Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) has been widely adopted in teaching and learning, yet there has been scant research concerning speaking test adaptation. An emerging type of mobile application is designed to facilitate test takers' performance in a high-stakes speaking test (e.g., the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)).…

One of the biggest challenges for EFL (English as Foreign Language) students to learn English is the lack of practicing environments. Although language researchers have attempted to conduct flipped classrooms to increase the practicing time in class, EFL students generally have difficulties interacting with peers and teachers in English in class.…

English language is an important international language and a considerable part of time and expenses is devoted to learning it. Since many academicians and common people invest a lot of time on learning it, an increase in learning speed is certainly an urgent need. The current study tried to empirically examine the influence of an affective factor…

The pressure to publish in scholarly journals has been increasingly pervading doctoral education worldwide and has become a high-stakes activity for any novice writer who wishes to pursue an academic career. In this manuscript, we explore how doctoral students of management from Eastern Europe identify and evaluate authorial voice and compare…

This review synthesizes the findings of research compiled between the relationship on international student success and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Increasingly, within higher education, IELTS test scores have become not only a benchmark for testing the language proficiency of international students who speak English…

Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF), a French knowledge test for any non-native speakers of French, is an official language exam for the certificate of proficiency in French designed by France Éducation international (FIE) and accredited by le Ministère Français de l'Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports (French Ministry of National…

This viewpoint article provides a critical reflection on the gatekeeping and academic language practices of Anglophone universities, evaluating these in light of the promotional claims universities make about internationalization and global reach. I then consider the arguments put forward in each of the main articles in this special issue from…

New media are used by language learners and teachers inside and outside the classroom to improve basic language skills. This study investigated the uses of new media for enhancing reading skills, stimulating student motivation, and promoting learner autonomy within the context of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). This…

College and university admissions officers are the gatekeepers who decide which individuals may join the "country club" of higher education. As such, the decisions they make have a significant impact on the lives of individuals, especially those who are willing to travel across the globe and risk living in an unfamiliar country in order…

Introduction: In recent years, the number of test-takers of international tests of English has grown at an exponential rate. Those whose first language is not English, i.e. non-native English speakers (NNES), constitute the predominant majority of these test-takers, largely based in non-Anglophone contexts. Thus, the state of whether the…

This paper outlines and details historical L2 curriculum development for segments of China's State education system over a ten-year period beginning with the start of the Sino -- Foreign joint programs classes in 2011. A two-year post assessment from 2015-2017. Tracking students continuing test results for both the CET (College English Test)…

This article reports on a survey (n=573) of international students who were attending one of a group of five higher education institutes (HEIs) in the south of Ireland. This study sought to identify what knowledge these students had about their host country before coming to Ireland. In this study, we also attempted to identify what aspects of…

There is an established, if weak, inverse relationship between levels of English language proficiency and academic performance in higher education. In response, higher education institutions (HEIs) insist upon minimum entry requirements concerning language for international applicants. Many HEIs now also offer pre-sessional English courses to…

Personal Learning Environment (PLE) represents a shift of learning paradigm towards learner-centered pedagogy, where users become masters of their own learning. PLEs are best used by learners with Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) abilities. Previous research showed that learners felt lost or socially isolated in PLEs due to their limited SRL…

Understanding the IELTS washback on learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education contexts remains limited. To fill in this research gap, this study investigated washback effects of the International English Language Testing System (hereafter called IELTS) as an English language proficiency exit test for final-year English…