Publications

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 ...

Second language (L2) learners must attain certain language competences before they can control the language they use in composing an L2 text. This study aims to look into the effect of L2 proficiency level on composing processes of L2 student writers in L2 writing. The research to date has produced conflicting evidence concerning the relationship between L2 proficiency and composing processes. A number of L2 studies found that L2 proficiency ...

A relatively small body of research addresses the effect of intellectual impairment on proficiency in sport. The aim in the present study was to determine whether the technical proficiency of table tennis players (TTP) with and without intellectual disability (ID), matched for years of training experience, are different. The sample consisted of 71 elite TTP with ID (41 males, age=27±8years, IQ=61±9; and 30 females, age=28±8years, IQ=57±10; M±SD) ...

This study examines the effect of proficiency in the L2 (English) and L3 (Dutch) on word learning in the L3.Listeners were 92 L1 Spanish speakers with differing proficiencies in L2 and L3, and 20 native speakers ofDutch. The learners were divided into basic and advanced English and Dutch proficiency groups accordingto their scores on general listening comprehension language tests. Participants were trained and subsequentlytested on the mapping ...

The effect of intellectual impairment on sports performance has received limited attention by researchers. As a contribution to closing this gap, the purpose of the present investigation was to examine the differences in tactical proficiency between table tennis players with and without intellectual disabilities (ID). These groups were matched for training-volume and experience and consisted of 41 male (age = 27±8) and 30 female (age= 28±8) ...

The attentional blink task involves rapid serial presentation of visual stimuli, two of which the participants have to report. The usual finding is that participants are impaired at reporting the second target if it appears in close temporal proximity to the first target. Previous research has shown that the effect is stronger in bilinguals than monolinguals. We investigated whether the difference between monolinguals and proficient bilinguals ...

This study examines the effect of L2 and L3 proficiency on L3 word learning. Native speakers of Spanish with different proficiencies in L2 English and L3 Dutch and a control group of Dutch native speakers participated in a Dutch word learning task involving minimal and non-minimal word pairs. The minimal word pairs were divided into U+2018minimal-easyU+2019 and U+2018minimal-difficultU+2019 pairs on the basis of whether or not they are known to ...

This study examines the effect of L2 and L3 proficiency on L3 word learning. Native speakers of Spanish with different proficiencies in L2 English and L3 Dutch and a control group of Dutch native speakers participated in a Dutch word learning task involving minimal and non-minimal word pairs. The minimal word pairs were divided into 'minimal-easy' and 'minimal-difficult' pairs on the basis of whether or not they are known to pose perceptual ...

Short-term memory (STM) for order information, as compared to STM for item information, has been shown to be a critical determinant of language learning capacity. The present fMRI study asked whether the neural substrates of order STM can serve as markers for bilingual language achievement. Two groups of German-French bilinguals differing in second language proficiency were presented STM tasks probing serial order or item information. During ...

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are increasingly popular among students of various ages and at universities around the world. The main aim of a MOOC is growth in students’ proficiency. That is why students, professors, and universities are interested in the accurate measurement of growth. Traditional psychometric approaches based on item response theory (IRT) assume that a student’s proficiency is constant over time, and therefore are not ...