To investigate L2 adolescent learners' use of machine translation (MT), an MT error correction (EC) test was developed, based on the analysis of MT errors arising from translating the learners' L1 of middle school EFL textbooks. Learners were also asked to report on their use of MT EC strategies on the EC task. Results indicated that…

The role of L1 knowledge about language (L1KAL) in L2 teaching/learning has received little research attention despite its potential importance. In this study, 9 primary (aged 11) and 16 secondary (aged 15) school francophones working in dyads edited an English paragraph containing 19 errors whilst justifying each change. Their discussions were…

The connective 'but' mainly represents two different contrastive relations (Lakoff, 1971; Van Dijk, 1979; Blakemore, 1989). One of them is semantic, which shows semantic opposition and where no expectation is denied. The other is pragmatic, which shows a denial of expectation. This study aimed to investigate the use of 'but' by Turkish EFL…

Although most writing centres maintain policies against providing grammar correction during writing tutorials, it is undeniable that students expect some level of grammar intervention there. Just how much students expect and receive is a matter of speculation. This article examines the grammar-correction issue by reporting on a survey of L1, L2,…

The objective of this study is to investigate the common errors of L2 learners in a Turkish university setting where they have to learn L2 and pass a B1 level exam in order to be faculty students. The study aims at identifying what types of errors the learners do, what the possible determining factors at the background are and how they can…

Although it remains controversial, machine translation (MT) has gained popularity both inside and outside of the classroom. Despite the growing number of students using MT, little is known about its use as a pedagogical tool in the EFL classroom. The present study investigated the role of MT as a CALL tool in EFL writing. Most studies on MT as a…

This article reports on a classroom-based study that examined the effects of direct focused and unfocused written corrective feedback (WCF) on the accuracy development of the past hypothetical conditional (e.g., "If I had had money, I would have bought a new computer.") and the indefinite article (a/an). The study employed a…

To date, very little research on L2 peer review of L2 essay composition has focused on the issue of whether the choice of L1 or L2 use in the peer review process facilitates or hinders students' transmission and reception of productive commentary on their essay drafts. This study was designed to ascertain the impact of language choice in written…

This article contends that the profile of a foreign language learner can contain valuable information about possible problems they will face during the learning process, and could be used to help personalize feedback. A particularly important attribute of a foreign language learner is their native language background as it defines their known…

This study investigated the effects of direct and indirect WCF on students' revision accuracy as well as on new pieces of writing over time. Intermediate level pre-faculty university students were divided randomly into four groups: direct, underlining only, underlining metalinguistic, and a control group. They produced two texts from two different…

While previous research has indicated that learners with field-dependence (FD) and field-independence (FI) cognitive styles benefit differentially from different instructional modes, previous corrective feedback studies have ignored the issue of matching error correction strategies to learners' cognitive style. To shed some light on this issue,…

This study reflects a social constructivist theoretical framework in which the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a central element, as two teaching approaches, communicative language teaching (CLT) and explicit focus on form (FonF) are examined. Research questions include: Are CLT and explicit FonF conducive to reaching the ZPD? Is there a…