This paper reports on an exploratory multiple-case study conducted to examine 6 French as a foreign language (FFL) learners at a university in Costa Rica and their affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagements with teacher written corrective feedback (WCF). We collected data through students' writings (drafts and revisions), semistructured…

This study examines the effects of foreign language learning context (three-month study-abroad; versus "at-home" instruction) and age (10-11-year-old children versus university students) on the development of effective foreign language communication strategies (CS) in monologue production. Participants (N = 95) were all Spanish/Catalan…

In this article, the author describes the "Learning Disposition Questionnaire" (LDQ) a tool designed to address more of the "integrity and identity" of college students as learners. Rather than using students' documented skills as a lens by which to assume or interpret learning dispositions, a direct way to evaluate and assess…

Written corrective feedback (WCF) has been a long time practice in L2 writing instruction. However, in many cases, the effects are not satisfactory. There have been controversies about it both theoretically and empirically. This paper reports a multi-case study exploring individual differences that impact learners' responses to WCF. Four students'…

In this paper, both a cognitive and a sociocultural theoretical perspective are used to bring together findings from two studies that investigated the effects of instruction designed to enhance the potentially positive effect of peer interaction on L2 development. Despite differences between the studies' learning contexts, participants' age, and…

This paper presents a comparative analysis of corrective feedback provided by participants in an eTandem interaction between university students in Japan and Australia who were learning each other's language. Corrective feedback provided to tandem partners during interaction via text-based Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) is…

Spelling error corpora can be collected from students' written essays, homework, dictations, translations, tests and lecture notes. Spelling errors can be classified into whole word errors, faulty graphemes and faulty phonemes in which graphemes are deleted, added, reversed or substituted. They can be used for identifying phonological and…

The problem: Many previous studies have pointed out that EFL learners tend to face communication breakdowns with native speakers because their traditional classroom and textbooks are not able to provide learners with sufficient pragmatically appropriate input (Bardovi-Harlig, 1996; Rose, 1994, 1997). On the contrary, they are exposed to rich input…

Copious researches argue the effectiveness of peer-correction in writing courses (e.g., Connor & Asenavage, 1994). Also, Coit (2004) mentions using peer feedback for correcting articles through a student-centered environment is a beneficial pedagogy to extend learners' academic-style writing practice. Therefore, this study focused on…

This paper reviews the literature related to the learning and teaching of debugging computer programs. Debugging is an important skill that continues to be both difficult for novice programmers to learn and challenging for computer science educators to teach. These challenges persist despite a wealth of important research on the subject dating…

Although a number of studies have associated recasts with second language development, the actual mechanisms by which recasts work to impact learning are still little understood. In particular, researchers have sought to gain a deeper understanding of the connections among recasts, learners' responses to recasts, and subsequent development. To…

Discusses the nature of good writing strategies, illustrates principles of correction and evaluation, and describes the elements of a writing curriculum for college students of Italian. The author suggests a series of writing activities and evaluation criteria to assess writing proficiency at beginning and intermediate levels. (26 references) (CK)

A study used structured interviews to explore the nature of written language difficulties of 31 university students with learning disabilities. Discussion of results addressed perceived demands for written expression; specific areas of difficulty (proofreading/detecting errors, spelling, grammar, writing speed, legibility); strategies used to…

Discusses the importance of linguistic accuracy in proficiency-orientated foreign language programs, focusing on the experiences of college students in a summer intensive Chinese program. Linguistic inaccuracy is often the result of teachers focusing on form and meaning at the same time, fossilization, overuse of communicative strategies, lack of…

A study examining the perceptions of college students in beginning foreign language classes toward various teaching discovered a discrepancy between the value students and teachers ascribe to communicative language teaching. The study was conducted at the University of South Carolina, in two classes where a variety of teaching techniques were…