A major concern with computer-based (CB) tests of second-language (L2) writing is that performance on such tests may be influenced by test-taker keyboarding skills. Poor keyboarding skills may force test-takers to focus their attention and cognitive resources on motor activities (i.e., keyboarding) and, consequently, other processes and aspects of…

Google Docs, a free web-based version of Microsoft Word, offers collaborative features which can be used to facilitate collaborative writing in a foreign language classroom. The current study compared writing abilities of students who collaborated on writing assignments using Google Docs with those working in groups in a face-to-face classroom.…

This article investigates the effects of blogging as an approach to journal writing in the EFL writing classroom by means of a 16-week comparative experiment involving two groups of EFL college students. The experimental group (EG) was required to blog daily while the control group (CG) was asked to do so using traditional pen-and-paper methods.…

This quasi-experimental study examined whether there was any difference in the quantity and quality of the written texts produced by two groups (N = 18) of intermediate Chinese language learners. Over one semester, students in the experimental (E) group wrote weekly updates and comments in Chinese on a designated Facebook group page, while…

The "e-rater"® automated essay scoring system is used operationally in the scoring of the argument and issue tasks that form the Analytical Writing measure of the "GRE"® General Test. For each of these tasks, this study explored the value added of reporting 4 trait scores for each of these 2 tasks over the total e-rater score.…

We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the…

The curriculum for teaching undergraduate university students in Iran majoring in English generally includes paragraph writing in the second year and essay writing (4-5 paragraphs) in the third year. The first-year course 'Grammar and Writing (I & II)' offered in two consecutive semesters covers grammar only, despite the inclusion of writing…

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a program based on English digital stories on second-year preparatory pupils' writing performance and reflective thinking. Two writing performance tests (pretest and posttest) as well as a reflective thinking test were prepared by the researchers. Two 2nd-year intact classes from El Sadat Prep School…

The Berge et al. article in this volume presents the functional construct of writing that underlies summative and formative assessment of writing as a key competency in Norway. A functional construct implies that specific acts of writing and their purposes constrain what is a relevant selection among the semiotic resources that writing generally…

This annual report summarizes Austin ISD's English language learner students and the bilingual and ESL programs in which they participated during the 2015-2016 school year. The report includes summaries of data on student demographics, language acquisition, and academic performance.

Mina Shaughnessy continues to exert powerful influences over Basic Writing practices, discourses and pedagogy thirty-five years after her death: Basic Writing remains in some ways trapped by Shaughnessy's legacy in what Min-Zhan Lu labeled as essentialism, accommodationism and linguistic innocence. High-stakes writing tests, a troubling hallmark…

This study sought to explore the perspectives of learners involved in the IELTS Academic Writing Module courses. In particular, the study explored learner perspectives of motivation, test-taking anxiety, test-taking strategies, and the expectations students bring to their courses. This study adopted a mixed methodology and collected data through…

This study investigated differences between two approaches to chained equipercentile (CE) equating (one- and bi-direction CE equating) in nearly equal groups and relatively unequal groups. In one-direction CE equating, the new form is linked to the anchor in one sample of examinees and the anchor is linked to the reference form in the other…

Preliminary evidence suggests that handwriting difficulties are common to children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, the nature of the task-specific impairments is needed to be clarified. The aim of this study was to describe handwriting capacity in ADHD children without DCD and identify underlying factors of…

Problem: The problem of this study was to determine the difference in Bible comprehension scores among gender-based groups of older children using selected passages from three Bible translations: the Children's Bible, the Easy Bible, and the New Revised Korean Bible. Procedures: A total of 288 older children in three churches (Beautiful Baptist…