Many different elements have a significant impact on the effectiveness of both teaching and assessment. The ever-expanding body of research on assessment has provided an overview of several cognitive, social, and emotional aspects that impact the academic accomplishment of learners in either a direct or indirect manner. In spite of the promising…

To examine the effects of listening test preparation, we had three groups, two experimental and one control (63 learners total), partake in three types of instruction sandwiched between two equally difficult listening tests (pretests and posttests). The first experimental group took four practice tests and received "explicit"…

Considerable evidence indicates that self-efficacy, task value, anxiety, and the use of language learning strategies are related. However, there is currently an insufficient understanding about their relations in high-stakes testing contexts. The author aimed to investigate how well social factors, test value, anxiety, test performance, and…

This study sought to explore the perspectives of learners involved in the IELTS Academic Writing Module courses. In particular, the study explored learner perspectives of motivation, test-taking anxiety, test-taking strategies, and the expectations students bring to their courses. This study adopted a mixed methodology and collected data through…

Two studies are presented: one study to complement previous empirical investigations in the field of English as a second language (ESL) concerning test anxiety by having examinees reflect on sources of stress during major examinations, and a comparison between anxiety factors in content and skills courses. In the first study, nine university…