Pragmatic instruction has received momentous attention in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) over the last decades. In order to scrutinize the effectiveness of L2 instruction, meta-analyses are warranted; nonetheless, meta-analyses have been largely neglected, despite the fact that they provide a systematic explanation of the findings from the…

Elicited Imitation Tests (EITs) are commonly used in second language acquisition (SLA)/bilingualism research contexts to assess the general oral proficiency of study participants. While previous studies have provided valuable EIT construct-related validity evidence, some key gaps remain. This study uses an integrative data analysis to further…

Ensuring internal validity in quantitative research requires, among other conditions, reliable instrumentation. Unfortunately, however, second language (L2) researchers often fail to report and even more often fail to interpret reliability estimates beyond generic benchmarks for acceptability. As a means to guide interpretations of such estimates,…

Panahi and Mohebbi review James Dean Brown's 50-years of research in language testing, curriculum development and research statistics with reference to an impressionistic framework for analysis containing two components with their subcomponents: Annotations (i.e., briefing and implications) and main concepts and themes (i.e., testing and teaching…

In this report I share the results of a document-based, comparative case study aimed at increasing our understanding about the potential utility of state kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) to provide evidence of English learner (EL) kindergartners' knowledge and skills and, in turn, inform kindergarten teachers' instruction. Using a sample of 9…

This meta-analysis reviewed research between 2012 and 2018 focused on technology-assisted second language (L2) vocabulary learning for English as a foreign language (EFL) learner. A total of 45 studies of 2,374 preschool-to-college EFL students contributed effect sizes to this meta-analysis. Compared with traditional instructional methods, the…

This literature review begins with a description of the process used to conduct the literature review, parameters for the review, and the characterization of the literature. The body of this review consists of four sections: (1) Development and/or Adoption of State English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards, (2) Design and Development of the ELP…

This review of research on second-language oral testing outlines the nature of early research in interview-format proficiency testing, then reports on new directions in investigation of construct validity of interview-format and other oral skills tests through examination of examinee, interviewer, and rater performance. Research on empirically…

Reviews research that sheds light on the comparability of Oral Proficiency Interview and the Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview. Suggestions are provided for further research. (16 references) (VWL)

Explains why it is so difficult to define communicative testing, discusses problems related to communicative testing, and concludes with suggestions for further research. (15 references) (CFM)

Describes the development of the Educational Testing Service's (ETS) tests of composition for native speakers of English and of the Test of English as a Foreign Language's (TOEFL) Test of Written English (TWE). Recommendations are provided for carefully scrutinizing new developments in ETS testing as they affect students. (39 references) (GLR)

The issues of language assessment and placement raise several important questions: (1) What are the basic premises upon which current language assessment instruments have been developed? (2) What is the state of the art in language proficiency assessment? (3) What implications do current research findings have for language proficiency assessment?…

Reviews recent theoretical, methodological, and analytical developments in language testing, focusing on more refined models of language ability, reliability and validity, performance testing, innovative test formats, new applications of Item Response Theory and Generalizability Theory to test performance. An annotated bibliography discusses seven…

Considers the question of how best to elicit samples of writing for assessment in an English-for-academic-purposes proficiency test and assure that every test taker has something to write about. Three types of writing tasks are defined and analyzed, and examples are given. (25 references) (GLR)

Discusses problems with the current trend in using behavior trait-based criteria to assess English-as-a-Second-Language productivity skills, and describes alternatives to such testing that involve the matching of linguistic tasks against nonlinguistic criteria. (Author/CB)