Tsimpli and Dimitrakopoulou (2007) observed that uninterpretable features are unavailable in second language (L2) acquisition after the critical period. In this paper, we verify this claim by providing evidence from Persian speaking learners of English as an L2 on the status of resumptive pronouns (RPs) as uniterpretable features. Unlike English which does not allow RPs, Persian shows various b...

This research was designed to look at World English textbook evaluation and its effects on EFL pre-intermediate Iranian learners' speaking skill. Thirty male students were selected randomly in Eshtehard language school. They took a pre-test as a proficiency test first to determine their proficiency. To gain this aim, a language proficiency test, i.e., Nelson test was given to the total particip...

This study investigates the lexical dimension of EFL writing by exploring the relationship between lexical diversity and EFL writing proficiency. The relationship is explored through an analysis of forty-five email texts written by Chinese high school students that were taken from a Chinese National Matriculation English Test (NMET) practice writing test. Type-token ratio (TTR) and D (a measure...

This study examined the effect of presumed mismatches between speech input and the phonological representations of English words by native speakers of English (NE) and Spanish (NS). The English test words, which were produced by a NE speaker and a NS speaker, varied orthogonally in lexical frequency and neighborhood density and were presented to NE listeners and to NS listeners who differed in ...

Placement tests, along with the growing interest in their validation, have become increasingly important in English as a Second Language programs. To this end, the present paper illustrates procedures in designing a placement test and using it to evaluate students’ language ability by means of statistical analysis. 29 participants from three proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate, and adva...

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...

Students whose native language is not English must meet certain English-language proficiency standards before they are accepted into any program in the English Department. To qualify for admission, students must have passed (within the past year) the test(s) listed below with score(s) at or above those indicated: 1. TOEFL score of 600 with no section score lower than 60 and a minimum TWE (Test ...

We propose a reading time model for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) that is based on a learner’s reading proficiency and the linguistic properties of sentences. Reading proficiency here refers to a learner’s reading score on the Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC), and the linguistic properties are the lexical, syntactic and discourse complexities of a sente...