Despite the widespread use and effectiveness of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) composite score in predicting individual differences in L2 achievement and proficiency, there has been little examination of MLAT subtests, although they have potential for illuminating components of L2 aptitude and the mechanism of prediction. Here we use…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if and to what extent an ELL student's SBELP-RC could predict his or her ACPELA-RC, ACPELA-WP, and ACP-A1. Study participants were ELL students in Grades 9 to 12, attending a Northern Virginia high school. A further purpose of this study was to investigate if and to what extent…

This three-manuscript dissertation attempts to answer the question: "How does students' English language proficiency (ELP) inform the availability, structure, and use of English language accommodations and intervention to support the academic achievement of English learner (EL) students?" The question is addressed using three independent…

The Cross-linguistic Lexical Task (CLT; Haman, Luniewska & Pomiechowska, 2015) is a vocabulary task designed to enable cross-linguistic comparisons both across and within (bilingual) children. In this paper we assessed the validity of the CLT as a measure of language proficiency in bilingual children, by determining the extent to which: (1)…

Children's oral language proficiency (OLP) is integral for developing literacy skills. Storytelling or retelling is often used by parents and educators to elicit children's OLP, yet it is less commonly used for assessment purposes. Leveraged by natural language processing and machine learning, this study examined the extent to which computational…

The present study investigated the self-regulated learning strategies adopted by EFL learners, their levels of cognitive test anxiety, and the potential correlations between self-regulated learning and cognitive test anxiety. The study also examined whether gender and level of language proficiency had a significant effect on self-regulated…

Purpose: This study builds a new system for automatically assessing learners' speech elicited from an oral discourse completion task (DCT), and evaluates the prediction capability of the system with a view to better understanding factors deemed influential in predicting speaking proficiency scores and the pedagogical implications of the system.…

For institutions where English is the primary language of instruction, English assessments for admissions such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) give admissions decision-makers a sense of a student's skills in academic English. Despite this explicit purpose, these exams…

Metacognitive awareness of listening strategies has a supporting role in explaining L2 listening comprehension. Although metacognitive awareness is language-independent, language proficiency may determine whether learners can utilize such a cognitive resource during multiple language development. The current study explores the listening strategy…

The shift from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction requires language teachers' roles to change from being lecturers and controllers to facilitators and advisors. This shift requires students to have a high degree of learner autonomy. However, some teachers hesitate to promote learner autonomy. If they remain uncertain about the…

Nonverbal behavior can impact language proficiency scores in speaking tests, but there is little empirical information of the size or consistency of its effects or whether language proficiency may be a moderating variable. In this study, 100 novice raters watched and scored 30 recordings of test takers taking an international, high stakes…

The English General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), a nationwide high-stakes college entrance exam in Taiwan, has commonly served as a placement test for streaming college freshmen into EFL classes. There has, however, been scant research reported on the feasibility of using an admission test for EFL placement. This study aims to investigate the…

This project examines whether second-language (L2) learners can converge on a native-like pattern at the interface between syntax and discourse under low and high processing pressure, using Spanish clitic-doubled left dislocation (CLLD) as a test case. The original version of the Interface Hypothesis (IH) predicts that L2 competence on…

It has been widely asserted that general English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in postsecondary education has a limited future, given both the benefits of discipline-specific EAP, and the widespread use by universities of international standardized assessments for proof of English language proficiency (such as IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, etc.). The extra…

The heightened importance of foreign languages (L2) in the post 9-11 world demands more L2 listening research as listening is considered the most critical skill for most American military linguists. Some larger studies show that lexical knowledge can positively affect L2 listening (Chang, 2007; Mehrpour & Rahimi, 2010; Staehr, 2009), yet…