Purpose: Early detection of language delays is essential, as language is key for academic outcomes, well-being, and societal participation. Previous studies have focused on undetected delays in young children. Much less is known about referrals at older ages. In this study, we aimed to (a) establish how many children are referred at toddler age…

This study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted assessment on young L2 learners' vocabulary knowledge, immunity, and resilience, considering parental and teacher support roles. Sixty junior high school students in Afghanistan, aged 13 to 14, participated in the study. They were divided into an experimental group…

Connectives such as "because" and "but" are crucial for signaling coherence relations in discourse. They contribute to a better reading comprehension and, thus, academic performance. The aim of this article is to contribute to our understanding of connective development during teenage years by studying individual differences in…

This brief examines the outcomes of high school-aged newcomer students--recently-arrived immigrant English learners--in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Data from the 2007-2008 through 2018-2019 school years show that newcomer students who attended Liberty High School upon arrival in the U.S. had similar levels of academic…

In this study we seek evidence of validity according to the socio-cognitive framework (Weir, 2005) for a new sentence repetition test (SRT) for young Deaf L1 Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS) users. SRTs have been developed for various purposes for both spoken and sign languages to assess language development in children. In order to address the…

This paper reports on a study that explored the impacts of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) English test on students' motivation to learn English. Unlike previous studies on test impact, this study has extensively explored both the pre-test and post-test impacts of the test on students' motivation to learn English. The data generated…

Although non-native English speakers have been defined as a single distinct group in the most research literature, it has been relatively recently argued that they extensively vary in socio-cultural background, socio-economic status (SES), and parental education background wherein they grow cognitively. The present research, therefore, was…

In this research report, we describe the design and empirical findings for a large-scale study of essay writing ability with approximately 2,500 high school students in Germany and Switzerland on the basis of 2 tasks with 2 associated prompts, each from a standardized writing assessment whose scoring involved both human and automated components.…

Parents, one of the primary stakeholders in their child's performance in tests, can play a vital role in assessment. As these high-stakes tests are likely to bring life-changing consequences to students' lives, most parents try their best to help their children to prepare for them. However, almost no research has explored the nature of parental…

The broad range of English language teaching and learning contexts present in the world today necessitates high quality assessment instruments that can provide reliable and meaningful information about learners' English proficiency levels to relevant stakeholders. The "TOEFL Junior"® tests were recently introduced by Educational Testing…

In this study, we assessed the invariance in the factor structure underlying English-language proficiency for two groups of adolescent learners in Japan: students in middle school (ages 13-15 years) and students in high school (ages 16-18 years). Language proficiency was measured using the "TOEFL Junior"® Comprehensive test, an…

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and in preparation for standards-aligned assessments and twenty-first-century literacy demands, the needs of the adolescents who struggle with reading demand attention. Students who exhibit poor literacy levels have historically occupied seats in secondary classrooms, but the likelihood…

The present study attempted to investigate the possible impacts of Individual Concept Mapping (ICM) and Collaborative Concept Mapping (CCM) strategies on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. For this purpose, 90 pre-intermediate female language learners ranged between 12 to 17 years of age were selected to randomly assign into ICM, CCM and…

Background: In spite of considerable advancements in our understanding of the different factors involved in achieving vocabulary-learning success, the overall pattern and interrelationships of critical factors involved in L2 vocabulary learning--particularly, the mechanisms through which learners regulate their motivation and learning…

This study has two aims: one is to examine whether or not there are individual differences in motivation to read English as a Foreign Language (EFL) among Taiwanese adolescents, and the other is to scrutinize whether or not a gender gap exists among those readers. A total of 252 adolescents, half of them female and the other half male,…