Yuya Arai

The present study explored anxiety and its fluctuation during an artificial intelligence (AI)-based English conversation test as a test validation study. Applying an idiodynamic approach, 13 Japanese university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) took the test and participated in pre- and post-test interviews, which were analyzed by conducting reflexive thematic analysis. Individual differences in the pattern of anxiety experience fluctuations were observed, while factors affecting their anxiety experiences were also explored. These were classified into either authentic factors observed in both testing and non-testing contexts (e.g., perceived English proficiency, perceived communication skills, a two-way relationship between cognition and anxiety, and features of conversation) or factors unique to the test (evaluative situation and AI’s unnatural behavior). From the perspective of test validation, this study emphasized the importance of paying attention to construct-irrelevant variance, such as anxiety unnecessarily arising from test-specific factors.

This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language (RFL). It treats any topic within the scope of RFL and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete reference as well as a brief summary. The editors of this feature attempt to include all related articles

Many extensive reading (ER) programs encourage second/foreign language learners to choose reading materials by themselves. However, given the difficulty of choosing appropriate reading materials, it is necessary to provide support. Hypothesizing the importance of learners’ subjectivity in their choice of reading materials, this study aimed to develop a checklist that measured learners’ perceptions of text difficulty in order to support their text choice. First, a multivariate generalizability theory analysis was conducted to determine the number of graded reader texts included in the checklist. Then, 18 Japanese female university students learning English as a foreign language used the checklist during the ER program. The change in their perceptions of text difficulty in the ER program was summarized descriptively, while an open-ended questionnaire was analyzed by conducting reflexive thematic analysis. The results suggested the effectiveness of the checklist in helping students choose appropriate texts, encouraging future research and practice to support learners’ choice of ER materials.

Second language researchers have recently recognized the importance of flow experience as an optimal state for learning, but still little is known about the necessary conditions for flow and its longitudinal change and impact on language learning outcomes. This study tracked the changes of 329 Japanese university students’ flow experience and oral proficiency in a semester-long English as a foreign language (EFL) conversation course. A flow questionnaire was administered four times during the semester, while their oral proficiency was assessed by an AI-based interactional speaking test at the beginning and end of the semester. A series of longitudinal analyses using multilevel modeling showed a U-shaped trajectory of flow experience. Furthermore, it was found that flow experience was predicted from the learner-perceived balance between task challenge and skills, concurring with Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975/2000, 1990) flow theory. In addition, flow experience contributed to improved oral proficiency scores, providing further positive evidence for the theory.

Extensive reading (ER) in a foreign language (L2) has been regarded as incompatible with language assessment primarily because ER aims to read for pleasure (Day & Bamford, 2002), which is believed to be discouraged by assessment. However, in reality, ER programs implemented in the L2 classroom often necessitate assessment, mainly to fulfill the institutional requirement of student evaluation (i.e., summative purposes of the assessment use). Less is discussed as to how assessment can be used to promote language learning through ER (i.e., formative purposes of the assessment use). The present paper aims to discuss how assessment should be conceptualized and implemented in ER practice from the perspective of Turner and Purpura’s (2016) working framework of learning-oriented assessment (LOA). Based on the discussion, this paper emphasizes the necessity for further research on the effectiveness of LOA in language learning in ER programs.