The current study explored and compared the employment of interactive and interactional metadiscourse markers (MDMs) by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) speaking test takers at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. To conduct this discourse analysis research, a mixed-methods approach with concurrent transformative…

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…

Second language acquisition (SLA) is complex and multidimensional. Using the framework of the unified competition model (UCM), the current study explores how robust learning and testing of Chinese Pinyin are fostered by optimal integration of different kinds of feedback in an intelligent computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment…

Admission in English-medium universities or institutions of higher education depends on the results obtained by candidates in large-scale proficiency tests including Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT). The structure and administration procedure of the TOEFL iBT speaking test leaves no room for carrying out…

This study was designed to determine how well existing analytic rating scales functioned in the assessment of low- to mid-proficiency Japanese university students' interactive English speaking ability when engaged in small group discussions. Many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) was employed to evaluate the quality of adapted rating scales for…

Background: Although teachers of English are required to assess students' speaking proficiency in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), their ability to rate is seldom evaluated. The application of descriptors in the assessment of English speaking on CEFR in the context of English as a foreign language has not often been…

Background: The present study examined the validity of a university-based speaking assessment (Test of Oral Proficiency in English, TOPE for short) in mainland China. The speaking assessment was developed to meet the standards (Standard for Oral Proficiency in English, SOPE for short) set for teaching and learning of the oral English by the…

Students of private universities in Bangladesh are often found to be less competent in spoken English. Since the universities have adopted EMI (English medium instruction) policy, the prevailing linguistic condition on the campus is an "English only environment." In this context, students are required to communicate in English both…

This study investigated Chinese test takers' attitudes towards the Versant English Test (VET), an automated spoken English test developed by Pearson Knowledge Technologies. Based on previous attitudinal studies, 'attitude' in this study was conceptualized as a hypothetical psychological construct which consisted of three components: beliefs,…

The development of Spoken English in Pakistani teachers training institutions working in public sector has never been assessed. This study explores the extent of improvement in English speaking skills among prospective teachers of one year teacher education program at three public sector universities in Punjab, Pakistan, where English is the…