Regarding the three main features of scaffolding, namely, contingency, fading, and the transfer of responsibility, contingency entails the assistance adjusted to a learner's existing level of understanding. The present study investigated the effect of the model of contingent teaching on improving Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL)…

When teaching Mandarin Chinese classifiers, teachers usually ask students to memorize 'classifier + noun', phrases as collocations. Given that Mandarin Chinese has a vast and complicated system of classifiers, the rote memorization of 'classifier + noun' collocations is challenging and monotonous. Therefore, the present study aims to improve that…

This article reports on an experimental study that set out to investigate and compare the effectiveness of a direct and an indirect approach to data-driven learning (DDL) in facilitating Chinese learners' mastery of a challenging type of lexico-grammatical resource (i.e. hedges) in an undergraduate English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) writing…

This article investigates the effect of concept-based instruction (CBI), a pedagogy based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, on second language (L2) learners' writing development. A quasi-experimental intervention lasting 16 weeks was conducted involving 88 first-year Chinese university students of English. The participants were assigned to three…

This study used questionnaires eliciting quantitative and qualitative data to investigate (1) foreign language learners' beliefs about peer feedback on pronunciation before and after a peer feedback intervention and (2) peer feedback providers', peer feedback receivers', and teacher feedback receivers' experiences of the intervention. Participants…

There is growing consensus that the provision of Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) on second language (L2) writing is beneficial for long-term L2 development. Yet, while WCF may help improve linguistic accuracy, there is no evidence that it promotes the development of linguistic complexity. Further, WCF is also often laborious and time-consuming…

Despite substantial advances in the field of instructed second language acquisition (SLA) with regard to our understanding of second language (L2) pronunciation development and pedagogy, many language instructors continue to report a lack of confidence in incorporating pronunciation instruction (PI) into their classes. This survey study examined…

Learners entering higher education may learn specialized vocabulary of new disciplines in their second language (L2) with or without support from their first language (L1). However, these learners cannot rely on an established conceptual representation in L1 when learning L2 specialized vocabulary. The effects of learning a new concept in L1 prior…

Research on the effects of second language (L2) listening strategy instruction (SI) has gained momentum in recent years (e.g. Vandergrift & Tafaghodtari, 2010). However, the reported results have been inconclusive and varied across studies. Synthesizing the results of quantitative research in this domain, the present meta-analysis sought to…

This classroom study investigated the effectiveness of form-focused instruction and peer feedback training to improve grammatical accuracy and thereby maximize learning opportunities during peer interaction. Eighty-seven third-semester learners of German were assigned to a PI group (peer interaction only), an FFI group (peer interaction and…

This study examined the effect of feedback, feed up (comments on goals and students' success in achieving goals) and feed forward (comments on the next step in learning during the semester) on writing motivation, writing self-efficacy, and writing anxiety. Two hundred and ten female intermediate language learners (age[subscript mean] = 17.2) were…

This case study explores the trajectory of a reading teacher's self-directed development when implementing drama-based pedagogy in an under-resourced College in China. Through qualitative analyses of multiple data sources collected over one semester, the study demonstrates that the teacher's self-directed use of drama-based pedagogy following…

The extent to which learners benefit from instruction may be largely dependent on their individual abilities. However, there is relatively little work on the interaction between instructional effectiveness in second language learning and learner individual factors. In this study, we investigated the relationship between instruction, individual…

This study investigated the short-term and delayed effects of comprehensive written corrective feedback (WCF) on L2 learners' revision accuracy and new pieces of writing (i.e., the transfer effect of feedback). Three types of feedback were compared: direct feedback and two types of indirect feedback that differed in their degree of explicitness…

Whereas scholars have extensively researched the pedagogical potential of 4/3/2 activities (i.e. increasing time pressure in task repetition) for enhancing second language (L2) fluency, its impact on L2 accuracy remains unclear. To help L2 learners improve both fluency and accuracy, the present study examined the effects of adding accuracy…