This study investigated how English language writers in a Chinese university were able to paraphrase following instruction with an online module. Participants were separated into two groups: Group A (Individuals) and Group B (Dyads). They were then trained and assessed in their ability to complete paraphrasing tasks with a pre and posttest.…

This dissertation explored Beninese English teachers' prior experience in writing in English and its implications for teaching writing in English in the Benin Republic. Grounded in a social constructionist paradigm, this dissertation used a qualitative research approach with initial survey, autobiographical narrative essay, and interviews to…

"How can teachers help students improve their second language (L2) speaking accuracy?" This is a question that most L2 educators ask themselves every day. Although L2 writing is a popular topic among Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers, the consideration that L2 writing has the potential to act as a scaffold for L2 speaking…

Research on digital game-based second language learning (DGBL2L) emerged in the early 2000s and has grown steadily since 2013. While digital game-based learning is widely recognized as beneficial for second language acquisition, researchers identified several gaps and limitations in empirical studies, including a lack of (1) sufficient theoretical…

The field of Heritage Language has experienced a great deal of advancement in the past few decades. Much research effort has been dedicated to analyzing and understanding different aspects of heritage language speakers, but less work has been done in the topic of pedagogical approaches. The few recent studies on pedagogical approaches have focused…

The future success of today's students and our nation depends on how well prepared our students are to contribute to the globalized world of the 21st century. The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) is exploding in the United States. If students are not given the appropriate language scaffolds to learn English, ELLs will struggle…

In 21st century classrooms, students use a variety of languages to communicate their ideas in both the spoken and written word. These languages vary between standard and nonstandard forms of English, and each speaker may alter their language use based on context or intended audience. One unique language form that appears in many classrooms is…

This three-article format dissertation aims to provide evidence of the effect size of the relationship between writing self-efficacy and writing achievement in an empirical study and a meta-analysis, and compare three methods, the averaging method, three-level meta-analysis (3LM), and robust variance estimation (RVE), in handling multiple…

The literacy instruction that adolescent emergent bilingual (EB) students currently receive is insufficient to improve their writing proficiency (Graham et al., 2021; National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). To promote improvements in EBs' writing, evidence-based practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive must be provided…

Articulating ideas in writing based on English conventions may be one of the biggest challenges for English as a foreign language students, which makes corrective feedback (CF) an indispensable part in writing practice. In terms of providing CF, researchers have claimed that indirect CF has a number of advantages for the improvement of students'…

The purpose of the current dissertation is to map the relationships between first language (L1), writing quality, and syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) in second language (L2) writing. CALF are characteristics of language production that have been of significant interest in L2 writing research for the past few…

Guided by Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) and multidimensional perspectives on individual differences (IDs) in instructed second language (L2) learning (e.g., Larsen-Freeman, 2014; Sun & Zhang, 2020), this longitudinal mixed-methods study focuses on three conceptually different categories of L2 learners' IDs: working memory (WM), motivation, and…

Formative assessment may assist teachers in identifying gaps in learning for individual students, thereby providing an avenue for teachers to adjust instruction accordingly. The problem addressed in this study is the insufficient achievement in literacy for English language learners. English language learners may have an even greater need for…

With the accelerated move to online learning, writing skills have become increasingly important for managing digital genres, such as educational blogs and discussion forums. Although effective written communication via such media is important for student success, many university-level second language learners navigate these unfamiliar tasks…

This project is aimed at generating new knowledge and improving our understanding of how Modified for Language Support-Worked Example Pairs (MLS-WEPs) contribute to effective mathematics learning and teaching in an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) context. The current study investigated a novel instructional approach to help English…