Many tertiary language courses have some online components as part of their blended learning initiatives. These online activities could be part of assessments, and online quizzes/tests can be used as preparation for the demanding final written examination. This study attempts to shed some light on the effects of online tests on final examination…

The importance of phonological awareness (PA) for the acquisition of literacy skills has been widely recognized. Across languages, PA is commonly examined using the Oddity test, however, for Chinese-speaking children, Pinyin invented spelling is recommended as being a more powerful tool to assess PA. However, it is still unclear whether this holds…

To date, language testing research has devoted little attention to adult L2 learners with low levels of alphabetic print literacy (LESLLA), even though this population makes up for a substantial proportion of the candidature of language tests used for migration purposes. This special issue focuses on LESLLA learners, shows how literacy impacts…

Large language models, such as OpenAI's GPT-4, have the potential to revolutionize automated writing evaluation (AWE). The present study examines the performance of the GPT-4 model in evaluating the writing of young English as a foreign language learners. Responses to three constructed response tasks (n = 1908) on Educational Testing Service's…

Accompanying the still pervasive influence of the College English Test (CET), some universities in China, especially the higher-ranking ones, have in recent years devised and implemented their own local English testing regimes. This significant shift, however, has captured limited research attention. Building on considerations in local language…

In the field of second language assessment, there is limited empirical research on the alignment of different language proficiency standards. This study aims to establish level correspondences for overall language proficiency between China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages…

This study aims to provide a comprehensive profile of collocational competence, a key component of one's overall linguistic competence. For the maximum of ecological validity, we elicited naturalistic oral/written production data from 84 Chinese intermediate EFL learners and performed a 2×2 fashion of analysis on their performance in each of the…

This evaluation report examines extensive reading (ER) speed and words read by students at a Japanese university using a digital ER platform called Xreading and compares them to standardized test reading performance using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The study focuses on first- and second-year students who…

The aim of this study was to explore the connection between students' anxiety levels during language classes and their performance on English achievement exams. A random sampling method was employed to select participants. Students' levels of foreign language classroom anxiety were measured using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, a…

Multimodal input can significantly support second language (L2) vocabulary learning and comprehension. However, very little research has examined how L2 learners, especially young learners, allocate attention when exposed to such input and whether learning from multimodal input can be explained by attention allocation. This study therefore…

This article outlines the development of a 16-item instrument for measuring language learner's foreign language self-efficacy (SE) concerning their speaking and listening skills through repeated administrations to groups of Japanese tertiary students. Responses were analysed through the Rasch model, which allows researchers to investigate…

This study examined the semantic features of the simulated mini-lectures in the listening sections of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) based on automatized semantic analysis to explore the content validity of the two tests. Two study corpora were utilized, the IELTS…

Learning English as a foreign language is a complex and challenging endeavour for many students worldwide, requiring the acquisition of multiple language skills. Moreover, success in language learning is determined by several factors, including the learners' learning motivations and perceptions of their competence. The purpose of this research is…

Although language assessments for medical professionals in the UK are changing, there is still a need for them to demonstrate their proficiency in English before working in the National Health Service (NHS). When providing English for specific purposes (ESP) courses for retraining refugee doctors, we need to consider all the potential barriers…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension at Debre Markos University. A quantitative approach was taken to gather and analyze the data. Out of 235 students learning at the college, 61 samples were taken randomly. To investigate their knowledge of vocabulary breadth,…