A quantitative study was conducted to measure the acculturative stress of international students and investigate the predictors of acculturative stress. A total of 186 students participated in the survey. Results showed that 22.4% of the students in this study exceeded the normal stress level and might need counseling or psychological…

This study examined the impact of collaborative filtering (the so-called recommender) on college students' use of an online forum for English learning. The forum was created with an open-source software, Drupal, and its extended recommender module. This study was guided by three main questions: 1) Is there any difference in online behaviors…

This study examines Linguistic Competence in English Language (LCE) as a general indicator of Communicative Competence. A test and a questionnaire were administered to 1838 undergraduate freshmen from five major institutes of higher education in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The results of the test are analysed in their association with main features of…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

Iowa State University explored the reliability of the Educational Testing Service's Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) and an in-house tool as a good predictor of acceptable classroom performance by nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants and studied the relationship between the assistants' background characteristics and…

Discusses the relationship between English language proficiency and academic success of English as a second language (ESL) students in universities and colleges where English is the language of instruction. The study points out difficulties associated with determining this relationship and makes suggestions for establishing guidelines to determine…

Describes a study of the interrelationships among three tests (a standardized English-as-a-second-language test, a cloze test, and a written composition test) which sought to determine whether adding the cloze test to the ESL test would improve the predictability of students' communicative proficiency, as reflected in their writing test…

Two questions are examined: the relationship between prior to formal experience (high school instruction) and success on university foreign language proficiency tests, and the similarity of prior experience to pass rates for students of varying languages. (LB)

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) measures the English language proficiency of foreign students who apply for higher education in the United States. It is administered according to a strict schedule through the International and Special Center (I&SC) testing program or at ad hoc intervals by institutional users as part of the…

Limited-English-speaking students (N=198), taking college admissions tests, were studied in terms of reading, writing, and listening test scores and their university performance (grade point average, dropped classes, etc.). Results indicate that the English language test scores are not always related to the students' academic achievement. (CB)

A study investigated the relationships among vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension in English as a second language (ESL). Subjects were 74 native Chinese- and Korean-speaking students in intensive academic ESL courses in two Ontario universities. They were administered questionnaires to gather demographic and…

Reports a study in a Chinese context of second language (L2) learner variables' relationship to English achievement. Findings reveal that six variables had direct effects on achievement, three of which existed previously, i.e., sex, and primary language and L2 proficiency; and three that were formed by clusters of strategies relating to vocabulary…