Among focus-on-form studies, oral corrective feedback (CF) has probably received the greatest attention. The majority of studies in this area appear to support a positive role for oral CF in improving interlanguage development. However, theorists adopting a nativist view of second language acquisition continue to question its effectiveness. The…

In this position paper, the author argues for the re-conceptualization of English language teaching (ELT) through the socio-cultural and context-based approach (SCA). For a typical English as a foreign language (EFL) situation, SCA takes as a point of departure a thorough understanding of the macro-level components e.g., local classroom…

This study investigates the use of writing portfolios in improving the accuracy of French immersion students' written French. It emerged from regularly observed notable and repeated errors in many of the author's students' writing (entitled fossilized errors due their resistance to correction). This study reaffirms that students of French…

The purpose of the College English Test (CET) is to examine the English proficiency of undergraduate students in China and ensure that Chinese undergraduates reach the required English levels specified in the National College English Teaching Syllabus (NCETS). In accordance with the courses on the syllabus, the CET consists of three tests: Band 4…

Failure to progress on the language proficiency scale is often due to lack of linguistic accuracy. Even motivated students are sometimes unable to improve proficiency ratings beyond a particular level. Pedagogical factors contributing to this problem include: focus on form and meaning at the same time; fossilization; overuse of communicative…

This quasi-experimental study investigated the potential benefits of two corrective feedback techniques (recasts and prompts) for learners of different proficiency levels. Sixty-four students in three intact grade 6 intensive English as a second language classes in the Montreal area were assigned to the two experimental conditions--one received…

The process oriented approach to English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction has spurred such new ideas as student instruction and the whole language approach. New thinking justifies the validity of qualitative research, which lets researchers view subjects' learning processes from previously impossible angles. This paper examines ESL writing…

Repair behavior in university-level students was investigated to determine if students who study abroad use repair behavior differently from students who do not. The Mexico group (N =24) studied Conversational Spanish at La Salle University, Cancun. The U.S. group (N = 9) completed the same course at Friends University, Wichita, Kansas. Pretest…

The issue of whether or not to correct errors in students' writing is controversial. Some scholars argue that error correction is helpful, while others argue that it is ineffective, perhaps even harmful. What is missing from the literature are studies about how error correction might affect the performance of specific types of students. This…