This study used Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) to examine the overtime patterns of the score and test-taking strategy changes in an international high-stakes standardized proficiency test. To this end, the test records of 178 Iranian IELTS repeaters were analyzed, using close- and open-ended questionnaires to measure test scores as a function…

In an effort to better support adult and refugee English language learners, this paper aims to focus on understanding the needs and experiences of one specific group, that is, refugee and asylum seeker healthcare professionals (RASHPs), based in the United Kingdom. RASHPs tend to be highly educated and experienced learners. One of their main…

High-stakes reading tests significantly influence one's future success, leading many second language learners to engage in intensive test preparation. This study examines nine TOEFL reading preparation lectures from two popular cram schools, or [foreign characters omitted] "hagwons," in Korea, with a total duration of five hours and…

This study employed a multi-methods design to investigate the impact of preparation on Chinese test-takers' perceptions of the integrated TOEFL iBT speaking and writing design. Combining results from over 1700 surveys and 10 interviews, it was found that these Chinese test-takers, who are the most vulnerable group in the multimillion testing…

Research on Portuguese language exams in the language assessment field remains scarce. To bridge this gap, this study examined washback from the large-scale, high-stakes Portuguese proficiency tests created by the Center of Evaluation of Portuguese as a Foreign Language ("Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira," or CAPLE as…

IELTS is a widely accepted English language proficiency test, required for academic and professional purposes. In this study, we examined the relationship between IELTS and the English proficiency skills of international students. We developed a proximal mediation model based on Bandura's triadic reciprocal determinism theory and tested it using…

This research was conducted to find the urgency of implementing the mandatory TOEFL test policy. This policy requires students who will take the final examination to have a TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 450. This research used a qualitative research method with 114 students as the sample. Furthermore, triangulation was utilized by…

International students have comprised a steadily growing demographic in America's colleges and universities for the past seventy-five years. Over the many years and decades, the proportion of international students whose first language is not English has also increased. Subsequently, American higher education has come to rely on an important…

This qualitative case study aimed to examine pre-service teachers' and teacher educators' interactions during their English grammar lessons via the WhatsApp platform. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model was employed to categorize the WhatsApp interactions based on social, cognitive and teacher presences. Participants wrote their reflections for…

Over the decades, extensive research efforts have been directed towards classifying and evaluating motivational teaching behaviours. Recent calls in motivational research, however, have emphasised the need to investigate teachers' perspectives on how they develop effective motivational strategies so that implications for motivational teaching are…

University classrooms are increasingly populated by students with diverse nationalities and native languages (L1). The growing number of students in English-led classrooms who speak English as a second or lower language (L2) may face added difficulties in understanding the specific task objectives or directions, as explained by native-…

This research examined the writing difficulties faced by Thai students taking the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Writing module. The study examined error patterns in IELTS Writing Tasks to highlight how English writing proficiency impacts international university admission prospects. Despite universities commonly…

This study investigates washback effects of IELTS test on university teachers' adoption of teaching materials in the classroom in China and see how a high-stake language exam affects their teaching practices and how they and their students perceive the effectiveness of the pedagogic adjustments. To this end, individual interview to five teacher…

The present study investigates the efficacy of preparation time in four speaking tasks of TOEFL iBT. As the current pre-task planning time offered by ETS is very short, 15 to 30 seconds, we intended to explore how the test-takers' speaking quality would change if the preparation time was added to the response time, giving the respondents a…

Understanding the IELTS washback on learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education contexts remains limited. To fill in this research gap, this study investigated washback effects of the International English Language Testing System (hereafter called IELTS) as an English language proficiency exit test for final-year English…