Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) assist learners to develop cognitive or behavioral competences to make the language learning process more self-directed and effective. In the current educational contexts, think-aloud methods are used to provide insights into the cognitive processes of individuals as they engage in enhancement of skills and…

Although an accurate measure of vocabulary size is integral to understanding the proficiency of language learners, the validity of multiple-choice (M/C) vocabulary tests to determine this has been questioned due to users guessing correct answers which inflates scores. In this paper the nature of guessing and partial knowledge used when taking the…

We investigated how learner factors, such as vocabulary proficiency, strategy use, and working memory, are associated with successful corpus-based second language (L2) vocabulary learning, in which learners are encouraged to analyze and explore large, structured collections of authentic language data (i.e., corpora) to resolve their lexical issues…

Listen-to-summarize cloze (LSC) tasks are not rare in high-stakes language tests; however, we know little about what test-takers do during the tasks. In our study, we examined 16 students' think-aloud protocols (TAPs) which were recorded while they were completing two LSC tasks. The analysis of the 16 TAPs indicated iterative cognitive processes…

The aim of this article is to reveal the ways in which six 14- to 15-year-old second language (L2) learners, two each of high, mid, and low English proficiency levels were cognitively engaged in writing while using an automated content feedback program known as the Essay Critiquing System 2.0 in three out of five workshops in a Hong Kong secondary…

Minimal research has been conducted in reading Chinese as a second/ foreign language (CSI/CFL). In an effort to further the understanding of the reading process, this study, utilizing think aloud and retelling procedures, focuses on the identification of strategies that American university students applied to read Chinese texts (narrative and…

Discusses the role of metalinguistic awareness in multilinguals within the framework of a systems-theoretic approach to multilingual proficiency. Data from trilingual adults on their use of certain problem-solving behavior in think-aloud protocols during the academic writing process are shown to provide evidence of certain processes taking place…

A model of information processing is used in conjunction with two verbal protocol elicitation formats--the think aloud model and the retrospective questionnaire--to shed light on the mental processes involved in a learner's performance on the cloze. Results suggest the cloze is more suitable for learners of higher language ability, because it is…

A study explored the cognitive processes and social-situational influences underlying students' assessment of their own foreign language proficiency, focusing on process rather than result of self-evaluation. The subjects, 28 college student learners of French at different course levels, were administered a self-assessment questionnaire on the…