This paper represents a summary and discussion of the three studies presented at the morning session of the Fall 2022 JALT Vocabulary SIG. The papers, which were written by Ali Al-Hoorie, Masaki Eguchi, Derek Canning, Stuart McLean, Christopher Nicklin, and Joseph Vitta, represent a range of topics and study designs that are common in recent…

The study investigates how the test modality (spoken or written) of classroom weekly quizzes influences vocabulary learning strategies and facilitates learning the spoken and written knowledge of form-meaning connection in L2 words. Japanese university students in academic English courses were assigned to two experimental conditions (spoken test…

This study explored two assessment approaches to oral performances: analytical complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) indices and human raters' evaluations. CAF indices are frequently used in second-language speaking (L2) research; however, because tasks are communicative and goal-oriented, the degree to which students achieve such communicative…

As a result of the Japanese Ministry of Education's recent edict that students' written and spoken English should be assessed in university entrance exams, there is an urgent need for tools to help teachers and students prepare for these exams. Although some commercial tools already exist, they are generally expensive and inflexible. To address…

The present study examined whether oral interactive (pair) rehearsals and individual rehearsals promote second language (L2) learners' communication ability. The participants were 60 first-year students from two required English classes at a national university in Japan. One class was designated as 'the compulsory rehearsal' group (CR, n=28); the…

Despite an emphasis on oral communication in most foreign language classrooms, the resource-intensive nature (i.e. time and manpower) of speaking tests hinder regular oral assessments. A possible solution is the development of a (semi-) automated scoring system. When it is used in conjunction with human raters, the consistency of computers can…

This paper aims to clarify the expected oral proficiency level for secondary school English teachers in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (hereafter MEXT) encourages public secondary school English teachers to reach a threshold level of the Pre-1st Grade of Eiken (an English proficiency test).…

This paper examines the differences correlation between instructor- and peer-based participation scores and oral proficiency in an EFL course focusing on oral communication. It finds that there is very little correlation between instructor-based and peer-based participation scores (r = 0.187, p = 0.053) and that the former is more associated with…

This paper is an investigation into the use of the group oral discussion test (GOT) to detect changes in speaking proficiency over a two-year period. In this test, three or four test-takers discuss a topic for up to 10 minutes without outside intervention. The performance of 53 Japanese university English major students on this test was videoed…

This paper reports how robot-assisted language learning (RALL) impacts Japanese adults' English speaking skills. With existing research on RALL focusing on children, there is little evidence indicating RALL's effects on adults. We developed a RALL system comprising a robot, a tablet, and designed learning materials for speaking practice. To…

Learning language in the classroom often means interacting with peers in small groups. There is a growing body of empirical research highlighting the factors that have an impact on student interaction and an increasing focus on the social context. This article aims to broaden the focus of research by considering the influence of emergent…

The current study investigated the extent to which L2 learners' productive vocabulary knowledge could predict multiple dimensions of spontaneous speech production. A total of 39 English as a foreign language (EFL) participants with varying L2 proficiency levels first completed a productive vocabulary knowledge task (Lex30). Their spontaneous…

The field of L2 pragmatics demonstrates the effect of instructional intervention on the development of L2 learners' pragmatic competence. Nevertheless, effective instruction requires knowledge of pragmatic performances of L2 learners in naturally occurring conversations, in comparison to those of the target community speakers. This study, using a…

Languaging has been identified as a contributor to language learning. Yet, compared to oral languaging, such as collaborative dialogs in contextualized settings, little seems to be known about written languaging. In order to fill this gap, this study investigates languaging in the form of "metanotes," that is, metatalk in a written…

The ultimate aim of our research project was to use the Google Web Speech API to automate scoring of elicited imitation (EI) tests. However, in order to achieve this goal, we had to take a number of preparatory steps. We needed to assess how accurate this speech recognition tool is in recognizing native speakers' production of the test items; we…