The present study investigated the potential of writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) for language learning by manipulating cognitive task complexity based on related models and hypotheses. English essays written by 59 Chinese postgraduate EFL students from different subject areas were analysed with reference to writing complexity,…

The study seeks to conceptualise foreign language learning burnout and provide its corresponding measurement. The 15-item "Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey" (MBI-SS) was rephrased to fit an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learning context. The modified MBI-SS was then assessed among 1718 Chinese secondary EFL students. A…

Syntactic complexity has long been used to gauge language learners' performance, proficiency, and development, offering language teachers valid recommendations for syllabus design and materials development. Progress in syntactic complexity research foreshadows the imperative of measuring syntactic features at a high level of granularity, which…

Engagement plays an important role in students' success in learning. While learner engagement has been widely examined, the degree to which learners engage in online learning and the relationship between online engagement and learning outcomes, particularly in the domain of second/foreign (L2) language learning, still remain under-explored. To…

The available classifications of self-regulated learners may not be applicable to second or foreign language writing due to the contextual nature of self-regulated learning. This study intended to fill the gap by exploring the profiles of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing self-regulation and their association with…

While studies on teacher written feedback and automated writing evaluation (AWE) feedback have proliferated in recent decades, little attention has been paid to how AWE-teacher integrated feedback would influence students' engagement and their writing performance in second language (L2) writing. Against this backdrop, a quasi-experimental design…

This study aims to fill the gaps in measuring foreign language reading enjoyment by developing an English reading enjoyment scale for Chinese university students. Scherer's [(2000). 'Emotions as Episodes of Subsystem Synchronization Driven by Nonlinear Appraisal Processes.' In "Emotion, Development, and Self-Organization: Dynamic Systems…

China has had an ambivalent policy for the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) over much of its history. The explicit and implicit implementation of language policy has had a significant impact on the content of EFL textbooks and the ideologies underlying them. However, studies exploring such ideologies remain sensitive…

Studies have shown that raising L2 learners' metaphor awareness contributes to the acquisition of figurative language, which fosters students' development of language skills. However, the instruments measuring metaphor awareness, in the majority of relevant research, did not seem to have undergone proper methodological procedures for checking…

There has been substantial research on the effects of metacognitive instruction on improving L2 learners' language skills. However, little is known about the impact of such instruction on improving the effectiveness of L2 students' collaborative writing. To fill this research gap, we conducted a quasi-experimental study to investigate how such an…

The effect of first language transfer on second language acquisition and learning has been a major theoretical concept in second language research and pedagogy since the 1950s. In order to give a historical perspective, the authors offer a brief presentation of some of the major topics from the broad spectrum of issues that have been examined by…

This study mainly explored the effects of teacher feedback, peer feedback and automated feedback on the use of metacognitive strategies in EFL writing. Ninety-seven participants were recruited and divided into three groups, who received two months of feedback from teachers, peers and an automatic writing evaluation system, respectively, and then…

This article investigates second language socialization of three international students in a tertiary institute in New Zealand. To understand the experiences of international students, the article draws on the theoretical framework of the production of space to examine how the students experienced their new social space. The article uses multiple…

Given much importance associated with willingness to communicate (WTC) in foreign language learning, many researchers have carried out studies to explore antecedents of second language (L2) WTC. To contribute to this research domain, this study sought to test a model of ideal L2 self, growth language mindset, boredom and WTC among English major…

Strategic behavior for self-regulated learning (SRL) is crucial for academic success in L2 writing. Yet little is known about how learners' motivation-related factors develop as their strategic behavior progresses during classroom instruction in L2 writing contexts. Informed by SRL theory, this longitudinal case study adopted multiple assessment…