ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics - Volume 168, Issue 1, 2017

Statistics play an important role in analyzing data in applied linguistics research. Given the increase over time in the field’s reliance on quantitative analysis ( Brown, 2004 ; Gass, 2009 ), statistical literacy is critical for both producers and consumers of L2 research. Although there has been some investigation into statistical literacy among applied linguists, no research to date has examined how such literacy is obtained by masters and doctoral students in the field. The present study investigated the development of statistical literacy in a sample of such students taking semester-long discipline-specific quantitative research methods courses. Participants completed a pre-course and post-course survey. The results indicate that participants increased their knowledge of basic descriptive statistics and common inferential statistics to a great extent. Furthermore, participants reported that they felt more confident interpreting and using statistics. Based on these findings, recommendations for improving methodological practices and graduate training in our field are provided.

The Vocabulary Levels Test ( Nation, 1983 ; Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham, 2001 ) indicates the word frequency level that should be used to select words for learning. The present study involves the development and validation of two new forms of the test. The new forms consist of five levels measuring knowledge of vocabulary at the 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 levels. Items for the tests were sourced from Nation’s (2012) BNC/COCA word lists. The research involved first identifying quality items using the data from 1,463 test takers to create two equivalent forms, and then evaluating the forms with the data from a further 250 test takers. This study also makes an initial attempt to validate the new forms using Messick’s ( 1989 , 1995 ) validity framework.

This study examined Persian intermediate and advanced EFL learners’ perceptions regarding (a) their own and their teachers’ responsibility in learning language autonomously; (b) their decision making ability in learning language autonomously; and (c) their autonomous learning activities inside and outside the classroom. To this end, a questionnaire designed by Chan, Spratt, and Humphrey (2002) was distributed among 67 intermediate and 65 advanced EFL learners. Statistical analysis of students’ answers showed that overall, advanced learners tended to assume more responsibility for their own learning, to perceive themselves to be highly capable of autonomous learning, and to practice more autonomous learning activities compared to the intermediate learners. In addition, data collected through the interviews with some of the participants suggested that learners’ perceptions were greatly affected by their previous educational experiences. Since intermediate learners were not largely engaged in making decisions related to educational materials and activities used in their classrooms, they considered themselves as less responsible for and consequently less capable of choosing learning materials and activities. The findings of the study, along with the pedagogical implications, are discussed.

This study investigated the effects of comprehensive feedback on learners’ grammatical accuracy during text revision and in new writing tasks in light of proficiency level. It also sought to determine to what extent learners’ proficiency level plays a role in their feedback preferences and attitudes towards the feedback. The participants were 52 low proficiency and 39 high proficiency foreign language university learners, who were randomly assigned to a direct corrective feedback, a metalinguistic feedback with rule reminders, and a self-correction group. All learners wrote four compositions and completed a questionnaire after the treatment to elicit their attitudes towards the feedback and their feedback preferences. Results showed that the treatment effectively enhanced both low and high proficiency learners’ immediate grammatical accuracy and accuracy improvement. Also, a relation between proficiency level and learners’ attitudes towards the feedback as well as an association between proficiency level and learners’ feedback preferences were found.