Proponents of extensive reading argue that test-oriented language teaching and learning could discourage extensive reading practice. However, this has not been examined empirically. Given the possibility that the consistency of reading texts used in extensive reading and entrance examinations is one source of washback, the present study employed a…

The purpose of this paper is to (a) establish whether meaning recall and meaning recognition item formats test psychometrically distinct constructs of vocabulary knowledge which measure separate skills, and, if so, (b) determine whether each construct possesses unique properties predictive of L2 reading proficiency. Factor analyses and…

Researchers suggest that claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed (meaningfulness) and score reports (consequences). Evaluation of stakeholders' actual uses and interpretations of score reports in…

Although there is abundant evidence for the use of first-language (L1) knowledge by bilinguals when using a second language (L2), investigation into the impact of L1 knowledge in large-scale L2 language assessments and discussion of how such impact may be controlled has received little attention in the language assessment literature. This study…

Background: The present study aimed to examine the early growth of word and nonword reading fluency and their cognitive predictors in a consistent syllabic orthography (Japanese "Hiragana"). Method: One hundred sixty-nine Grade 1 Japanese children (M[subscript age] = 80.12 months, SD = 3.62) were followed until the middle of Grade 2 and…

The present study investigated the impact of chunk reading training (CRT) on the online syntactic processing and verbal working memory (WM) of Japanese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in secondary school. For four weeks, the treatment group (N = 31) underwent CRT, while the control group (N = 25) participated in reading training in…

While previous research has provided insights into vocabulary learning through extensive reading, the differential effects of word frequency and word class on active form and passive meaning word recognition remain less understood. By evaluating learners' post-test performance in active form recognition and passive meaning recognition, this study…

Self-determination theory has been applied in various educational contexts. Language learning researchers have used factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate measures designed for this theory, but Rasch analysis has not been conducted. The Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) and the Language…

In this study, I sought to investigate whether visuospatial working memory (VWM) explains individual differences in reading fluency growth. One hundred and thirty Japanese junior and senior high school students were administered the Mr. Peanut and reversed Corsi tasks, respectively as measures of VWM, followed by three waves of reading fluency…

The redesigned four-skills "TOEIC Bridge"® tests were designed to measure the listening, reading, speaking, and writing proficiency of beginning to low--intermediate English learners in the context of everyday life. In this paper, I describe two studies that were conducted to investigate claims about the meaningfulness of redesigned…

Vocableveltest.org is a testing platform on which users can create on- line self-marking meaning-recall (reading or listening) and form-recall (typing) tests that address a number of limitations of the existing vocabulary level tests and vocabulary size tests. A major limitation of many existing vocabulary tests is the written receptive…

Despite their well-established connections to student motivation and to learning outcomes, attributions, particularly at the task-level, have not garnered much attention in L2 learning research. However, research evidence in educational psychology (e.g., Stajkovic & Sommer, 2000) suggests that L2 task attributions may affect subsequent task…

This quasi-experimental study traces a 12-week reading fluency training program for elementary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at a Japanese university (N = 56). More specifically, this study examined whether a teaching intervention combining (a) extensive reading and practicing, (b) timed reading, and (c) repeated oral reading…

This study is an extension of Nahatame's (2018) research that demonstrated the effects of causal and semantic relations between sentences on second language (L2) text processing. Employing eye tracking, this study aimed to examine whether these effects appear during more natural, uninterrupted reading processes and to identify the time course of…

Low-proficient L2 readers, especially, struggle for literal understanding of the text and for appropriately using reading strategy (RS). We examined whether and how the development of L2- English reading comprehension skills is associated with the frequency and kinds of L2 RS use. Fifty Japanese learners of English completed a reading…