Automatic Speech Scoring (ASS) has increasingly become a useful tool in oral proficiency testing for Second Language (L2) learners. However, limited studies investigate the alignment of ASS indices with the Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF)--the three dimensions in evaluating L2 speakers' oral proficiency, and the subsequent impact indices…

The assessment of English speaking in EFL environments can be inherently subjective and influenced by various factors beyond linguistic ability, including choice of assessment criteria, and even the rubric type. In classroom assessment, the type of rubric recommended for English speaking tasks is the analytical rubric. Driven by three aims, this…

Given that interaction patterns are one of the most critical components of the collaborative writing (CW) strategy, especially regarding text quality, the present study investigates the interaction patterns of argumentative text quality in CW at advanced-level undergraduate L2 writing. Ninety-five undergraduate learners participated in the…

Studies on automatic scoring systems in writing assessments have also evaluated the relationship between human and machine scores for the reliability of automated essay scoring systems. This study investigated the magnitudes of indices for inter-rater agreement and discrepancy, especially regarding human and machine scoring, in writing assessment.…

This paper describes an investigation of the relationship between students' writing knowledge and second language writing performance. Metacognitive and metalinguistic knowledge contribute significantly to writing performance. As a foreign language, 78 undergraduate students took a writing knowledge class and a writing proficiency test. The…

This paper reports an approximate replication of Matsuda and Gobel (2004) for the psychometric validation of the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS). Their study examined the structural aspects of the FLRAS developed by Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999). The results showed that the FLRAS measured three different subcomponents of foreign…

As a reflection of the value attached to interaction in L2 learning, pair and small-group activities have been integrated into different phases in the writing process. Focusing specifically on peer interaction during the planning and revision phases, this "In the Classroom" study explores the relationship between peer interaction and…

This study compared holistic and analytic marking methods for their effects on parameter estimation (of examinees, raters, and items) and rater cognition in assessing speech act production in L2 Chinese. Seventy American learners of Chinese completed an oral Discourse Completion Test assessing requests and refusals. Four first-language (L1)…

The factors that influence rater scoring have been a subject of great interest to researchers in second language assessment. However, the research on the impact of test-takers' speech profiles (e.g., a jagged or a flat profile reflecting analytic subscores) on raters' scoring behaviors remains to be seen. To investigate the role of speech profiles…

The use of translation and interpreting (T&I) in the language learning classroom is commonplace, serving various pedagogical and assessment purposes. Previous utilization of T&I exercises is driven largely by their potential to enhance language learning, whereas the latest trend has begun to underscore T&I as a crucial skill to be…

This study searched for open-source semantic similarity tools and evaluated their effectiveness in automated content scoring of fact-based essays written by English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners. Fifty writing samples under a fact-based writing task from an academic English course in a Japanese university were collected and a gold standard…

Background: A strong interest in researching World Englishes (WE) in relation to language assessment has become an emerging theme in language assessment studies over the past two decades. While research on WE has highlighted the status, function, and legitimacy of varieties of English language, it remains unclear how raters respond to the results…

Assessing writing is a demanding task. If a lecturer of writing is not prepared with a reliable scoring rubric, the students' real performance might not be known. One of the well-known English as a second language (ESL) writing rubric is the Jacobs ESL Composition Profile which was developed by Jacobs, Zingraf, Wormuth, Hartfiel, & Hughey in…

Assessing language skills in an integrative form has drawn the attention of assessment experts in recent years. While some research data exists on integrative listening/reading-to-write assessment, there is comparatively little research literature on listening-to-speak integrated assessment. Also, little attention has been devoted to the role of…

The elicited imitation task (EIT), in which language learners listen to a series of spoken sentences and repeat each one verbatim, is a commonly used measure of language proficiency in second language acquisition research. The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test includes an EIT as a holistic measure of speaking proficiency, referred to as the…