This is one of the first studies to investigate gender achievement gap in the National College Entrance Exam in a typical municipality in China, which is the crucial examination for the transition from high school to higher education in that country. Using ordinary least square model and quantile regression model, the study consistently finds that…

This paper studies a natural experiment due to an unusual change in the college admission policy at a Chinese university, which brought a large number of low-score students into several academic departments in the university. Exploiting large variations in peer characteristics and strong interactions among peer groups, the analysis finds that…

This mixed-methods study investigated the changes in Chinese students' motivation to learn English from elementary to high school and explored the reasons for these changes at different school levels. A motivational questionnaire was designed and administered to 3,777 elementary, junior high, and high school students, and follow-up interviews…

There are a number of individual and affective factors which correlate foreign language learners' achievement both positively and negatively. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between perfectionism and English language achievement among high school third graders in Chenaran, a city in northeast of Iran, mediated by foreign…

There has been a growing consensus among the educational measurement experts and psychometricians that test taker characteristics may unduly affect the performance on tests. This may lead to construct-irrelevant variance in the scores and thus render the test biased. Hence, it is incumbent on test developers and users alike to provide evidence…

It is possible that some of the problems that confront Eastern learners when they are asked to engage in critical thinking come from the misleading association of the title with criticising negatively and even with disagreeing. In some other educational situations, careful choice of first language titles for concepts so that they do not introduce…

This paper discusses the question of why and how class size can make a difference to teaching and learning from the students' perspective. Secondary school contexts and, in particular, the students' own voice on the issue of class size represent an under-researched area for class size studies. This paper draws on data from three case studies that…

In this study, repeated measures item response data from an English language proficiency (ELP) test administered over 2 years were analyzed by item response theory-based approaches to model change over time. First, change over time was modeled by an item side change approach where change was parameterized at the item level. Second, more…

It is generally accepted that cognitive ability predicts academic achievement, and that parental involvement and expectations form part of the constellation of factors that predict their children's academic achievement, particularly for families within the Chinese-heritage Cultures. Although a number of interactions between these parental factors…

This investigation examines English as foreign language college interdisciplinary and intercultural differences in learning strategy use and their implications for language processing. Positivism underpins this research at the levels of ontology (standardized variables), epistemology (detachment from the subjects) and methodology, using nomothetic…

Over recent decades, educators have recognized the crucial importance of teaching environment and contextual factors in teaching and learning outcomes. Public and private schools are among those teaching contexts that have been in competition for teaching quality and effectiveness for many years. This study investigated the effectiveness of some…

This paper explores the performance and shared learning experiences of a group of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers studying in a U.S.-based graduate program. In order to assimilate the knowledge, a voluntary group was naturally formed outside a graduate course. The group meetings lasted from 4 to 5 hours on a weekly basis during a…

This study explores Korean elementary school students' decreased motivation for English learning by analyzing the questionnaire data obtained from 6,301 students in a large city in South Korea. The students' school grades and their prior experience in private institutes were considered as the major factors behind the decrease in their motivation.…

This case study aims to reveal how conceptualization of native speakership was constructed and reinforced in a South Korean university classroom of English as a foreign language (EFL). In addition, it examines how this conceptualization positions native speakers, a non-native EFL teacher, and learners, and what learning opportunities were provided…

This article draws on qualitative interview data from a case study of an English teacher in Turkey. It explores the implementation of learner autonomy in English as a foreign language classroom and identifies the challenges, such as students' negative attitudes towards classroom practices, dissatisfaction with the language learning activities and…