The writing module of the IELTS has proven to be a challenging section for test takers. Part of this difficulty may stem from the divergence between what test takers expect to learn in such courses and what is delivered by instructors. To address this issue, a 24-item questionnaire (Student Questionnaire A) relating to IELTS writing preparation…

Recent technology advancements have increased the prospects for automated spoken language technology to provide feedback on speaking performance. In this study we examined user perceptions of using an automated feedback system for preparing for the TOEFL iBT® test. Test takers and language teachers evaluated three types of machine-generated…

Literature has long been used as a tool for language teaching and learning. In the New Academic Structure in Hong Kong, it has become an important element in the senior secondary English language curriculum to promote communicative language teaching (CLT) with a process-oriented approach. However, as in many other English as a second or foreign…

This study was carried out to explore the assessment practice in Saudi universities with the major focus on Continuous Assessment Strategies. The study specifically aimed to find out the different assessment strategies and their contribution to students' learning and performance. It was conducted in Jubail University College and Al Mustaqbal…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore Iranian IELTS candidates' strengths and weaknesses in IELTS Speaking Test in terms of IELTS's four speaking assessment criteria, namely Fluency and Coherence (FlC), Lexical Resource (LR), Grammar Range and Accuracy (GRA), and Pronunciation (Pro). It also aimed to examine the discourse features…

What approaches are used in the multi-level language class and what influences a teacher's choice of approach? Multi-level language classes, the combining of two or more senior year levels into a single class, is a relatively recent phenomenon and one that is becoming increasingly common in New Zealand secondary schools as a consequence of a…

Teacher corrective feedback is widely recognised as integral in supporting developing L2 writers. The potentially high pressure IELTS test preparation classroom presents a context where feedback has not yet been extensively studied. Consequently, teachers' approaches to corrective feedback on Writing Task 2, the essay component of IELTS Writing,…

Test preparation for high-stakes English language tests has received increasing research attention in the language assessment field; however, little is known about what aspects of test preparation students attend to and value. In this study, we considered the perspectives of 12 Chinese students who were enrolled in various academic programs in a…

In a developing nation like Turkey, the English language plays a significant role in educational and socioeconomic mobility. English is acquired and taught as a foreign language (EFL) primarily in the classrooms. However, the ways in which English language is represented in classroom instruction have been hardly examined and understood. With that,…

The aim of this report is to present the findings of the 3rd and 4th phases of a longitudinal study into the impact of changes in the TOEFL® exam on teaching in test preparation classrooms. Phase 1 (2003-2004) described the type of teaching taking place in 12 TOEFL preparation classrooms before the introduction of the new TOEFL. Phase 2…