My first year teaching physical science I (LB) had a young man whom we shall call John in class. He had been sitting silently, doing nothing most of the first quarter of school. I had seen little in the way of written work from him. John's daily grades were continually zero after zero and his assessment grades were equally abysmal. Calls to mom…

This article examines the impact of the sociodemographic profile (including age, gender, and educational track) of Flemish adolescents (aged 13-20) on lexical aspects of their informal online discourse. The focus on lexical and more "traditional," print-based aspects of literacy is meant to complement previous research on sociolinguistic…

Many Hispanics living in the United States have limited Spanish language abilities particularly in relation to literacy skills. This study investigated 25 Hispanic heritage language learners' (HLLs) perceptions of their Spanish language writing abilities. During interview sessions, participants described the aspects of writing that were the…

In this essay, we map out four major approaches to the study of writing experiences: (a) worlds apart, (b) literacy in the wild, (c) ecologies and networks, and (d) transfer. We examine how the primary metaphors used in each approach have contributed to our field's understanding of writing. In focusing on specific dimensions of writing, each…

The use of rubrics in assessing the writing performance is very popular. In general, educators in universities use rubrics for a more accurate assessment of students writing performance. The first aim of this study is to investigate how using rubrics in teaching writing skills can affect the writing performance of students. The second aim is to…

The study aims to compare the effectiveness of Guided Inquiry Learning (GIL) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model. A number of prior studies have implemented the GIL model for a limited area such as science. Similar to the PBL learning design, the previous studies that highlighted the application of GIL model was commonly targeted to find out…

This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess how the incorporation of an embedded writing centre tutor in the experimental class affects student achievement in comparison with the control class which had limited involvement with The Writing Centre. Data were collected from 43 students enrolled in two classes who completed a total of 158…

The authors describe Monster, P.I., which is an app-based, gamified assessment that measures language skills (knowledge of morphology, vocabulary, and syntax) of students in grades 5-8 and provides teachers with interpretable score reports to drive instruction that improves vocabulary, reading, and writing ability. Specifically, the authors…

Spanish-English cognates (words from ancestrally related languages similar in appearance and meaning) are plentiful in students' reading materials, but few researchers have documented elementary-age bilingual (Spanish-English) students' actual use of cognates. The authors drew from two qualitative research studies to show how bilingual students…

There is a growing need for people to upskill and retrain throughout their working lives in response to technological and economic changes. Employees need to adapt and take on board new information and ways of working, but may lack confidence in their skills to be able to keep pace with their employer's business. Addressing literacy, numeracy and…

This study aims to determine 1) the relationship between students' reading habits with the ability to write exposition text, 2) the relationship between students' discourse markers mastery with the ability to write exposition text, and (3) the relationship between students' reading habits and discourse markers mastery with the ability to write…

Virtually all researchers understand the requirement of presenting their studies in peer-reviewed English-medium journals. Russian scientific writers understand this necessity too; however, evidence suggests that these particular researchers are under-performing relative to similar non-native English speakers. The considerable challenge Russians…

While over the last couple of years, there has been a growing investigation into the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within language learning, very little has been written regarding how such AI feedback influences the complex experiences of EFL learners in terms of motivation, foreign language peace of mind (FLPoM), trait emotional…

This research paper employs an exploratory framework to evaluate the potential of ChatGPT as an Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tool in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Thailand. The main objective is to investigate how well ChatGPT can assess students' writing using prompts and pre-defined rubrics compared to human raters.…

The integration of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education represents a transformative technological advancement with significant potential for enhancing both student learning outcomes and teacher professional development. This comprehensive review examines how AI chatbots can be…