This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of explicit information (EI) in the context of Processing Instruction (PI) as an alternative to traditional teaching methods. PI encompasses explicit information and structured input activity (SI). However, the effectiveness of EI has been a subject of debate. To address this question, grade-7…

Large Language Models (LLMs) are a powerful type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that simulates how humans organize language and are able to interpret, predict, and generate text. This allows for contextual understanding of natural human language which enables the LLM to understand conversational human input and respond in a natural manner. Recent…

Studies into the use of Twitter for language learning have mostly been small-scale evaluations undertaken by teachers researching the effectiveness of their own initiatives to use it with their students. To date, there has not been a large quantitative study of how language learners use Twitter autonomously. This paper reports on a large-scale…

The present study investigated the interface between explicit instruction and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in an effort to reduce plural marking errors among Japanese EFL learners. The instruction involved raising contrastive awareness of cross-linguistic and conceptual features, and was delivered via an online medium. A total of 180…

The research studied the effectiveness of the integration of Facebook as a flexible ubiquitous learning space into the educational process for speaking skills development of undergraduate students learning English as a second language. For this purpose teaching was organised via a specially created and moderated Facebook group where various media…

Since its inception, form-focused instruction (FFI) has been associated with grammar, with only a handful of studies examining its potential for vocabulary development (e.g., Laufer, 2006). Meanwhile, there has been an unresolved dispute between the two approaches of Focus on Form (FonF) and Focus on Forms (FonFs) in terms of their degree of…

The field of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA) has expressed interest in pursuing a research agenda that expands the current heritage language (HL) strand of research to investigate how this heterogeneous population re-learns their family language, and how this experience differs from that of second language (L2) learners. This…

Despite an increased emphasis on form-focused instruction (FFI), the use of the computer as a grammar tutor has remained largely unexamined for nearly two decades. With new technologies at hand, there is a need to take a fresh look at online grammar tutors and link designs more strongly to contemporary second language acquisition (SLA) principles…

Research shows that computer-generated corrective feedback can promote second language development, but there is no consensus about which type is the most effective. The scale is tipped in favor of more explicit feedback that provides metalinguistic explanations, but counterevidence indicates that minimally explicit feedback of the…

The use of online language corpora in L2 teaching and learning is gaining momentum largely because corpora are an easily accessed source of language input that potentially provide rich and authentic lexico-grammatical data. This can be of particular use for students' writing as its incorporation can enhance the appearance of native-like fluency.…

This article reports on a study which took place in the context of the design and development of an online dictionary prototype for learners of French. Aspects of the "usability", i.e. the quality of the "learner-task-dictionary interaction" of the prototype were tested. Micro-tasks were designed to focus on learners'…

Many second language acquisition researchers (e.g., Doughty & Williams, 1998; R. Ellis, 2007; Long, 1996, 2007; Lyster, Lightbown, & Spada, 1999; Russell & Spada, 2006) have advocated the use of negative feedback to promote learner noticing of errors and the internalization of correct forms. At the same time, the true efficacy of this practice is…

This volume brings together theoretical perspectives and empirical studies in second language (L2) acquisition and bilingualism and discusses their implications for L2 pedagogy. The book is organized into three sections that focus on prominent linguistic and cognitive theories and together provide a compelling set of state-of-the-art works. Part I…

This study aimed to isolate the effects of the two input activities in Processing Instruction: referential activities, which force learners to focus on a form and its meaning, and affective activities, which contain exemplars of the target form and require learners to process sentence meaning. One hundred and twenty 12-year-old Taiwanese learners…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of social media language learning activities with traditional language learning activities on the development of L2 grammatical competence in two English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes at a Taiwanese university. The study was grounded in four bodies of knowledge: (a) the…