The measurement of test-taking strategies and practices, mostly studied through qualitative methods, has been an important aspect of language testing and assessment research. The current study examines the test-taking strategies of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test-takers and reports the process of designing and validating…

Purpose: Speech and language disorders can negatively affect preschool children's communicative participation skills. Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six-34 (FOCUS-34) is a valid and reliable scale that evaluates communicative participation in preschool children with speech and language disorders. This study aimed to establish the…

The idea of sources other than the test-takers' knowledge leading to different results on high-stakes tests was the motif based on which the present investigation was initiated on the probable sources of unreliability of a test. For this purpose, the researchers went through a thorough literature review with the aim to identify the issues to be…

Studies have shown that raising L2 learners' metaphor awareness contributes to the acquisition of figurative language, which fosters students' development of language skills. However, the instruments measuring metaphor awareness, in the majority of relevant research, did not seem to have undergone proper methodological procedures for checking…

Minority languages in diglossic situations with a majority language face the danger of eventual loss of vitality. The first sign of this is when child language acquisition begins to erode. This dissertation investigates the intergenerational transmission of the Isan language, spoken in the Northeastern region of Thailand. While the Isan community…

There are several student performances assessed in Intensive English Programs (IEPs) worldwide in each academic year. These student performances are mostly graded by human raters with a certain degree of error. However, the accuracy of these performance assessments is of utmost importance because they feed data into some high stakes decisions…

Metacognitive awareness of listening strategies has a supporting role in explaining L2 listening comprehension. Although metacognitive awareness is language-independent, language proficiency may determine whether learners can utilize such a cognitive resource during multiple language development. The current study explores the listening strategy…

The variable success in learning a second language (L2) may be best explained by varying degrees of motivation. This study investigated whether individual differences in appraisal dimensions of motivation explained explicit and implicit syntactic knowledge. Participants learned three syntactic structures under implicit and explicit training…

The co-occurrence of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD), maltreatment, and language disorders (LD) is recognized in school-age children; however, the nature of the interaction between them remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to explore associations between LD and SEBD in children with and without suspected…

With the recent implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 705, assessment and placement practices for math and English have taken center stage in many California Community Colleges. However, it is just as important to develop an understanding of how best to assess and place English language learner (ELL) students as well. In February 2019, the Research…

Existing methods used to validate self-report questionnaires in foreign language teaching effectiveness have relied on Classical Test Theory (CTT). However, the use of CTT approaches limits the reliability and validity of self-report instruments. The Rasch Model, which is based on the principles of objective measurement, addresses some of the…

Computer based testing has become a prevailing tendency in education. Each year, a large number of students take online language tests everywhere in the world. In fact, there is a tendency to make these tests more and more used due to their low cost of delivery. However, many students are forced to take them despite their interests, feelings and…

Language proficiency tests have become common instruments to judge people based on their performance. Thus, the scores on language proficiency tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), play a crucial role in the test-takers' lives. Because of increasing demands on…

The aim of this research is to determine the structural relationship pattern between rehearsal, elaboration, organization and critical thinking strategies and academic achievement. 414 university students attending a public university in Istanbul participated in the study. As a data collection tool, "Motivated Strategies for Learning…

A well established finding is that the cognitive component of test anxiety (worry) is negatively related to examination performance. The present study examined how 3 self-beliefs (academic buoyancy, perceived control, and test competence) moderated the strength of the relationship between worry and examination performance in a sample of 270 final…