This study explores the construct validity of speaking tasks included in the TOEFL iBT (e.g., integrated and independent speaking tasks). Specifically, advanced natural language processing (NLP) tools, MANOVA difference statistics, and discriminant function analyses (DFA) are used to assess the degree to which and in what ways responses to these…

This study investigated whether the role of working memory capacity varies over the course of second language (L2) morphosyntactic development. Eighty-seven beginning, intermediate, and advanced university L2 Spanish learners completed two nonverbal tasks measuring executive function (EF) and phonological working memory (PWM) in their native…

Collaborative learning has attracted attention as pedagogic mediation to assist learners' corpus consultation, but some studies have pointed to negative aspects of collaboration. Based on the two sides of collaboration in language learning, this study presents a qualitative investigation of different effects of collaboration depending on task…

National cultural distance is considered to be a strong predictor of language learners' pragmatic competence. To test the actual effect of national cultural distance on pragmatic competence holistically and comprehension and production aspects of pragmatic competence discretely, the current study was conducted on two groups of undergraduate…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of enterprise education on students' understanding of and attitudes to entrepreneurship and enterprise education in initial teacher education. Design/methodology/approach: This paper builds on current literature by introducing student teachers to the theory and practice of…

This article reports a small-scale study carried out in a beginners' Spanish class of second year undergraduate students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a vocabulary task in terms of its impact on vocabulary acquisition, the learners' approach to vocabulary learning and their motivation and engagement. The task…

This study investigates how fluent second-language (L2) learners of English produce and perceive the /ae/-/?/ vowel contrast of Southwestern American English. Two learner groups are examined: (1) early, proficient English speakers who were raised by Spanish-speaking families but who became dominant in English during childhood and, as adults, lack…

Although substantial research indicates motivation contributes significant variance to reading comprehension in upper elementary students, research with students in primary grades has focused, instead, on the relation of motivation to word reading. Assessment of reading motivation in 68 first and second graders indicated word and nonword reading…

Digital storytelling projects provide a variety of opportunities for learning in the language classroom, but along with these opportunities come a number of challenges for both pedagogy and technology. This presentation describes an ongoing multi-method study into factors involved in task-based learning using digital storytelling. Using intact…

The current paper describes a first experiment in the use of TED talks and open tagging exercises to train higher-level comprehension skills, and of automatic logging of the student's actions to investigate the student choices while performing analytical tasks. The experiment took advantage of an interactive learning platform--LearnWeb--that…

Australian teachers, recruited via Facebook, completed an online survey about aspects of numeracy. The survey was designed to explore views on numeracy and capacity to respond to numeracy tasks. In this paper, we focus primarily on responses to two numeracy tasks--one numerical, the other requiring critical evaluation. On the first item, 40%…

This study reports the effectiveness of self- and peer-assessment in improving students' learning experience. Students in a group of four were required to submit two self-assessments, one after the first submission and the other during the final submission of the assignment. An anonymous assignment was then given to each group for a peer-based…

Executive functions (EFs) and intelligence were examined concurrently and longitudinally in 126 preschool children. EF was assessed using the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). Children's intelligence was assessed using the Verbal and Performance subtests from…

Students' activities in game/scenario-based tasks (G/SBTs) can be characterized by a sequence of time-stamped actions of different types with different attributes. For a subset of G/SBTs in which only the order of the actions is of great interest, the process data can be well characterized as a string of characters (i.e., action string) if we…

In this study, we investigated teachers' teaching practices and their underlying beliefs regarding context-based tasks to find a possible explanation for students' difficulties with these tasks. The research started by surveying 27 Junior High School teachers from seven schools in Indonesia through a written questionnaire. Then, to further examine…