This systematic review aims to explore how task complexity and task sequencing affect the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language performance. Through an analysis of studies conducted between 2012 and 2021, this review investigates the characteristics of the studies, operationalisation of task complexity, measurements of CAF,…

Research examining relations between language skills and social competence has yielded mixed findings. Three meta-analyses investigated links between language skills (overall, receptive, and expressive) and social competence in 2- to 12-year-old children. Data from 130 studies representing 62,120 children (M age at language assessment = 4.70…

Becoming one of six official United Nations languages, English proficiency has become a prominent requirement for students and professionals entering international education and/ or careers, as assessed through standardized English proficiency tests. English learners conducted varied procedures to pursue the minimum test score criteria, including…

Objective: Pragmatics can be defined as the appropriate use of language in social interactions. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) exhibit difficulties in pragmatic language (PL), but the nature and sources of these difficulties have not been fully investigated yet. The purpose of…

Blended learning, integrating traditional and online instruction, has emerged as a significant approach to enhancing English proficiency (listening, speaking, reading, writing) among non-native university students. This study conducted a PRISMA 2020-guided systematic review of 52 articles (2020-2024) from Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and…

This systematic review addressed the following question: Which are the relations between L1 and/or L2 foundational and upper-level language skills, cognitive skills, high-order cognitive and self-regulation factors and L2-English reading comprehension skills in 11-to-19 year EFL secondary school students with different L1 language profiles?…

Digital games are increasingly used in education to boost engagement and reduce stress. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has improved the learning experience. However, further investigation is needed to determine the specific impact of commercially available, off-the-shelf (COTS) video games on English language skills. This study provides a…

While internationally there is long-standing research activity on the effectiveness of language contacts (especially in the form of mobility stays) at tertiary level and a number of literature syntheses on this field have been published, research projects at the primary and secondary level are still comparatively rare and the results are often not…

The growing diversity among test takers in second or foreign language (L2) assessments makes the importance of fairness front and center. This systematic review aimed to examine how fairness in L2 assessments was evaluated through differential item functioning (DIF) analysis. A total of 83 articles from 27 journals were included in a systematic…

Augmented reality (AR) is an immersive, interactive, and engaging advanced information technology and it is widely used in language learning. Although several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of AR in EFL learners' language gains, these research findings are inconsistent. Therefore, this study conducted a meta-analysis to analyze to what…

Thousands of education institutions worldwide rely on IELTS scores as criteria for accepting international students whose first language is not English. Individual studies have found varying degrees of strength of correlations and conflicting results between IELTS entry scores and subsequent academic success. These conflicting results were…

Analysing language characteristics and understanding their dynamics is the key for a successful intervention by speech and language therapists (SLT). Thus, this review aims to investigate a possible overlap in language development shared by autism spectrum disorders (ASD), specific language impairment (SLI) and social (pragmatic) communication…

Theories of reading comprehension have widely predicted a role for syntactic skills, or the ability to understand and manipulate the structure of a sentence. Yet, these theories are based primarily on English, leaving open the question of whether this remains true across typologically different languages such as English versus Chinese. There are…

We examined the relation of morphological awareness with language and literacy skills, namely phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, vocabulary, word reading, spelling, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension. We also examined potential moderators of the relations (grade level, orthographic depth of language, receptive vs.…

English is one of the most used languages for jobs, markets, tourism, discourse and international connectivity. However, English learners face many challenges in gaining English language skills. Extant studies show that AI has affordances to support in English language teaching and learning ELT/L. This study answers the call to examine specific…