The interactions among cognitive, affective, and linguistic factors have received scant attention in task-based writing research. To address this gap, this study aims to examine the relationships among task complexity, task motivation, task engagement, and syntactic complexity in second language (L2) writing. One hundred L2 learners enrolled in an…

Competent L2 writing has been described in research in terms of an increasing incidence, variety, and length of clauses; a countervailing compactness and tightness with reduced number of clauses even as clause length expands; and various interrelationships between syntactic realizations of texts and the genres they represent. These partly…

This study explored the role of feedback-seeking behaviors (FSB) in how English-as-a-second language (ESL) learners benefit from written corrective feedback (WCF). Seventy-six learners enrolled in an ESL writing course at a major university in the United States completed an FSB questionnaire, wrote a narrative essay, received WCF on their essays,…

This study proposed a set of measures for assessing noun phrase (NP) complexity in second language (L2) Chinese writing and compared the predictive power of these measures for L2 Chinese writing quality to that of a set of syntactic complexity measures based on the topic-comment unit (TC-unit). Our data consisted of 101 narratives written by…

Translation has recently been revived as an approach to language learning that builds on students' linguistic repertoires, particularly in linguistically diverse classrooms. However, few studies have examined how students use translation as part of writing in an additional language. This article provides new insights based on the translation…

Linguistic complexity serves as an important measure of second language (L2) writing development. Complexity indices, however, rarely feature in the studies of learner languages other than English. Additionally, L2 writing studies have been criticized for the lack of consistency in defining proficiency. The current study addresses these gaps by…

This qualitative study examines moments in the multilingual classroom when materials become prominent in whole-class interactions. Despite the critical impact that materials can have on classroom discourse and learning/teaching, research on "actual usage" of materials in second language (L2) classroom interactions has been scarce…

Research has painted a pessimistic picture of students' second language (L2) writing skills in secondary education. One innovative tool that may help students foster their L2 proficiency, including writing ability, is in-class debate. Debate is commonly associated with oral communication and argumentation skills. However, debate may also offer…

Research on motivation in second language (L2) education has tended to focus on learning; this study took an alternative perspective, examining students' motivation to transfer L2 learning. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 students who were enrolled in several sections of a university English-for-academic-purposes…

The article aims to expand the scope of research on international teaching assistants (ITAs) by foregrounding identities as pedagogical resources. Employing an ethnographic multiple case study approach, the study examined the experiences of 2 English department ITAs in learning to teach College Composition classes at a public university in the…

This article examines the metalinguistic activity that arose in the interaction of 7 groups of bilingual learners writing collaboratively in their second language (L2), English. A microanalysis of this interaction reveals that metalinguistic activity comprises 3 types of oral production: comments, speech actions, and text reformulations. Text…

This study investigates the acquisition of an unfamiliar discursive practice by an adult Vietnamese learner of English. The practice is revision talk in weekly English as a Second Language (ESL) writing conferences between the student and his ESL writing instructor. This research adopts the interactional competence framework for understanding the…

Profiles students' awareness of the functions and influences of expert input in their writing. Data include results of a survey of foreign-language and English-as-a-Second-Language writers' beliefs about feedback behaviors known to interact with revision processes. Results indicate that each group perceives expert response as serving distinct…

Reviews 32 studies regarding writing in a foreign language in the United States. Focuses on research that investigates relationships between various pedagogical practices or task types assigned and the texts produced by foreign language writers. Topics addressed include exploiting grammar instruction, computer use, task type, strategy training,…