Graphic organizers are widely used in teaching vocabulary and reading in both L1 and L2 classrooms in addition to glossing. It has been indicated by several studies (e.g., Lie, 2016) that students using a mobile-assisted concept-mapping vocabulary learning strategy do better and retain what they have learned longer than students who limit…

This paper maps a teacher's pedagogic practices when teaching young children to produce texts using digital technologies during a literacy lesson for 7-8 year-old children. Pedagogies are broadly understood as what the teacher does in a classroom to facilitate learning in a twenty-first century classroom. The paper argues that the very notion of…

Grammarly's Tone Detector is included in the free version of the application and is available for major phone and computer program platforms. Its strength is in helping students compose pragmatically appropriate texts which could substantially increase their confidence and the feeling of autonomy. It accomplishes this by providing writers with…

While feedback is widely considered essential for second language (L2) writing development (Bitchener & Ferris, 2012), teachers may not always be able to provide their learners with immediate and frequent corrective feedback. Automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems can help respond to this challenge by providing L2 learners with written…

This article describes the outcomes of a research project conducted at the Ministry of Stories (a London-based writing centre) which sought to develop an online, mentor-assisted, writing platform. Across a 3-month period, at four different sites across the UK, more than a hundred Year 7 pupils took part in the project, using the platform to write…

In this article, the authors examine different ways of using the Internet to receive feedback, and discuss advantages of language learners' use of the Internet to improve their own writing. In effect, the article elaborates on how Internet-mediated corrective feedback (IMCF) can be used as an efficient tool by language learners to become competent…

This paper explores issues emerging from the question of how students and teachers negotiate issues of identity, authenticity, ownership, privacy and performativity in high-stakes online reflection in higher education. I examine in particular the notion of traces as both inscriptions and archives. Working online amplifies the destabilising and…

Writing assignments are ubiquitous in higher education. Writing develops not only communication skills, but also higher-level cognitive processes that facilitate deep learning. Cognitive visualizations, such as concept maps, can also be used as part of learning activities including as a form of scaffolding, or to trigger reflection by making…

The Internet provides a powerful digital learning environment for language acquisition and noticing. Thus implementation of challenging tasks to be solved by exploring the Web may sound appealing. The primary idea of the WebQuest project emphasizes data collection. The idea of the TalenQuest, however, goes beyond this traditional concept so as to…

This paper addresses issues of language use and negotiation and utilizes cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework to analyze and understand the complexity of the mediational and collaborative structures constituting computer supported collaborative writing in a second language (CSCWL2) activities. Following an introduction to CHAT…

Remarkably little has been published on what works or does not work in online basic writing (BW) instruction. Internet-based learning is not a natural fit for BW students, and instructors planning hybrid or distance learning courses face a difficult task, with little theory to guide them. This article reviews current research and advice on three…

The aim of this study was to improve students' English as Foreign Language (EFL) writing and speaking performance with appropriate learning activity design supported by Virtual Pen ("VPen"), a multimedia web annotation system. Students' perceptions toward using "VPen" and learning activities, attitude toward using "VPen," actual "VPen" usage and…

Composition teachers have generally embraced collaborative learning in the years since Kenneth Bruffee published his first article promoting its advantages in "College English" in 1972. But assigning collaboratively written papers in an introductory college writing course is still rare. This study assesses the benefits and drawbacks of assigning a…

The authors examined the implementation of assistive technology in a community literacy centre's writing program for adult learners. Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that (a) software and instructional methods for writing must be selected according to the needs of and in conjunction with adult learners, (b) learners needed…

The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of feedback that English as a Second Language (ESL) students received on their writings either from an automated essay scoring (AES) system or from the teacher. The participants were 12 adult ESL students who were attending an intensive English center at a university in Florida. The drafts of the…