This study used a mixed methods research design to investigate use of Web-based lexicographic tools during real-time second language (L2) writing activity in an English as a foreign language university context and the impact of their use on writing quality. Participants included 22 adult Japanese EFL learners, elementary to advanced language…

Evidence indicates that graphic organizers, such as concept maps and argument maps, could help students develop a stronger argumentation ability and build effective argumentative structures. In this study, we designed a computer-aided argumentative essay writing system to assist students in learning structures of argumentation and in enhancing…

Adopting a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, this study explored the impact of electronic writing portfolio on writing performance in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Two intact classes were first selected and randomly assigned to an electronic writing portfolio group (22 EFL students) and a conventional (i.e. paper-based)…

Current writing support tools tend to focus on assessing final or intermediate products, rather than the writing process. However, sensing technologies, such as keystroke logging, can enable provision of automated feedback during, and on aspects of, the writing process. Despite this potential, little is known about the critical indicators that can…

This study investigates the effectiveness of using Google Translate as a translingual CALL tool in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing, keyed to the perceptions of both more highly proficient Chinese English major university students and less-proficient non-English majors. After watching a 5-minute passage from a movie, each cohort of…

Web-based writing tools, which allow multiple writers to share and edit the same document, have attracted significant attention as computer-assisted language learning tools in the past decade. However, how L2 writers contribute to the shared document as a social action for interacting with other cowriters remains underexplored in L2 research.…

The aim of this article is to reveal the ways in which six 14- to 15-year-old second language (L2) learners, two each of high, mid, and low English proficiency levels were cognitively engaged in writing while using an automated content feedback program known as the Essay Critiquing System 2.0 in three out of five workshops in a Hong Kong secondary…

The use of technology such as online software has been examined in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing contexts. However, few studies have incorporated context-aware ubiquitous technology into EFL writing instruction. To develop multimodal and digital literacy of target EFL undergraduates in this pilot project, the researchers designed and…

This study investigates the extent to which microfeatures -- such as basic text features, readability, cohesion, and lexical diversity based on specific word lists -- affect Chinese EFL writing quality. Data analysis was conducted using natural language processing, correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis on a corpus of 268…

This study investigated how one type of learner-generated information and content, i.e. inter-group peer online feedback, provided on a wiki writing assignment for an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, could contribute to student L2 writing. Using a mixed method approach, more than 1000 entries of online peer comments were collected,…

A study is reported of the performance and attainment of 32 students from overseas studying elementary Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in a Chinese university. With an AB-BA design, they were asked to use two forms of writing media to present two essays: one a word-processed essay entitled "My Favourite Female" and the other a…

Collaborative learning has been widely applied in education, and has been seen as conducive to student learning. The advent of technology and its applications in education have also greatly enhanced the classroom learning environment, leading to increasing research attention on the combination of technology and collaboration. The case study…

One of the main purposes of foreign language teaching is currently identified by many researchers as developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of foreign language learners. Facebook is one of the easiest and quickest ways to communicate with other people, therefore it may potentially be used to promote intercultural communicative…

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools to facilitate second language acquisition and develop English as a second language (ESL) teaching skills and cultural awareness. The paper describes a collaborative online project between students from China and the USA, who communicated using the…

This study examines the frequency and usage patterns of linking adverbials in Korean students' essay writing in comparison with native English writing. The learner corpus used in the present study is composed of 105 essays that were produced by first-year university students in Korea. The control corpus was taken from the American LOCNESS…