocabulary assessment has advocated for the development of written receptive vocabulary tests such as Vocabulary Levels Tests (VLTs) that use: (a) meaning-recall item formats, (b) a minimum of 40 item counts per 1,000-frequency band to improve level estimates, and (c) lemmas (not word-families) as the lexical…

Several high-stakes English proficiency tests including but not limited to IELTS, PTE Academic, and TOEFL iBT recommend a 2-year time limit on validity for score usage. Although this timeframe provides a useful rule-of-thumb for the recency of testing, it can have far-reaching consequences. In response to stakeholder queries around IELTS validity…

This paper presents the findings of a study that intended to seek the content validity (CV) evidence of an instrument to measure the reading ability of university students in Sri Lanka. The reading passages and items were adapted from CEFR aligned Learning Resource Network (LRN) materials. The items were designed based on the cognitive processing…

Language students apply different strategies to learn a second language (L2), especially when they want to attain proficiency in reading. The aim of the present study was to revisit the validity of the "Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory" (MARSI-R) among Saudi students using a new statistical method of confirmatory…

This study investigates the validity of syntactic priming as a measure of implicit language aptitude. Syntactic priming refers to the tendency to reproduce a linguistic structure due to a previous exposure to the structure. The validity of the construct was verified by collating evidence for divergent validity--whether it is dissociable from…

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores have been widely used as the language entry requirements for international students in many English-medium universities. However, research on the predictive validity of IELTS on subsequent academic performance has been inconclusive. Additionally, despite the proliferation of IELTS…

The study aims to develop and validate an affordable and generalizable survey design tool to measure pre-service EFL teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about cultural and linguistic diversity. It is significant as there are relatively low number of studies aiming to measure such beliefs in today's changing demographic conditions which are beyond its…

Reading self-efficacy performs a fundamental role in gaining academic achievement in college education. Review of the related literature unveils that it needs to be enriched by conducting further research on college students' reading self-efficacy. The paucity of investigations into college students' reading self-efficacy could have a connection…