@article{oai:icu.repo.nii.ac.jp:00005233,
 author = {Klassen, Kimberly and Fukuda, Tetsuya},
 journal = {語学研究},
 month = {Jan},
 note = {This paper reports on the latest development of an ongoing study investigating differences in
L2 English proficiency after one year in an intensive English program at a small, private
university in Japan. Students’ English proficiency were measured using the IELTS test at the
end of the academic year. Volunteer participants answered a survey about their preparation and
experience with the exam. Prior investigation through interviews with participants who
improved their scores and those who were less successful revealed much variation in terms of
test preparation and prior test experience. Thus, for the current study, cluster analysis was used
to explore and identify subgroups based on their test preparation and prior test experience.
After the test scores and the responses to Likert-scale question items were standardized with zscores, subgroups among the larger cohort (N = 183) were identified using cluster analysis.
The analysis revealed six subgroups, each distinctly characterised by their IELTS test scores,
test familiarity and preparation, and perceived future need for English. Because the cluster
analysis was successful in revealing unforeseen patterns, future directions will include using
the procedure to explore proficiency gains with factors of test preparation, test experience and
perceived future use of English.},
 pages = {32--38},
 title = {Exploring Learner Proficiency Test Scores through Cluster Analysis},
 volume = {36},
 year = {2021}
}