This research investigated the identification ability of English voiceless fricatives by Japanese listeners with high and low English proficiency. A perceptual experiment was carried out in five listening environments: RT (Reverberation Time) = 0.78 s, 1.12 s, 1.43 s, RT = 0.78 s + background noise at SNR (Signal-to-Noise ratio) = 10 dB, and quiet. Correct identification rates were calculated a...

The increasing number of experimental studies on second language (L2) processing, frequently with English as the L2, calls for a practical and valid measure of English vocabulary knowledge and proficiency. In a large-scale study with Dutch and Korean speakers of L2 English, we tested whether LexTALE, a 5-min vocabulary test, is a valid predictor of English vocabulary knowledge and, possibly, ev...

We describe first results obtained during the development of an automatic system for the assessment of spoken English proficiency of university students. The ultimate aim of this system is to allow fast, consistent and objective assessment of oral proficiency for the purpose of placing students in courses appropriate to their language skills. Rate of speech (ROS) was chosen as an indicator of f...

Hispanic children with (n=148) and without (n=148) limited English proficiency were given the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT; J. A. Naglieri. 1997a) and the Stanford Achievement Test-9th edition (SAT-9: 1995). The groups were selected from the NNAT standardization sample (N=22.620) and matched on geographic region, gender, socioeconomic status, urbanicity. and ethnicity. There was a very...

With Grey relational analysis (GRA), the paper examined the sensitivity of eight variables influencing test performance at branch level. The eight variables involved included language proficiency, test anxiety, self-esteem, achievement motivation, achievement goal, English proficiency test anxiety (EPTA), state anxiety and trait anxiety. Results showed that: (a) Besides language proficiency, mo...

This study investigated the effects of two perceptually-based training paradigms in both the perception and production of English /e/ and /æ/ by Cantonese ESL learners with high and low listening and oral proficiency levels. Sixty-four subjects participated in the study, in which 22 (9 with high proficiency, H-HV; 13 with low proficiency, L-HV) were trained under High Variability Phonetic Train...

The present study examined to what extent proficiency in a non-native language influences speech perception in noise. We explored how English proficiency affected native (Swedish) and non-native (English) speech perception in four speech reception threshold (SRT) conditions, including two energetic (stationary, fluctuating noise) and two informational (two-talker babble Swedish, two-talker babb...

This research aimed to investigate ESP oral reading miscues by 3 major groups reading three domain-specific texts from qualitative/quantitative, integrative and direct perspectives via Goodman’s Reading Miscue Inventory (2005, Y.M. Goodman). The three different domain-specific texts were justified as equivalent in terms of readability, vocabulary frequency, rhetorical organization, genre, level...

This study examined the association between English language proficiency and health outcomes in a regional probability sample (n = 205) of elderly Chinese and Korean immigrants. Data support that these two Asian ethnic subgroups differ in English proficiency and health-related quality of life. Chinese and Korean elders had poorer health than the national norms, and poor English proficiency was ...

Previous studies have shown that some English vowel contrasts remain difficult for English learners to perceive. This study investigated three potential factors affecting vowel perception: cross-language vowel systems, spectral distance, and language proficiency, for the discrimination and identification of English /ɪ/-/ε/, /ε/-/æ/, /ʊ/-/ʌ/, and /ʌ/-/ɒ/ contrasts in four groups of listeners: L1...