Stakeholders of language tests are often interested in subscores. However, reporting a subscore is not always justified; a subscore should provide reliable and distinct information to be worth reporting. When a subscore is used for decisions across multiple levels (e.g., individual test takers and schools), it needs to be justified for its…

This study examined the influence of formulaic language on second language (L2) listeners' lower-level processing, in terms of their ability to accurately identify the words in texts. On the one hand, there were reasons for expecting the presence of the formulas to advantage the learners, because the learners would process these formulaic words…

The purpose of this cluster randomized group study was to investigate the effect of multitiered, dual language instruction on children's oral language skills, including vocabulary, narrative retell, receptive and expressive language, and listening comprehension. Participants were 3-5 year old children (n = 81) who were learning English and whose…

Teachers' understanding of the process of speech perception could inform practice in listening classrooms. Catford (1950) developed a model for speech perception taking into account the influence of the acoustic features of the linguistic forms used by the speaker, whereby the listener "identifies" and "interprets" these…

There has been a great deal of research on first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning through meaning-focused input since Nagy, Herman & Anderson's (1985) seminal study of incidental vocabulary learning through reading. Two strands of research within this area are incidental vocabulary learning through listening and guessing from…

Studies examining age of onset (AoO) effects in childhood bilingualism have provided mixed results as to whether early sequential bilingual children (eL2) differ from simultaneous bilingual children (2L1) and L2 children on the acquisition of morphosyntax. Differences between the three groups have been attributed to other factors such as length of…

Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute…

Integrating Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and learning technologies can be the potential framework in designing language instruction to enhance learners' listening comprehension and speaking performance. However, not many past studies have explored how technology enhanced TBLT can enhance both listening comprehension and speaking performance…

This paper investigates the difficulties adult second language (L2) users of English encounter with plosive consonants in the L2. It presents the results of a task examining the acquisition of plosive voicing contrasts by college students with Cypriot Greek (CG) linguistic background. The task focused on the types of errors involving plosive…

This study examined the role of the "animated eBook advantage" in child bilingual's Mandarin learning, which has tended to be examined in the acquisition of Germanic languages. With this aim, 102 4- to 5-year-old preschoolers in Singapore were assigned to one of four conditions: (a) animated eBooks (+sound+motion), (b) static eBooks with…

The development of preschoolers' language skills is influenced by literacy environments and individual differences in storybook exposure. Extant research is limited as most studies (a) investigate the effects on lower level language (LLL; e.g., vocabulary, grammar), but not the effects on higher level language (HLL; e.g., comprehension monitoring,…

The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of short Arabic vowels on listening comprehension. It is well documented that short vowels affect reading and reading comprehension in Arabic literacy. Since reading comprehension and listening comprehension share many commonalities, it is assumed that short vowels will positively affect…

In this study, a system was developed to offer adaptive remedial instruction materials to learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). The Chinese Listening and Speaking Diagnosis and Remedial Instruction (CLSDRI) system integrated computerized diagnostic tests and remedial instruction materials to diagnose errors made in listening…

Video comprehension involves interpreting both sounds and images. Research has shown that processing an aural text with relevant pictorial information effectively enhances second/foreign language (L2) listening comprehension. A hypothesis underlying this mixed-methods study is that a visual-only silent film used as an advance organiser to activate…

In this study, we identified the code-related (decoding, fluency) and language comprehension (vocabulary, listening comprehension) demands of the CBM-Maze test, a formative assessment, and compared them to those of the Gates-MacGinitie test, a standardized summative assessment. The demands of these reading comprehension tests and their…