In this article, we report the results of a study undertaken at the University of Cyprus (2017-2020) in the framework of the research project MapCyArS financed by the Leventis Foundation. The study concerns the design and development of an assessment test to evaluate proficiency in Cypriot Arabic (CA), a severely endangered language spoken in…

Children need rich language learning experiences in school to build language and reading skills. Research suggests that various effective ways to support teacher provision of these experiences. The Classroom Promotion of Oral Language cluster randomized controlled trial (n = 1,360 students; 687 intervention, 673 control) examined whether a teacher…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of caregivers' reports of family-related environmental confusion--which refers to the level of overstimulation in the family home environment due to auditory and nonauditory (i.e., visual and cognitive) noise--on the relation between child temperament and spoken language outcomes in…

There is resounding evidence of the existence of direct precursors of written language, most specifically phonological awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, and oral comprehension. The initial differences identified in the development of written language precursors are directly related to subsequent students' academic trajectories.…

Self-regulation, an increasingly focus of social-emotional learning curriculums for over twenty years according to Zimmerman (2008), provides students with the ability of "setting goals, selecting strategies, and self-monitoring their effectiveness" as opposed to waiting for others to redirect their behavior (p. 166). Prekindergarten…

Alternative approaches to assessment in education (many of which are linked to inclusive and antiracist pedagogies) are gaining in popularity across the board, from PK--12 to higher education (Esquivel, 2021; St. Amour, 2020). One such antiracist assessment strategy is using labor-based grading contracts (LBGCs), popularized by Inoue (2019; see…

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the time course of meaning activation of the 2nd morpheme processing of compound words during Chinese spoken word recognition using eye tracking technique with the printed-word paradigm. Method: In the printed-word paradigm, participants were instructed to listen to a spoken target word (e.g., [Chinese…

Teacher knowledge is a critical factor in student success. In the Classroom Promotion of Oral Language cluster randomized controlled trial, we aimed to determine whether a teacher professional learning intervention focused on promoting oral language led to improved teacher knowledge. We report a study of the impact of professional learning on…

This paper describes teachers' practices and their perceptions regarding the teaching and learning of oral language in Catalan schools. We used the Assessment Scale for Oral Language Teaching in School Settings (EVALOE) instrument, created and validated with the aim of assessing teachers' practices for promoting the development of language skills…

Children's oral language proficiency (OLP) is integral for developing literacy skills. Storytelling or retelling is often used by parents and educators to elicit children's OLP, yet it is less commonly used for assessment purposes. Leveraged by natural language processing and machine learning, this study examined the extent to which computational…

Tender Shoots is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for parents aimed at improving preschool children's oral language skills relevant for later reading. Parents of 72 preschool children (M = 50 months) were randomly assigned to either a Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) condition, a Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS) condition, or an…

This study investigated the optimum task sequence for second language (L2) novice learners of English. One set of task sequences was manipulated using a deductive and theoretical SSARC (simplify-stabilize-automatize-restructure-complexify) model, and two sets of task sequences were manipulated based on a teacher's inductive classroom observations.…

Despite the increased use of integrated tasks in high-stakes academic writing assessment, research on rating criteria which reflect the unique construct of integrated summary writing skills is comparatively rare. Using a mixed-method approach of expert judgement, text analysis, and statistical analysis, this study examines writing features that…

Purpose: The present study examined the nature of the effects (direct or indirect) of vocabulary, phonological and morphological awareness on early reading skills in the consistent Greek orthography by testing a unifying model of early reading development in a sample of 141 first-grade children. Method: Vocabulary, phonological and morphological…

The present study investigated the effects of different types of form-focused instruction (FFI) on the acquisition of French grammatical gender attribution. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 140 participants in six intact French as a second language (L2) classes. The classes received six 80-minute instructional sessions consisting of…