Second language (L2) writing plays an important role in improving the learners' language skills of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in terms of language expression and linguistic thinking. Therefore, improving writing skills is still a focus area for EFL learners. To enhance EFL learners' writing ability and optimize their writing quality, an…

This study explored second language (L2) competence in discontinuous discursive formulaic sequences, namely Chinese correlative connectives (CCCs; e.g. yinwei . . . suy 'because . . . so'), in relation to the determinants of formulaic sequence acquisition by scrutinizing L2 Chinese learners' performance on two controlled tasks. Mixed-effects…

This article reports a classroom-based study of the effects of two types of corrective feedback (CF) on the acquisition of 3rd person "-s." One hundred and nine Chinese university students completed three communicative tasks: One group received implicit CF consisting of a single corrective move (implicit recasts), a second group received…

This study investigates how different form-focused instruction (FFI) timing impacts English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' grammar development. A total of 169 Chinese middle school learners were assigned to four conditions randomly: control, before-isolated FFI, integrated FFI, and after-isolated FFI. The three experimental groups received…

Informed by two usage-based approaches, this study investigated to what extent different types of computer-based training facilitated English preposition learning among intermediate Chinese learners of English. The design of the pedagogical materials was informed by the cognitive linguistics (CL) framework while the training format was motivated…

The problem of cognitive overload is particularly pertinent in multimedia L2 classroom corrective feedback (CF), which involves rich communicative tools to help the class to notice the mismatch between the target input and learners' pronunciation. Based on multimedia design principles, this study developed a new multimodal CF model through…

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) training for FL students. Our hypothesis was that with specific MTPE training, students will able to detect and correct machine translation mistakes in their FL. Training materials were developed to detect six typical mistakes from Machine…

Instructional context plays a crucial role in the learning of a second/foreign language. The present study compared the occurrence of corrective feedback (CF) and learner uptake across two instructional contexts at the tertiary level: English as a second language (ESL) in the US and English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. Analysis of 36 h of…

Experts generally believe that written corrective feedback (CF) positively affects writing quality and learners' accurate use of language. However, researchers have not yet identified the most effective type of written CF or sufficiently explored the relation between type of written CF and targeted linguistic category. Thus, this study…

The present study investigated the effect of written languaging (WL) based on indirect written corrective feedback (WCF) on Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' written accuracy. WL refers to using the written mode to reflect upon and reason about language use. Two groups of students participated in the study over 16 weeks. Both…

This study investigated the effects of three fluency-enhancing activities on interpreting learners' performance. Four groups of students took part in the experiment. They were assigned to one of the four task conditions: pre-task planning, task repetition, formulae acquisition, and a control group. A temporal approach was adopted to measure…

The article reports on a study investigating the comparative effects of immediate and delayed corrective feedback in learning the English past passive construction, a linguistic structure of which the learners had little prior knowledge. A total of 120 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from 4 intact classes at a Chinese middle school…

The study examines whether there is any difference between the effects of a reading-writing integrated task and comprehensive corrective feedback (CF) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing development, and whether the input language in the integrated task makes a difference in L2 writing development over time and the language…

In language learning, error correction information given by teachers for student compositions is of great value in both teaching and learning. However, in traditional paper-based error correction mode, error correction information is easily lost and cannot be fed back to students systematically. The aim of this research is to provide maximum…

This article reports on an 8-week study that investigated the differential effects of two written corrective feedback (CF) options on 92 low-intermediate EFL students' explicit and implicit knowledge of English articles and the extent to which language analytic ability might influence the effect of written CF. The study used a…