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…

This cross-sectional study examined the effects of English language proficiency on Jordanian EFL students' production and comprehension of apology strategies. The participants were 270 Jordanian EFL learners and 90 native speakers of English. Data were collected using Written Discourse Completion Test (WDCT) and Multiplechoice Discourse Completion…

This study was to compare the processes that second language learners implemented when completing reading tasks in a multiple-choice question format (MCQ) with those in a short-answer question format (SAQ). Sixteen nonnative English-speaking students from a large Midwestern college in the United States were invited to complete MCQ and SAQ English…

This study focused on the development of the word level classification vocabulary learning (WCVL) system and the measurement of its effectiveness in terms of the potential of the system and learners' improvement in learning English material through the WCVL system. There are many ways to improve reading comprehension for those learning English as…

High stakes testing, such as IELTS, is designed to select individuals for decision-making purposes (Fulcher, 2013b). Hence, there is a slow-growing stream of research investigating the subskills of IELTS listening and, in feedback terms, its effects on individuals and educational programs. Here, cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) performs it…

This study aimed to examine the effect of test format on test performance by comparing Multiple Choice (MC) and Constructed Response (CR) vocabulary tests in an EFL setting. Also, this paper investigated the function of gender in MC and CR vocabulary measures. To this end, five 20-item stem-equivalent vocabulary tests (CR, and 3-, 4-, 5-, and…

Testing organizations are faced with increasing demand to provide subscores in addition to the total test score. However, psychometricians argue that most subscores do not have added value to be worth reporting. To have added value, subscores need to meet a number of criteria: they should be reliable, distinctive, and distinct from each other and…

The main objective of the article is to compare several methods of evaluating multiple-choice options through classical item analysis. The methods subjected to examination include the tabulation of choice distribution, the interpretation of trace lines, the point-biserial correlation, the categorical analysis of trace lines, and the investigation…

The main purpose of this study is to investigate guessing in the Yes/No (YN) format vocabulary test. One-hundred-and-five university students took a YN test, a translation task and a multiple-choice vocabulary size test (MC VST). With matched lexical properties between the real words and the pseudowords, pseudowords could index guessing in the YN…

We study the automatic identification of educational items worthy of content authors' attention. Based on the results of such analysis, content authors can revise and improve the content of learning environments. We provide an overview of item properties relevant to this task, including difficulty and complexity measures, item discrimination, and…

Spaced repetition has been widely implemented and examined in mobile-assisted word learning as an important learning strategy. However, the nature of spaced repetition by commercial word-learning apps and the factors leading to the favoured mobile-assisted spaced repetition have yet to be investigated in authentic contexts. In this study, we coded…

The objective of this study was to employ a new tool for assessing pragmatic "proficiency" (over "performance") in L2 students and to determine if pragmatic lessons on compliment sequences had a positive impact on L2 Spanish students' intercultural competence. To this end, students at a Midwestern college engaged in live video…

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of scaffolding strategies using input and output-oriented tasks on Iranian EFL learners' receptive and productive knowledge of lexical collocations. For this purpose, 540 adult intermediate-level EFL learners--both male and female--were selected and divided into six experimental groups; three…

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is proposed as a workable diagnostic tool in second or foreign language context. Compared to traditional non-dynamic testing, DA presents a more comprehensive account of human beings' abilities through addressing both the fully internalized abilities and the abilities that are in the process of being internalized. However,…

While aptitude has been seen to contribute to second language (L2) development, most studies have examined its contribution as a fixed trait, rather than viewing it as a dynamic, changing variable. There appears to have been little or no investigation of the role that aptitude plays in the development of L2 pragmatic ability. Therefore, this study…