Following the burgeoning growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications in language assessment in recent years, the meteoric rise of ChatGPT and its sweeping applications in almost every sector have left us in awe, scrambling to catch up by developing theories and best practices. This special issue features studies…

University classrooms are increasingly populated by students with diverse nationalities and native languages (L1). The growing number of students in English-led classrooms who speak English as a second or lower language (L2) may face added difficulties in understanding the specific task objectives or directions, as explained by native-…

The use of new digital formats in language learning and testing improves both the learning and acquisition skills development process of language tests. The process of listening comprehension is considered one of the most complex in the field of Computer Aided Learning Language (CALL) because it relates to multimodal learning channels and brain…

In this paper, we review how eye tracking, which offers millisecond-precise information about how language learners orient their visual attention, can be used to investigate a variety of processes involved in the multifaceted endeavor of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, we review the last 15 years of research in SLA, in which…

A fundamental skill required for vocabulary development is word recognition ability. According to Perfetti (1985), word recognition ability relies on low-level cognitive processing skill to be automatic and efficient in order for cognitive resources to be allocated to high-level processes such as inferencing and schemata activation needed for…

We present a tool for the creation and curation of C-tests. C-tests are an established tool in language proficiency testing and language learning. They require examinees to complete a text in which the second half of every second word is replaced by a gap. We support teachers and test designers in creating such tests through a web-based system…

In vocabulary research there has been a shift from focusing on single words to considering multiword sequences, such as collocations. Despite the general consensus among language researchers that collocation is essential to effective language use in real-world communication, particularly oral communication, language-testing researchers have made…

E-rater[R] is an automated essay scoring system that uses natural language processing techniques to extract features from essays and to model statistically human holistic ratings. Educational Testing Service has investigated the use of e-rater, in conjunction with human ratings, to score one of the two writing tasks on the TOEFL-iBT[R] writing…

Advances in natural language processing (NLP) and automatic speech recognition and processing technologies offer new opportunities for language testing. Despite their potential uses on a range of language test item types, relatively little work has been done in this area, and it is therefore not well understood by test developers, researchers or…

Individuals' use of language in contexts emerges from second-to-second processes of activating and integrating traces of past experiences--an interactionist view compatible with the study of language as a complex adaptive system but quite different from the trait-based framework through which measurement specialists investigate validity, establish…

The paper examines factors in the differential diagnosis of language-based learning disabilities, reviews models of language processing, and lists frequently used measures of language form (syntax and morphology), content (semantics), usage (pragmatics), and processing. Case studies of three children with various degrees and types of language…

The aim of this study was to find ways to improve online reading and vocabulary learning. Various new types of online reading comprehension and vocabulary development programs and tests were compared in this study to consider how useful they may be for guiding individual or classroom L2 vocabulary instruction. It explored how these programs seek…

The current position on speech and language intervention for children who have pragmatic language impairment (PLI) is limited by a lack of evidence to support practice. Two intervention outcome case studies of children with PLI, aimed at establishing efficacy, are presented in this paper. Standardized language tests and conversational sampling…

Presents the rationale behind a model for the use of the computer in the development of reading comprehension. Basic assumptions concerning reading are delineated. The model has three basic components: intake (text processing and text comprehension), personalization, and extension. (Author/SED)