Acquiring complex oral presentation skills is cognitively demanding for students and demands intensive teacher guidance. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to identify and apply design guidelines in developing an effective formative assessment method for oral presentation skills during classroom practice, and (b) to develop and compare two…

The general consensus in second language (L2) acquisition research that instruction facilitates L2 development has been confirmed in a growing number of meta-analyses and research syntheses conducted in an increasingly wide range of L2 areas, including, recently, pronunciation instruction. Yet, little research has been done on the…

This study is about the development and validation process of the Computerized Oral Proficiency Test of English as a Foreign Language (COPTEFL). The test aims at assessing the speaking proficiency levels of students in Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages (AUSFL). For this purpose, three monologic tasks were developed based on the Global…

In an exploration of the effects of task-repetition practice on fluency development, English-as-a-foreign language learners performed three oral narrative tasks involving six-frame cartoons for 3 consecutive days. They engaged in task-repetition practice under either a blocked (Day 1: A-A-A; Day 2: B-B-B; Day 3: C-C-C) or an interleaved (Day 1:…

As development of research ethics competencies is in the focus in higher education (HE) institutions, it is crucial to understand how to support the learning process during such training. While there is plenty of research on how to scaffold children's learning of cognitive skills, there is limited knowledge on how to enhance collaborative…

This study explores the status quo of speaking strategies used by Chinese High School Students of International Department by using both questionnaire and interview. The participants were 90 second-year Chinese High School Students of International Department, and then the data were analyzed by SPSS 18.0. The study yields certain results. First,…

This research examines the effectiveness of using the VoiceThread (VT) application (both web and mobile-based) for the development of oral English skills of Russian university students. The study involved 44 full-time bachelor students in non-linguistic departments. The results were evaluated by on-line questionnaire using SurveyMonkey. The survey…

The paper focuses on the vers libre prosody taking into account the auditory aspect of its oral actualisation. The main hypothesis of the study is that vers libre is constituted with a range of definite stable prosodic features that allow referring it to versification and at the same time to something different from a metered text and prose.…

Linking one's contribution to those of others' is a salient feature demonstrating interactional competence in paired/group speaking assessments. While such responses are to be constructed spontaneously while engaging in real-time interaction, the amount and nature of pre-task preparation in paired/group speaking assessments may have an influence…

Hyper-articulation of vowel and consonant contrasts is often reported in infant-directed speech (IDS), but is not universal cross-linguistically, and may be a side-effect of speaking rate. This study investigated the voicing characteristics of the four-way oral stop voicing contrast in Nepali IDS. Both lead and lag time of word-onset/g,…

The authors describe a component of Babson College's master of science in accounting program that links a technical analysis course with writing and oral communication courses to provide students with skills necessary to efficiently manage group-centered projects and effectively communicate technical information. Initial quantitative and…

This study investigated a range of fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and content features of young language students' speaking performances, using a discourse-analytic approach. In total, 179 test takers' responses to the speaking section of the "TOEFL Junior"® Comprehensive test were selected for analysis. Mixed-design ANOVAs were used to…

This study aimed to evaluate whether or not students engage in self-help behavior when they encounter difficulties during their presentations. The participants were second year EFL college trainees; the data were obtained from their classroom presentations. The audio recorded data has been transcribed, coded, and categorized into quantitative and…

The present paper focuses on pinpointing the implications of Oral presentation for fostering learners' autonomy by employing experimental and qualitative research methods. The study investigated a group of participants comprised of 15 students majoring in English as A foreign language (EFL) at Qassim University. The key data was collected from the…

Traditionally, content assessments have been carried out through written language. However, the latest standards in U.S. K-12 education expect all students, including English learners (ELs), to demonstrate their content learning using multiple modalities. This study examined the performance of fifth-grade students at varying levels of English…