The present study investigates the efficacy of preparation time in four speaking tasks of TOEFL iBT. As the current pre-task planning time offered by ETS is very short, 15 to 30 seconds, we intended to explore how the test-takers' speaking quality would change if the preparation time was added to the response time, giving the respondents a…

The current study explores the impact of varying multiple-choice question preview and presentation formats in a test of second language listening proficiency targeting different levels of text comprehension. In a between-participant design, participants completed a 30-item test of listening comprehension featuring implicit and explicit information…

This convergent mixed method study aimed at exploring the English context of the widely used Emirates Standardized Test (EmSAT) by juxtaposing it to its sequel, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). For this purpose, the study used the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) international standards which is used as a…

Despite Palestinian university students' problems with the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test, no researchers approached this research area in the Palestinian English as a Foreign Language context. The present study attempted to answer a question focusing on Palestinian university students' problems with the reading sections…

Usability testing is a method that determines how userfriendly a website or a mobile application is. The present study investigated the usability of a newly launched mobile application called TU-GET CBT or Thammasat University General English Test (Computer-Based Test). It also strived to understand the extent to which the application contributes…

This study explored the role of vocabulary breadth and depth in second language learners' performance in IELTS academic reading tests in China. Sixty-two Chinese learners of English as a foreign language completed a vocabulary size test, a vocabulary depth test, and an IELTS reading test. Results showed that vocabulary breadth and depth both…

Many medical schools have adopted multiple mini-interviews (MMI) as an advanced selection tool. MMIs are expensive and used to test only a few dozen candidates per day, making it infeasible to develop a different test version for each test administration. Therefore, some items are reused both within and across years. This study investigated the…

Iran's education system is exam-based and to gain admission to universities at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels, candidates have to sit a competitive examination. For this reason, developing an EAP course which prepares the candidates for these examinations is of crucial importance. The present study attempted to develop an EAP…

Test takers' beliefs or experiences have been overlooked in most validation studies in language education. Meanwhile, a mutual exclusion has been observed in the literature, with little or no dialogue between validation studies and studies concerning the uses and consequences of testing. To help fill these research gaps, a group of Senior III…

The use of integrated skills tasks in language tests has been debated for many years and international English test developers such as Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Pearson Tests of English (PTE) already use such tests to assess English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language proficiency. Empirical research has rarely investigated…

Although end of course exams remain a key mode of assessment in higher education, little research has focused on international students' experiences of exams. There seems to be a tacit assumption in most literature that exam preparation and strategies are universal, although differences in other areas of learning exist. As an exemplar, this…

Among three sections that follow the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), many test takers find listening comprehension section is the most difficult. Thus, in this research the researcher aims to explore how students learn PBT's listening comprehension section effectively through song technique. This sounds like a more interesting and engaging way to learn…

Test-takers' interpretations of validity as related to test constructs and test use have been widely debated in large-scale language assessment. This study contributes further evidence to this debate by examining 59 test-takers' perspectives in writing large-scale English language tests. Participants wrote about their test-taking experiences in…