Despite being a popular topic in language testing, cognitive load has not received enough attention in vocabulary test items. The purpose of the current study was to scrutinize the cognitive load and vocabulary test items' differences, examinees' reaction times, and perceived difficulty. To this end, 150 students were selected using…

Relationships among task characteristics, L2 performance, and interlanguage development are of interest both for SLA research and the design of syllabuses and language teaching materials. Complexity has been identified as a promising, but methodologically problematic, task design feature. A study was conducted of the effects of progressive…

This study investigates the comparability of three parallel translation tasks selected from a College English Test Band-6 (CET-6) and explores the major linguistic features contributing to translation difficulty. Data obtained from the participants' subjective rating, eye-tracking, and performance evaluation were triangulated to measure the…

High school students' beliefs toward their abilities could be fixed or malleable, and mindset may differ between boys and girls. The aim of this article is three-fold: to examine the beliefs of students as to whether their abilities are fixed or malleable in the context of English language learning, to know if mindsets of boys and girls are…

Sequencing language production activities based on the inherent cognitive load of each activity type can improve student performance and self-efficacy on high cognitive load language tasks like conversational speech (either face-to-face or via video chat). This ordering according to cognitive difficulty can scaffold learners in their development…

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 paper represents some suggestions towards discourse-analytic approaches for ESL/EFL education, with the focus on identifying the textual forms which can contribute to the textual difficulty. Textual difficulty/comprehensibility, rather than being purely text-based or reader-dependent, is certainly a matter of interaction between text and…

On-going bilingual programs without regard to needs analysis; little research on the actual effects of CLIL in Colombia and vague awareness or knowledge about the necessary considerations for effective CLIL programs, underpin the need to address a particular issue of curriculum as it is summative assessment. This small scale study takes place in a…

The matching model of education, in which instructional activities are matched to the conceptual level (abstract to concrete) of the students, is recommended for second language instruction. Suggestions are made for varying the amount of structure in communication-centered activities. (MSE)