This study investigated how questioning strategies impact language learner performance. Specifically, it explored how questioning strategies influence (i) verb production and subject-verb agreement in the target language, and (ii) learner confidence in completing tasks without translation software. Sixty-eight novice language learners enrolled in…

This study investigates the relationship between identification with the local territory, language attitudes and language proficiency in young immigrants in Catalonia, a region in Spain. The aims of the study are to examine how identification with the local territory affects attitudes and proficiency in languages, and whether language attitudes…

Teachers' beliefs about language and technology, pedagogy, and ability to integrate them can be challenging within the second language classroom. This study was a conceptual replication of previous work in the field of TPACK with world language teachers. This mixed-methods study included 59 current in-service world language teachers grades 9-12 in…

Tests are an integral part of most formal language learning processes, exerting far-reaching effects on many aspects of language learning. Among other things, tests affect language learning motivation (LLM), an element that is fundamental to many learning contexts. However, little attention has been paid to how tests affect LLM and what the…

This study investigated to what extent the scores of two English tests are correlated to each other, namely, the English test of the "Common Test for University Admissions" (Common Test, henceforth) in Japan and the "TOEIC Bridge", a commercially available English test developed by "Educational Testing Service" (ETS)…

Despite scholars' advocacy of intelligibility over nativelikeness in the EFL education context, many learners still seem to favour standard British and American accents. However, comparisons across studies have shown some changes in learners' perceptions, suggesting a move away from standard accent orientation. This article reports part of a…

A foundation of second language motivational theory has been that motivation contributes to explaining variance in language learning proficiency; however, empirical findings have been mixed. This article presents an innovative approach to exploring L2 proficiency and motivations of teenage English language learners in Madrid, Spain (N = 1773).…

Research in validity suggests that stakeholders' interpretation and use of test results should be an aspect of validity. Claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed and the score report information. The…

Sometimes a treatment, such as receiving a high school diploma, is assigned to students if their scores on two inputs (e.g., math and English test scores) are above established cutoffs. This forms a multidimensional regression discontinuity design (RDD) to analyze the effect of the educational treatment where there are two running variables…

This study applied expectancy-value theory (EVT) to examine the impact of diagnostic language assessment (DLA) on the learning activities of a group of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). A model of test impact on learning was conceptualized by integrating EVT and DLA theories. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed…

Background: Many studies (especially cross-sectional ones) have shown significant links between two of these three constructs-achievement, self-concept and anxiety. Objectives: Unlike past longitudinal studies that examined only two of these three constructs, this study examines all three, grounded in self-determination theory, control-value…

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…

Although language skills have gained unparalleled momentum in language education, there is a paucity of research on one of the most significant subskills: vocabulary. Due to the underestimation of an efficient method to learn foreign language vocabularies, scant research attention has been dedicated to exploring the best vocabulary learning…

The Chinese National Matriculation English Test (NMET) has a test purpose of producing beneficial washback to promote senior high school English teaching and learning. This article presents a large-scale nationwide survey research on student perceptions of the NMET's before-test washback on their English learning outcomes in senior high school and…

The ACTFL Assessment of Performance Toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL, https://www.actfl.n.d.org/assessments/k-12-assessments/aappl) assesses proficiency in 11 languages for students in grades 3 to 12 and is often used to award the Seal of Biliteracy. While arguments for the valid interpretation and uses of the AAPPL have previously been…