How can one construct a test that provides accurate measurements across the range of performance levels while providing adequate coverage of all of the critical areas of the domain, yet that is not unmanageably long? This paper discusses the approach taken in a linear test of academic English language, and how the transition to a computer-based…

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, peers, beliefs, practices and personal development. Mentoring methods include teaching, coaching, storytelling, discussion, and guided research. Education is often led by teachers; however, students can also engage in self-education. As education is a continuous process, it requires…

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 evaluated the validity of the Michigan English Test (MET) Listening Section by investigating its underlying factor structure and the replicability of its factor structure across multiple test forms. Data from 3255 test takers across four forms of the MET Listening Section were used. To investigate the factor structure, each form was…

Can a single adjective immediately influence message-building during sentence processing? We presented participants with 168 sentence contexts, such as "His skin was red from spending the day at the …" Sentences ended with either the most expected word ("beach") or a low cloze probability completion ("pool"). Nouns…

This article explores relevant conceptual frameworks and design principles for the planning and implementation of a virtual reality (VR) learning environment in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. The primary focus is on what knowledge teachers need to acquire when designing and implementing a spherical video-based training world that…

We investigated the receptive American Sign Language (ASL) skills of four separate groups using the 42-item ASL-Receptive Skills Test: Deaf high school-aged students who attended a residential school; deaf incoming college students who preferred signed language; deaf incoming college students who preferred spoken language; and typically hearing…

Local language tests are an arena where national language standards can be operationalized to create a hub for integrating assessment results and language support. Few studies, however, have examined the operationalization of national standards in local language assessment contexts. In this study, we proposed a model to present the integration of…

The main objective of this Methods Showcase Article is to show how the technique of adaptive comparative judgment, coupled with a crowdsourcing approach, can offer practical solutions to reliability issues as well as to address the time and cost difficulties associated with a text-based approach to proficiency assessment in L2 research. We…

This study intended to explore the different types of phraseological units in IELTS academic writing task 2 and probe into the IELTS candidates' perceptions of phraseological competence. To this end, a corpus entailing 100 essays (26,423 words) written for IELTS writing task 2 was scrutinized, through which phraseological units were extracted and…

This article examines a very thorny issue of testing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) through the barcode correction system to evaluate the usefulness of distance education. The system was used for the first time as a type of assessment which focuses on enriching student's minimum vocabulary in a variety of English for specific contexts.…

Disproportionality in the identification of disabilities among children who are culturally and linguistically diverse is an ongoing challenge for educators. A practice that may help address issues of disproportionality is the use of universal screening and progress monitoring data for academic skills as well as English language proficiency data to…

This study examined the perceived and assessed speaking proficiency levels of 10 in-service Spanish teachers, their use of Spanish in and outside of work, and factors that motivate or hinder the maintenance or development of their proficiency. It also compared their current proficiency levels with their proficiency levels before completion of…

This article gives examples of mobile vocabulary apps (MVAs) that can be downloaded from the Google Play or Apple App Stores and used as extension activities or a supplement to in-class vocabulary instruction in EFL such as English word study, advanced English vocabulary, test your English vocabulary, English vocabulary level I, II & III, 1000…

A cluster randomized design was used to investigate effects of the Story Friends vocabulary curriculum on learning of 84 preschoolers in 24 classrooms who were at risk for language difficulties. Children in the treatment condition received explicit vocabulary instruction of 36 words during small-group storybook listening centers with extended…