This article presents a theoretical review of and methodological guidelines for the study of two key notions in second language acquisition research, complexity and difficulty. The term "complexity" has gained considerable currency over the past decades and has taken on a wide range of meanings. We argue for a more restricted…

This study evaluated the efficacy of two proposed methods in an operational standard-setting study conducted for a high-stakes language proficiency test of the U.S. government. The goal was to seek low-cost modifications to the existing Yes/No Angoff method to increase the validity and reliability of the recommended cut scores using a convergent…

The "ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines" serve as a roadmap for foreign/second language (L2) instruction, assessment, curriculum development, and textbook writing. However, very little research has investigated the validity claims of the "ACTFL Guidelines." This study empirically verifies the difficulty hierarchy suggested by…

This study presents a comparative analysis of classical reliability measures, including Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, and parallel forms reliability, alongside modern psychometric methods such as the Rasch model and Mokken scaling, to evaluate the reliability of C-tests in language proficiency assessment. Utilizing data from 150 participants…

This study presents a modified version of the Korean Elicited Imitation (EI) test, designed to resemble natural spoken language, and validates its reliability as a measure of proficiency. The study assesses the correlation between average test scores and Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) levels, examining score distributions among beginner,…

The linguistic characteristics of text productions depend on various factors, including individual language proficiency as well as the tasks used to elicit the production. To date, little attention has been paid to whether some writing tasks are more suitable than others to represent and differentiate students' proficiency levels. This issue is…

This study provides an overview of the level of students' cognitive load in learning English in vocational schools. A quantitative descriptive study uses a cross-sectional survey conducted to measure the level of cognitive load of students in learning English in vocational schools. The subjects are 69 respondents who are students from one of the…

To investigate how task complexity cognitive factors influence the lexical complexity in essay writing, this study was guided by Robinson's Cognition Hypothesis (CH) and Skehan's Limited Attentional Capacity Model (LACM), and examined the effects of task complexity on lexical complexity in undergraduates' essay writing. Using Lu's Lexical…

Language complexity reveals the ability to use a wide and varied range of sophisticated structures and vocabulary. Although different languages compose complexity differently, complexity measures such as the T-unit have typically been based on clause subordination, which may underrepresent complexity and threaten the validity of studies. This…

This literature review explores the impact of music on tonal language learning, with a focus on Mandarin Chinese. Utilising searches across major databases such as ERIC (EBSCO), ProQuest Central, Google Scholar, and Web of Science from 2005 to 2024, we selected relevant peer-reviewed English-language articles examining music's role in aiding tone…

Background: Previous studies on language production in normal ageing have primarily focused on distinct dimensions of older adults' spoken language performance, such as fluency and complexity. However, little attention has been paid to the complex, interconnected relations between these dimensions. Additionally, older adults have been treated as a…

This study aims to investigate ChatGPT's ability to comprehend input from nonnative speakers, specifically those learning English as a second language, with Japanese speakers serving as the model population. The experiment examines how ChatGPT evaluates the difficulty levels of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), which is…

This study examined the independent effects of working memory (WM) and the interactive effects of WM/L2 proficiency and WM/task complexity on L2 written performance. The study followed a within--between-participant factorial design, with two levels of task complexity as the within-participant variable and L2 proficiency and WM as…

The United States government is perennially in need of employees with proficiency in critical foreign languages to communicate with foreign counterparts and maintain relationships worldwide. In order to fulfill this need, the government devotes significant resources training federal employees to advanced levels of language proficiency through…

Spoken English Competency (SEC) remains a critical weakness in English Proficiency (EP) of Chinese college students, particularly when compared with their English competency in writing and reading. Despite years of English learning since elementary school, Chinese college students often struggle to master SEC. Although previous studies have…