Drawing on current theories in personality, second-language (L2) oral ability, and psychometrics, this study investigates the extent to which self-consciousness and assertiveness are explanatory variables of L2 oral ability. Three hundred sixty first-year Japanese university students who were studying English as a foreign language participated in…

The second language group oral is a test of second language speaking proficiency, in which a group of three or more English language learners discuss an assigned topic without interaction with interlocutors. Concerns expressed about the extent to which test takers' personal characteristics affect the scores of others in the group have limited its…

Traditionally, Japanese learners of English (JLEs) were regarded as poor language learners who underachieved in international comparisons, and cultural factors were often blamed for their underperformance. A university group of JLEs (N = 259) was investigated to discover whether their attitudes toward language learning are becoming more flexible…