There are few published estimates of vocabulary sizes amongst students in tertiary education. Research does not offer estimates of the vocabulary size tertiary students might be expected to possess, though estimates exist for K-12 education, some EFL contexts, and the general population. Such research is important. For reading comprehension during…

Little is known about what academics focus on when providing assessment feedback to international students for whom English is an additional language (EAL). This study examines written assessment feedback provided to 11 EAL-speaking international students throughout a two-year Master of Social Work programme and investigates their perspectives of…

The University English Centres of Australia (UECA) 'Assessment Symposium: Assessment Practice in a Changing World' at Southern Cross University in October 2022 highlighted the growing interest in integrated assessment in Australian university direct entry programs (DEPs) for English as Additional Language (EAL) students. In keynote presentations,…

This study investigates the effect of personal investment in the form of learner-generated content (LGC) on the lexical recall of beginning-level learners of Chinese. The study employed a 2 x 2 repeated-measures design with content at two levels -- teacher-generated content or TGC, and learner-generated content or LGC -- and time at two levels…

The multiliteracies framework provides a pedagogical approach relevant to English language direct entry pathway (DEP) programs at university, recognising that education and communication in a multicultural, multimodal, and globalised world involves more than language literacy. Integrated assessments, in which some combination of listening,…

The overarching aim of the study is to explore the extent to which test takers' performances on monologic speaking tasks provide information about their interactional competence. This is an important concern from a test use perspective, as stakeholders tend to consider test scores as providing comprehensive information about all aspects of L2…

The past two decades have witnessed growing interest in Higher Education (HE) achievement standards. Globally, the English Language Teaching (ELT) sector provides students with Direct Entry (DE) English language program (ELP) pathways to university study. It has typically relied on commercially available English language tests to ensure…

Purpose: This research compared individuals from two first language (L1) backgrounds (English and Japanese) to determine how they may differ in their perception of Mandarin tones (Tones 1 vs. 2 [T1-T2], Tones 1 vs. 3 [T1-T3], Tones 1 vs. 4 [T1-T4], Tones 2 vs. 3 [T2-T3], Tones 2 vs. 4 [T2-T4], Tones 3 vs. 4 [T3-T4]) on account of their L1. Method:…

In this paper, we present and illustrate four principles used to develop discipline-specific academic language tutorials for students who enter university with low levels of academic language proficiency. The tutorials are part of a university-wide language support program following a post enrolment language assessment (PELA). The principles…

Making inferences about a test taker's language ability has been a concern for language testers. Defining language ability in a speaking test is made difficult because the construct involves factors within and beyond the test taker. One underlying factor is the use of strategies. This study probes test takers' strategic processes and their use in…

Chinese universities are actively pursuing cross-border collaborations in the form of transnational higher education programmes. Our study captures the experiences of Chinese students to illuminate how they navigate their learning journeys in a China-Australia articulation programme. To communicate the complexity of learning in modern…

To address the demands from their courses, students with insufficient language proficiency who cannot attend the standard subject-specific academic language development program are directed to an alternative discipline-specific program -- the Language Development Tutorial in Block mode, at the University of Technology Sydney. This practice report…

Effective test preparation for high-stakes English language tests is crucial for candidates whose futures depend on attaining a particular score. An increasing number of studies have investigated the role of test preparation; however, these studies have been exclusively conducted in individual contexts and countries around the world. This study…

In times of widening participation, Australian universities trade on notions of diversity, framing themselves as hospitable places of access and inclusion. In this space, Academic Language and Learning (ALL) practitioners may be seen as extending the welcome of the university through practices aimed at addressing students' diverse needs. These…

This is the first study that examines the comparative validity of the Chinese National College Entrance Exam (known as Gaokao) to a Western end-of-secondary-school performance measure, Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), as admission criteria to an Australian undergraduate degree programme. The study offers a strong warning about using just…