This paper describes details of the evaluation experiments for questions created by an automatic question generation system. Given a target word and one of its word senses, the system generates a multiple-choice English vocabulary question asking for the closest in meaning to the target word in the reading passage. Two kinds of evaluation were conducted considering two aspects: (1) measuring En...

Abstract The aim of this study was to find the appropriate type of translation of English brand names Iranian consumers prefer, i.e. phonetic, semantic and phonosemantic types of translation. Also, it was aimed at examining the type of font size Iranian consumers tends to see on packages of English products. To this end, the distinction between male and female participants as well as the partic...

This paper employs qualitative and quantitative methods to study verb phrase errors made by Chinese non-English majors in their writing, collected in Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC), on the basis of contrastive analysis and error analysis. The purpose is to offer English learners methods to help improve their English proficiency and put forward some suggestions on English language teachin...

background: english for specific purposes (esp) courses should empower students to satisfy their language needs. however, at many iranian universities, these courses are mostly taught based on the grammar translation method focusing on teaching grammatical rules and reading comprehension. the present study aims at proposing an innovative approach for teaching english to medical students that ca...

To remedy the paucity of studies on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and speaking proficiency, we examine the degree to which second language (L2) speaking proficiency can be predicted by the size, depth, and speed of L2 vocabulary among novice to intermediate Japanese learners of English. Studies 1 and 2 administered vocabulary tests and a speaking test to 224 and 87 L2 learners, ...

Hispanics will constitute a growing part of the older population well into the 21st century. Accompanying this growth, we can expect that challenges associated with a large bilingual and non-English speaking older population may become more pronounced. The purpose of this research was to examine the level and determinants of English proficiency among older Hispanics in the United States. Data f...

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...

OBJECTIVE To measure the impact of an objective evaluation of provider Spanish-language skills on self-reported language proficiency and comfort using Spanish in a range of clinical scenarios. METHODS We enrolled pediatric residents with any self-reported Spanish language ability from 3 residency programs. Participants completed a baseline survey, objective language testing, and a posttest su...

The paper presents an analysis of speech rhythm development in second language. 51 German learners of English with varying degrees of proficiency were recorded producing 33 identical sentences of quasi-spontaneous speech. Durational characteristics of syllables, consonantal and vocalic intervals were calculated to allow for analysis of timing patterns on different proficiency levels. We found t...

the present study attempted to introduce shared reading as one of the most effective techniques in cultivating the learners’ reading and writing abilities. to this end, 50 homogenous students were assigned to the control and experimental groups following the administration of a standardized english proficiency test. thenceforth, based on writing and reading pretest scores of the learners on a g...