CHILD, FAMILY, AND SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO ENGLISH PROFICIENCY DEVELOPMENT AMONG FOUR-YEAR-OLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLS) IN MIAMI Yoon Kyong Kim, Ph.D George Mason University, 2011 Dissertation Director: Dr. Adam Winsler English Language Learners (ELLs), in addition to increased risk for living in poverty, experience the extra challenge of learning a second language while tryin...

Interpreting sentences spoken in a second language can be demanding and plagued with uncertainty, especially for lower proficiency listeners. While native language listeners use numerous information sources to anticipate upcoming words accurately, the pattern of anticipation may be different for second language users. We explore this issue in bilinguals with varying English proficiency by recor...

In the present study, we examined the relation of knowledge of semantic radicals to students’ language proficiency and word reading for adult Chinese-as-a-foreign language students. Ninety-seven college students rated their proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Chinese, and were administered measures of receptive and productive knowledge of semantic radical position and fu...

Oral communication always demands clarity in producing a language such as English order to minimize or avoid failure. However, the context of using medium among speakers who consider it their second language, regardless acquired proficiency, they still commit phonological errors, either intended otherwise. Ironically, commission errors expected phonology consequently facilitated process instead...

The authors argue that English language learner (ELL) language assessment policy and poor language tests partly account for ELLs’ disproportionate representation in special education. Previous research indicates that many states routinely assess ELLs’ first language (L1) at initial enrollment and that ELLs identified as limited in both languages have relatively high rates of identification in s...

Abstract This study aimed to examine the impacts of computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) and rater-mediated on test anxiety, writing performance, oral proficiency Iranian EFL learners. Based Preliminary English Test (PET) results, a sample 64 intermediate participants was chosen from 93 students. Running convenience sampling technique, target test-takers were randomly divided into experimenta...

This study investigates how students with basic English and Arabic language proficiency from the foreign perceive their oral communication challenges in completing project for Oral Communication Language Level 3 - Interviewing Native/Second speakers target language. Qualitative research using case method was adopted. A total of 74 & were taken this is on purposeful sampling. Students requir...

We are developing a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) system for practicing oral proficiency that makes use of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) to provide feedback on grammar and pronunciation. Since good quality unconstrained non-native ASR is not yet feasible, we use an approach in which we try to elicit constrained responses. The task in the current experiments is to select uttera...

Speaking is a significant skill that many foreign language learners are trying to master. In this study, the effectiveness of two different speaking activities, i.e. oral presentation vs. free discussion, was investigated from quantitative and qualitative points of view. To achieve this purpose, 44 intermediate learners from a language institute in Tehran participated in the study. Half of the ...