This study aims to investigate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' use of context information under various noise conditions. The participants were seven Japanese undergraduate students. A noise test adopted from the Speech-Perception-in-Noise (SPIN) test (Kalikow et al., 1977) was used. Four signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions (SNR =…

This study investigated the relationship between working memory (WM), semantic-encoding (SE) ability, and reading comprehension (RC) within the domain of second language acquisition (L2). 120 L1-Persian EFL learners were placed in three proficiency groups (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) based on their scores on the IELTS test. The…

Extensive evidence indicates that early vocabulary skills predict later reading development among monolingually developing children. Some evidence suggests that a relationship between vocabulary and later reading also holds across languages among children whose home language differs from the school language. However, these findings have been mixed…

This study examines the relationships among various major factors that may affect the difficulty level of language tests in an attempt to enhance the robustness of item difficulty estimation, which constitutes a crucial factor ensuring the equivalency of high-stakes tests. The observed difficulties of the reading and listening sections of two EFL…

Morphological analysis is a form of problem solving to work out the meanings of unfamiliar words by applying knowledge of morphemes. It has emerged recently as an important predictor of reading comprehension. However, while gamification can potentially be used to teach this skill, few studies have examined its use. To address this, a…

Scholars have argued for the inclusion of different spoken varieties of English in high-stakes listening tests to better represent the global use of English. However, doing so may introduce additional construct-irrelevant variance due to accent familiarity and the shared first language (L1) advantage, which could threaten test fairness. However,…

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…

The shift from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction requires language teachers' role 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…

This study examined the relationship between lexical coverage (i.e., the percentage of known word tokens in a text) and second language (L2) reading comprehension. Several studies have suggested that adequate comprehension occurs between 95% and 98% coverage, but no study has investigated beginning-level learners reading under the conditions of…

Research shows that meaning-focused reading offers opportunities for incidental grammar acquisition. However, the number of such studies remains limited and none have examined the role of both in-text encounters with grammar structures and reading comprehension in this learning. The present study filled these gaps. Employing a between-group,…

This study explored the role of morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension ability of Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners. Two-hundred and nine CSL students participated in this study and completed a series of measures including two tests of morphological awareness (morpheme discrimination test and compound…

This study compared five research-based intelligibility measures as they were applied to six varieties of English. The objective was to determine which approach to measuring intelligibility would be most reliable for predicting listener comprehension, as measured through a listening comprehension test similar to the Test of English as a Foreign…

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…

For many people, learning a second language as an adult is a challenging endeavor. Much interest in the study of adult second language learning has concerned the type of input that learners receive in their second language, with findings suggesting that second language learners are often exposed to a register of speech called 'foreigner talk' that…

Metacognitive skills are important for text comprehension, especially at university where most learning processes are unsupervised, and students rely on self-control and regulation when reading for comprehension. In today's universities, English as L2 has become the vehicle language for teaching and learning. However, some studies have concluded…