In signal detection rater models for constructed response (CR) scoring, it is assumed that raters discriminate equally well between different latent classes defined by the scoring rubric. An extended model that relaxes this assumption is introduced; the model recognizes that a rater may not discriminate equally well between some of the scoring…

Skill acquisition theorists conceptualize second language (L2) learning as the acquisition of a set of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. The dominant view in skill acquisition theory is to regard L2 skill acquisition as a three-stage process "from initial representation of knowledge through initial changes in behavior to eventual…

In adaptive learning systems, various models are employed to obtain the optimal learning schedule and review for a specific learner. Models of learning are used to estimate the learner's current recall probability by incorporating features or predictors proposed by psychological theory or empirically relevant to learners' performance. Logistic…

Knowledge tracing is a popular and successful approach to modeling student learning. In this paper we investigate whether the addition of neuroimaging observations to a knowledge tracing model enables accurate prediction of memory performance in held-out data. We propose a Hidden Markov Model of memory acquisition related to Bayesian Knowledge…

A computer program was developed to estimate speed-accuracy response models for dichotomous items. This report describes how the models are estimated and how to specify data and input files. An example using data from a listening section of an international language test is described to illustrate the modeling approach and features of the computer…

This study investigates the effects of sample size and test length on item-parameter estimation in test development utilizing three unidimensional dichotomous models of item response theory (IRT). For this purpose, a real language test comprised of 50 items was administered to 6,288 students. Data from this test was used to obtain data sets of…

Although several studies have explored the effects of task sequencing on second language (L2) production, there is no established set of criteria to sequence tasks for learners in L2 writing classrooms. This study examined the effect of simple ?complex task sequencing manipulated along both resource-directing (± number of elements) and…

This article analyzes the instructed learning of the English article system by second language (L2) learners. The Competition Model (MacWhinney, 1987, 2012) was adopted as the theoretical framework for analyzing the cues to article usage and for designing effective computer-based article instruction. Study 1 found that article cues followed a…

Delving into the linguistic performance of EFL learners with varying linguistic backgrounds and potentials appears to be of huge significance, particularly in EFL classrooms. The knowledge of the potential variations between monolingual and bilingual EFL learners might help teachers better meet the needs of these learners, for instance through…

This article investigates ways to improve the assessment of English learner students' English language proficiency given the current movement of creating next-generation English language proficiency assessments in the Common Core era. In particular, this article discusses the integration of scaffolding strategies, which are prevalently utilized as…

Gaining insights from domain experts into how they view communication in real world settings is recognized as an important authenticity consideration in the development of criteria to assess language proficiency for specific academic or occupational purposes. These "indigenous" criteria represent an articulation of the test construct and…

Second language (L2) learners of tone languages do not perceive and produce the different tones of the target language with equal ease. The most common explanation for these asymmetries is that acoustically salient tones are the easiest to learn. An alternative explanation is that tones are easiest to learn when they are highly frequent in the…

In native speakers of gender-marking languages, mechanisms of gender production appear to be affected by the morphophonological cues to gender present in the noun phrase. This influence is manifested in higher levels of production accuracy when more transparent cues to gender are present in comparison to when they are not. The goal of the present…

This study investigated second language (L2) learners' perception of L2 sounds as an individual difference that predicted their improvement in pronunciation after receiving instruction. Learners were given explicit pronunciation instruction in a series of modules added to their Spanish as a foreign language curriculum and were then tested on their…

This study aims to examine language dominance and language switching effects in a series of monolingual and multilingual lexical decisions in which participants have to decide if the presented letter string is a word or not, regardless of language. Thirty participants (12 French-English bilinguals and 18 French-English-Spanish trilinguals) were…