Despite concerted efforts to improve the reading skills of English language learners (ELLs), it remains unclear if the interventions they have been receiving produce any positive results. Thus, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine how effective reading interventions are in improving ELLs' reading skills and what factors may influence…

Language learning constitutes a prominent need in the 21st century, and many factors influence it, such as cognitive, affective, social, cultural and physical conditions. Considering that where we learn language impacts how we feel while learning, the present study dwells upon two of these conditions: learning climate and self-efficacy. In this…

This study reports on a conceptual model that provides insight into the relationship between English reading proficiency and academic performance of first-year science and mathematics university students in Ghana, and an empirical test of that model. Longitudinal data were acquired from a sample of 133 students. Using three different mediation…

This paper seeks to examine Korean EFL learners' perceptions of parental involvement and how their attitudes toward parental involvement are associated with the success of parental involvement. Two hundred fifty four EFL children in South Korea participated in a survey asking the degree of their parent's involvement in seven involvement types and…

Since Greece entered the EU, language learning has become prominent and gained further momentum in the context of modern globalized economy. Acknowledging the intense commodification of the modern foreign language education industry, this research explores Greek Foreign Language Learner (FLL) investment in multiple foreign languages, and how…

This study aimed to study the types of recasts given by the teachers and the rate of learners' uptake during one-on-one online English language teaching sessions in Thailand. It examined whether the recasts given to learners with different language proficiency level are different and whether those groups of learners respond to recasts differently.…

In this article, the author talks about establishing a book club comprising international students and scholars and other members of the community interested in improving their English language skills. This book club, free to participants (although sponsored by the English Language Institute of the author's university), ran for ten weeks each over…

This study investigated how bilinguals' perception of their first language (L1) differs according to age of reduced contact with L1 after immersion in a second language (L2). Twenty-one L1 Korean-L2 English bilinguals in the United States, ranging in age of reduced contact from 3 to 15 years, and 17 control participants in Korea were tested…

This article reports findings from a quasi-experimental study conducted to provide evidence of the effectiveness of written scaffolds (keyword captions, full captions, and full transcript) for different proficiency levels. The gap that this article fills is the lack of research on the type of written scaffold that a specific proficiency level can…

This report presents an overview of the "SpeechRater"? automated scoring engine model building and evaluation process for several item types with a focus on a low-English-proficiency test-taker population. We discuss each stage of speech scoring, including automatic speech recognition, filtering models for nonscorable responses, and…

Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis is a key element in evaluating educational test fairness and validity. One of the frequently cited sources of construct-irrelevant variance is gender which has an important role in the university entrance exam; therefore, it causes bias and consequently undermines test validity. The present study aims…

The present research aimed to explore the developmental relationship between bilingual morphological awareness and reading for Chinese natives learning English as a foreign language (EFL learners). Pre- and post-tests were conducted with in an interval of 9 months. Morphological and reading measures in Chinese and English were administered to 139…

The production of specific mental state terms types and functions by caregivers and their TD children and caregivers and their children with ASD were assessed in two contexts: a parent's story-telling task and a child's story-telling task. Caregivers of children with ASD produced less causal talk and proportionally less desire and cognitive talk…

PROBLEM: Italian-Americans belong to one of the cultural groups that have suffered discrimination throughout the decades since their or their families' immigration to the United States. As early the first half of the twentieth century, Italian-Americans had already suffered discrimination, alienation, and exclusion. Such factors became obstacles…

A "heritage language" is defined as a minority language that differs from the dominant language used in a particular community. Codas (children of Deaf adults) who sign but may be dominant in the spoken language of their community present an interesting case due to the added difference of a spoken/signed modality in their linguistic…