The present investigation explores Cognitive Test Anxiety (CTA) in a high-stake oral examination, taking into consideration how face-to-face and computer-based examination formats affect test-takers' anxiety and consequently language performance. Two speaking tests -- face-to-face and computer-based -- were developed for a Spanish university's…

The growing number of internationally mobile students who present Italian L2 language certificates on entry has led the University of Padua Language Centre (CLA) to reflect on whether it should maintain an online placement testing as a means of placing students in the relevant classes (Fratter, Ivana & Altinier. Micol 2015. Gli apprendenti di…

The Association of Language Centres in Higher Education in Spain (ACLES) and the Association of Academic Foreign Language Centres in Poland (SERMO) established the mutual recognition of their English language competence certificates (CertAcles and ACERT examinations) in 2017, on the basis of previously performed analyses of routine pre-exam and…

This article reports on the academic performance and experiences of non-native university students, specifically German students in a Dutch academic environment. These students have a substantial dropout rate. In an earlier study, we found correlations between results on language tests and study results. In this study, we used semi-structured…

Most language proficiency exams in Europe are presently developed so that reported scores can be related to the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR; (Council of Europe. 2001. "Common European framework of reference for languages: learning, teaching, assessment." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.).…

This paper explores, through the use of the observation checklist and Conversation Analysis (CA), the discourse functions elicited by the dialogic task of the Free University of Bolzano (IT) speaking test. It aims to contribute to content validation, which has been claimed to be especially relevant in paired speaking tests, where interaction is…

Oral language exams at university often consist of an individual or group conversation with the examiner about topics dealt with during the semester. A question-and-answer format is applied and vocabulary and structures tested. As a consequence, the oral exam does not reflect action-oriented approaches that often form part of classroom activities…

This article attempts to shed some light on the possible learning benefits for language acquisition and intercultural development of authentic social interaction with expert peers through computer mediated communication (CMC) tools. The environments used in this study are video communication and the 3D virtual world "Second Life." For…

Multiple-choice (MC) tests are frequently used to measure language competence because they are quick, economical and straightforward to score. While degrees of correctness have been investigated for partially correct responses in combined-response MC tests, degrees of incorrectness in distractors and the role they play in determining the…

Language testing means taking decisions: about the test taker's results, but also about the test construct and the measures taken in order to ensure quality. This article takes the German test "telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule" as an example to illustrate this decision-making process in an academic context. The test is used for university…

Modern socio-cognitive and meaning-oriented approaches to foreign language teaching emphasize the role of learner autonomy, which involves being aware of and responsible for one's own ways of learning as well as the utilization of one's own strengths and work on weaknesses (van Lier 1996). Allowing learners to perform self-assessment can provide a…

The Applied Language Centre at University College Dublin offers foreign language modules to students in ten languages at CEFR [Common European Framework of Reference for Languages] levels ranging from A1 to B2. Efforts have been underway in the Centre to standardise the assessment components across languages to ensure parity between module credits…

The Language Centre of the University of Parma is responsible for the organization and administration of foreign language tests to a large number of university students. In order to reduce the high rate of test failures, the Language Centre has recently devised a pilot programme as an alternative to more established modes of language learning,…

Interest in learning styles has produced innumerable studies over the last three decades. However, the application of knowledge of learning styles in education is a controversial matter, particularly in instruction, where there is less evidence of the usefulness of learning styles tests. This article is concerned with the role of reflection in…