Aptitude is a hypernym used in training and practice-based contexts to refer to a person's natural or acquired ability to do something. It tends to be an attribute that is 'forward-looking', i.e. referring to a person's probability of achieving success in the future. This paper adopts a retrospective perspective in looking at the 'success…

English Learner (EL) students in the United States are historically lower achieving students than their native- English-speaking peers. There are a number of contributing factors for the achievement gap. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education has undertaken various initiatives to address some of the known factors to improve education…

Background: This study investigates the effectiveness and fairness of teacher-led assessment of students' in-class participation and its effect on actual participation levels and language test scores, taking into account the diversity of second language learners' learning styles. Methods: The level of participation was measured across ten criteria…

A number of scholars have questioned the practice of assessing academic writing in the context of a one-off language test, claiming that the time restrictions imposed in the test environment, when compared to the writing conditions typical at university, may prevent learners from displaying the kinds of writing skills required in academic…