The growing field of corpus linguistics has been engaged heavily in language pedagogy during the last two decades. This has encouraged researchers to look for more applications that corpora have on language teaching and learning and led to the emergence of using corpora in language testing. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of…

This paper is the third in a series concerning English language proficiency (ELP) assessments for K-12 English learners (ELs). The series, produced from Educational Testing Service (ETS), is intended to provide theory- and evidence-based principles and recommendations for improving next-generation ELP assessment systems, policies, and practices…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the constraints on implementing task-based language teaching (TBLT) and strategies that make TBLT feasible with novice second language (L2) learners in college. When the researcher (a bilingual teacher) struggled to implement tasks into traditional English courses with almost 210 novice undergraduates…

This paper discusses the commonly realised social speech act of refusal strategies in English among university students in the Southern part of Thailand, in explaining how they say 'no' to request and the effects of this speech act on the hearer's face. Using Discourse Completion Test (DCT) to collect oral data in naturally-occurring situations,…

Over the past two decades awareness has been growing that English language teachers need good English language proficiency and professional training to teach effectively. To address this issue, a benchmark--minimum standards assessment test--was initiated, developed, and introduced in Hong Kong in 2001. Because more than a decade and a half has…

The number of internationally mobile students pursuing higher education increases each year, with 8 million students expected to study abroad globally by 2025 (Farrugia, 2014). Many English-dominant universities require international applicants to provide standardized test scores as evidence of English proficiency. Accordingly, millions of…

Cross-linguistic lexical similarity in the form of cognates and loanwords has been shown to positively impact second language learning and use, as well as performance on tests of lexical knowledge, even when the learners' languages differ in script. The present study utilizes Japanese cognate frequency, as an indication of cognate knowledge, to…

This study investigated the effects of temporal distribution of practice on the learning and retention of Mandarin tonal word production. Eighty native English-speaking adults with no prior knowledge of a tonal language participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions varying in intersession interval (ISI)…

Even though there are books that guide students in preparing for TOEFL exams, the literature on TOEFL test preparation courses at the university level is sparse (Huang, 2018). The current study aimed to fill the research gap by investigating the impact of TOEFL ITP assessment on teachers' TOEFL course content and teaching methods. Five different…

The present study attempted to investigate the effect of multimedia glosses on EFL students' vocabulary acquisition and retention. Forty-five EFL students were divided into two groups: control (n=22) and experimental (n=23). A vocabulary test was administered to both groups in order to ensure that they were equivalent. Then, all participants…

The study was conducted to investigate the L2 acquisition of English generics by L1 Arabic speakers. The present study considered the two types of genericity (NP-level vs. sentence-level). Since generics in Arabic are always definite, the study investigated whether L1 Arabic speakers perform similarly in both types. The study recruited 43…

This article is the product of an Action Research study that aimed at demonstrating the effects of videogames on vocabulary acquisition in a group of 15 students from 8th semester of the program of B.A. in English of the University of Tolima. The analysis of results, gathered by vocabulary tests and students and teachers' journals, showed that the…

Canadian post-secondary classrooms are linguistically diverse. This diversity comes from immigration, more access to higher education for marginalized and minority groups, and international student recruitment. An institute's language prerequisites serve as tools to help admissions decide who is linguistically prepared for study in English.…

The central purpose of this paper is to examine validity problems arising from the multiple-choice items and technical passages in the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) reading section, primarily concentrating on construct-irrelevant variance (Messick, 1989). My personal TOEFL iBT experience, along with my…

Background: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by macrolinguistic changes. This decline is often analyzed with quantitative scales. Aims: To analyze discourse production in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to identify qualitative markers of macrolinguistic decline. Methods & Procedures: We analyzed macrolinguistic features of a clinical…