With the increased popularity of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education, many East Asian universities are using international English proficiency tests to make admissions and placement decisions. Since these tests were not originally designed for the EMI contexts, validity evidence is needed to support the use of these tests in this…

Research on language planning and policy (LPP) has transcended beyond enacting government-initiated language policy and progressed towards uncovering inherent power relations. The discourse-analytical approach (DA) effectively captures the relation between texts and other elements of social practices. Therefore, this approach has been adopted to…

This paper addresses the intersection of testing and policy, situating test-driven impact and validation within the context of policy-led educational reform in Korea. I will briefly review the existing validation models. Then, arguing for an expansion of the conventional conceptualization of consequential validity research, I use Fairclough's…

High-stakes reading tests significantly influence one's future success, leading many second language learners to engage in intensive test preparation. This study examines nine TOEFL reading preparation lectures from two popular cram schools, or [foreign characters omitted] "hagwons," in Korea, with a total duration of five hours and…

The present study aimed to validate a 70-item Korean bilingual version of the Vocabulary Size Test (VST) using Rasch modeling. The goal was to assess the applicability of this Korean version of the VST for Korean learners of English in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context by examining validity evidence based on Messick's framework.…

Understanding how second language proficiency and other key learner characteristics relate to language learning anxiety subcomponents can help inform the type and quantity of content instructors approach foreign language (FL) students with when teaching English. This study seeks to understand how FL proficiency (i.e., TOEIC reading, TOEIC…

This study investigated how student-centered learning affects first-year college students' perceptions of and construction of investment in English learning. After finishing two reading assignments using a student-centered approach, 50 students completed open-ended written surveys, and 15 students participated in open-ended interviews. Thematic…

This study suggests a conceptual framework for policy-driven test development and validation, using the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) as an example context. By linking the literature on policy analysis and argument structure in the validation of testing, the strong relationships between policy and testing are illustrated. This rationalizes…

In line with increasing attention being paid to the role of positive emotions in second language (L2) proficiency and knowledge, this study set out to examine the relationships between domain-specific emotions (L2 grit, language learning curiosity, foreign language enjoyment, and foreign language classroom anxiety) and L2 vocabulary knowledge. To…

This study explored how visual input enhancement impacts caption-reading behaviors, the acquisition of English collocations, and the recall of onscreen captions. The participants comprised 53 Korean undergraduate students at a high-intermediate level of English proficiency. They were assigned to either a baseline or an enhancement group. The…

This study investigates the acoustic realizations of English phonemic contrasts by Korean EFL learners, comparing their productions with those of native English speakers. Focusing on the segmentally correct production, the research aims to determine if Korean learners' acoustic properties align with those of native speakers, influenced by second…

aaaPlural marking differs across languages. Some must mark plurality using an overt morpheme (e.g. English, Russian), while others mark it optionally (e.g. Korean) or lack an explicit plural morpheme (e.g. Chinese). This crosslinguistic difference in plural marking has received much attention in research exploring language transfer in the context…

This paper investigates the cognitive processes involved in English word recognition among young EFL learners using eye-tracking methodology. A quasi-experimental mixed method design was used to investigate how young L2 learners engage with basic words, with or without pictorial cues. A total of seventeen 6th-grade pupils from two schools…

Using Gyeonggi Educational Panel Study data on 4051 Korean students (N = 4051; 1967 female, 2084 male) from 63 middle schools, this longitudinal study investigated the growth trajectory for second/foreign language (L2) achievement and associations with various L2 motivational factors by using a multilevel latent growth curve model in…

The present study examined whether early immersive L2 exposure in a foreign language learning context can yield long-term advantages in L2 morpho-syntactic sensitivity. Participants were 40 Korean university students with high English proficiency, who had either attended an English kindergarten or begun learning English in a classroom, and a…