Recent second language acquisition research has demonstrated that language learning is in essence the learning of constructions, or form-meaning pairings. Compared to first language acquisition research, however, our understanding of how constructions in a second language (L2) emerge and develop with proficiency and/or experience is limited.…

A compelling body of evidence suggests that EFL students have problem with logical connectors' appropriate use in writing. This study explored Iranian EFL students' adversative connectors use in their essay writing course. To this end, a Learner Corpus of 60393 words consisting of 156 essays was compiled. LOCNESS was chosen as the criterion…

This mixed-methods study explored the effects of employing a genre-based approach (GBA) to descriptive report writing on the understanding of text structure and ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings among Japanese university students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) over a 15-week course divided into three units. Applied within a…

Research and pedagogical materials focusing on the acquisition of the determiner/quantifier system in English frequently highlight countability as a locus of difficulty for English language learners, particularly learners whose languages do not overtly mark a count-mass distinction. The current study uses a document analysis approach to analyze…

This quasi-experimental research explores the difference between the pausing patterns of native English and nonnative Turkish speakers of English concerning their pause durations preceding and following English adverbial clause conjunctions. The findings reveal statistically significant differences between native and nonnative participants for two…

It has been debated whether teachers should treat students' grammatical errors in second language writing instruction (Truscott, 1996, 1999, 2010; Ferris, 1999, 2004, 2010). Several meta-analyses have investigated correction effects (e.g. Russell & Spada, 2006; Truscott, 2007). Their findings, however, have been conflicting. A recent trend to…

This pronoun study examines the effect of two classroom learning environments on the acquisition of English personal and possessive pronouns by Primary Two students in Singapore on the premises that: 1. Students from the formal learning environment will perform better than those from the informal learning environment in the shorter term; 2.…