Ultra-processed food consumption is a globally increasing trend (Pagliai et al., 2021) correlated with increased obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and all-cause mortality (Elizabeth et al., 2020). American college students consume twice as many calories from ultra-processed food, compared to minimally processed food (Juul et al., 2022),…

Second language (L2) utterance fluency is crucial for speaking proficiency assessment. The measurement of L2 utterance fluency relies heavily on silent pause identification. However, empirical studies establishing specific silent pause thresholds for L2 monologic speaking are scarce, and even fewer exist for L2 dialogic speaking. This study thus…

Foreign language (L2) learners' speaking proficiency is often quantified using two dimensions: intuitive human ratings and analytical, linguistic complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) indices. While previous research and assessment practices have predominantly focused on either the subjective approach to L2 speaking or the objective one, it is…

The era of globalization and information and knowledge in which we find ourselves requires Higher Education to develop English-speaking proficiency in its students to adequately respond to academic and occupational challenges, taking advantage of the virtues of the variety of resources offered by technology. YouGlish is an online oral dictionary…

Second language (L2) learners hold different learning beliefs that influence their interpretation of classroom experiences and their L2 learning process. Developing a thorough understanding of such beliefs is therefore imperative. This article reports the representations of Iranian English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners' beliefs about L2…

This paper examines the implications of the association patterns in our understanding of the mental lexicon. By applying the principles of graph theory to word association data, we intend to explore which measures tap better into lexical knowledge. To that end, we had different groups of English as Foreign language learners complete a lexical…

Most EFL classrooms focus on building students' grammatical accuracy by learning rules and demonstrating mastery of form through exam-oriented assessments, rather than building fluency in the language by applying grammar in communication to make meaning. Moreover, grammar instruction is often rooted in materials that lack relevance to students'…

Natural Language Processing (NLP) has emerged as a transformative tool for EFL speaking instruction. However, prior research lacks robust empirical investigations into how distinct NLP tools independently enhance adaptability, accuracy, and fluency--particularly through controlled, large-scale interventions. Most studies focus on short-term…

This article examines cross-ethnic friendships among ethnic minority and Han majority students at a Chinese university. This university is characterized by its institutional mission to meet the needs of ethnic minority students and its commitment to serving as a minority-majority university. However, our study demonstrates that high levels of…

This article reports a qualitative action research study regarding the influence of strategies that may be used in oral conversation to avoid communication breakdowns. After analyzing college students' performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes, the problem was that many adult learners exhibited poor oral English communication…

Purpose: Although community colleges play a role in democratizing education and engaging in social integration, particularly in times of economic transition, there remains a lack of qualitative studies on academic achievement gaps between the various student populations attending community colleges. Therefore, this study examines the academic…

This research was conducted to investigate AI integration in the development and evaluation of English oral communication skills, within both academic and professional practices. This study used a mixed-methods design, combining data from a quasi-experiment with qualitative data collected through interviews with students and instructors. Results…

Writing and its role in English as a foreign language (EFL) context has been one of the primary areas of focus for many years. The present study examined the effects of mobile-based concept mapping on EFL learners' writing fluency and motivation. To fulfill the objective, 70 upper-intermediate level Persian EFL learners were assigned into one…

Previous studies have explored the roles of metacognitive instruction and collaborative writing, separately, in English writing. Little attention has been paid to students' writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). The present study aims to bridge this gap through investigating integrated writing performances based on the linguistic…

Whereas scholars have extensively researched the pedagogical potential of 4/3/2 activities (i.e. increasing time pressure in task repetition) for enhancing second language (L2) fluency, its impact on L2 accuracy remains unclear. To help L2 learners improve both fluency and accuracy, the present study examined the effects of adding accuracy…