This current study examined the effects of full captions (n = 37), keyword captions (n = 38), and no captions (n = 37) on students' ability to gain pictorial knowledge from a 5 minutes and 52 seconds French language video. After completing a pre-vocabulary recognition test to determine the level of equality between groups, students watched the…

There is a growing demand for online course options, including classes offered and required in foreign languages. However, offering courses in multiple formats presents the challenges of developing high quality online courses and assessing the overall program effectiveness as students may elect to take the sequenced language acquisition courses in…

The Multimedia Principle (Fletcher & Tobias, 2005) states that people learn better and comprehend more when words and pictures are presented together. The potential for English language learners to increase their comprehension of video through the use of captions, which graphically display the same language as the spoken dialogue, has been…

This study examined the use of automatic speech recognition (ASR) scored elicited oral response (EOR) tests to assess the speaking ability of English language learners. It also examined the relationship between ASR-scored EOR and other language proficiency measures and the ability of the ASR to rate speakers without bias to gender or native…

In the listening component of the IELTS examination candidates hear the input once, delivered at "normal" speed. This format for listening can be problematic for test takers who often perceive normal speed input to be too fast for effective comprehension. The study reported here investigated whether using computer software to slow down…

This study provides specific evidence regarding the extent to which quantitative measures, common sense notional measures, and comprehensive measures adequately characterize spontaneous, although engaged, speech. As such, the study contributes to the growing body of literature describing the current limits of automatic systems for evaluating…

In order to integrate technology into the language curriculum, it is essential not only to evaluate a program within a second language acquisition (SLA) framework but also to seek the students' attitudes towards the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) materials. Guided by Chapelle's (2001) framework for CALL evaluation, this paper…

This work reports on the construction of a rated database of spontaneous speech produced by second language (L2) learners of English. Spontaneous speech was collected from 28 L2 speakers representing six language backgrounds and five different proficiency levels. Speech was elicited using formats similar to that of the TOEFL iBT and the Speaking…

This study examined the effect of a self-monitoring strategy on EFL online learners' academic performance and motivational beliefs. A total of 90 college freshmen participated in the study, and instruments used in the study included two general English proficiency tests, a course-based reading comprehension test, and a modified version of the…

An exploratory study conducted at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada between 2007 and 2009 investigated language learning with mobile devices as an approach to augmenting ESP learning by taking learning outside the classroom into the real-world context. In common with findings at other community colleges, this study identified inadequate…

In recent years, many tertiary institutions have been changing their pen-and-paper English placement test practices into computer based ones. In the process of constructing the University of Nicosia (Intercollege) New English Placement Test Online (NEPTON), we discovered how to redesign our test to include the use of technology. The present…

Placing students of a foreign language within a basic language program constitutes an ongoing problem, particularly for large university departments when they have many incoming freshmen and transfer students. This article outlines the author's experience designing and piloting a language placement test for a university level Spanish program. The…

Discusses the development and production of TOPIC (Training for Oral Proficiency Interviewing Competence), an interactive video refresher training program that teaches interviewing and evaluation skills to German oral proficiency testers. The program can be used as a prototype for the development of refresher training programs in other languages.…

Describes a speech-interactive graphics microworld in which learners speak problem-solving directions to an animated agent and in which new scenarios can be authored. A proof-of-concept application is illustrated for sustaining basic speaking skill in Modern Standard Arabic. (Author/VWL)

Evaluates one of the first operational computerized-adaptive English-as-a-second-language tests in the United States, showing an overwhelmingly positive student reaction to the tests and higher effectiveness than conventional paper-and-pencil tests. (Author/CB)