Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inteligencia artificial

Resumen:

With a pretest/posttest/delayed posttest design, this quasi-experimental study compares the effectiveness of corpus use versus generative AI (GenAI) use in helping undergraduate students learn multiword constructions (MWCs) in written academic English and examines the moderating effects of learners’ learning styles. Six intact writing classes with a total of 210 students were assigned to one of three instructional groups with each group including two intact classes: Experimental Group 1 (using data-driven learning [DDL] only), Experimental Group 2 (employing GenAI-assisted learning combined with corpus analysis of teacher-generated concordance lines), and Control Group. MWC learning was measured by a MWC production test and a writing test that assessed both the overall writing quality and the frequency and number of types of MWCs used...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

This multiple case study explores how and to what extent Chinese English-major students engage affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively with supervisory feedback on their English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) undergraduate theses, as well as how motivation and second language (L2) proficiency may mediate their engagement. Data were collected from three students through stimulated recalls, interviews, thesis drafts with supervisors’ feedback comments, and audio recordings of supervisor–student conferences. Qualitative data analyses revealed that the three participants differed markedly in their engagement with supervisory feedback on their undergraduate theses. Driven by different motivations and mediated by their levels of English proficiency, the students took different stances and employed different cognitive strategies in their...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

This study investigates how learner language proficiency and peer familiarity interact to shape English as a Foreign Language students’ engagement with peer feedback, drawing on Fredricks et al.’s tripartite model of engagement (affective, cognitive, behavioral), self-determination theory, and social interdependence theory to conceptualize engagement as a socially mediated and motivationally dynamic process. To interpret engagement variation, the study incorporates self-determination theory and social interdependence theory, conceptualizing engagement as socially mediated and motivationally dynamic. Three research questions examine how language proficiency influences engagement, peer familiarity affects engagement across feedback roles, and the two variables interact, especially for low-proficiency learners. A 2 × 2 factorial mixed-...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de lenguas

Resumen:

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 class. The study adopted a pretest/posttest/delayed posttest randomized two treatment design. The two experimental groups received, respectively, direct and indirect DDL instruction in the use of hedges in English academic writing. The direct approach involved students in conducting guided searches and analyses of target hedges in online corpora, whereas the indirect approach featured the use of corpus-informed, paper-and-pen learning tasks. Within- and between-group analyses of the participants’...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: revisión bibliográfica

Temas: escritura académica

Resumen:

Academic writing, as a core skill in higher education, poses significant challenges in terms of language organization, logical reasoning, and creative thinking. Although educators have increasingly explored technology-assisted instruction as a solution, empirical findings on its effectiveness remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis therefore evaluates the overall effect of technology-assisted academic writing instruction and examines moderating factors by synthesizing 56 (quasi-)experimental studies from 6 databases, yielding 67 effect sizes. Findings revealed a significantly large and positive effect ( d = 1.209) of technology-assisted academic writing instruction on higher education students’ writing performance, with peak effectiveness observed in English-as-a-foreign-language contexts, genre-based approaches, low-intensity...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enfoque por tareas

Resumen:

Task repetition and task rehearsal are often considered synonymous within the task-based language teaching (TBLT) domain. However, they are conceptually different, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping participants’ awareness of imminent repetitions and influencing second language (L2) task performance. Despite scarce empirical exploration into differentiating task repetition and task rehearsal in L2 writing across proficiency levels, this study investigates the impact of task repetition on syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) in L2 written production. The study also assesses whether distinct task conditions affect CALF development in argumentative writing across proficiency levels. A total of 180 English as a second language (ESL) participants were recruited from six academic writing classes at...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: enseñanza/aprendizaje de la gramática

Resumen:

This qualitative case study investigates how second language (L2) student writers’ knowledge of grammar interacts with their experiences with academic transition. In particular, the study focuses on academically transitioning L2 student writers’ uptake of systemic functional grammar (SFG), which conceptualizes and explicitly explains language as a social semiotic resource for meaning making. The 14 L2 students involved in the study were transitioning to an informative writing course offered by a university in China. The data sources included interviews with the students and the students’ writing pieces and reflections, and were grounded in a thematic analysis. The study shows that the students experienced academic challenges. However, with their improved uptake of SFG, the students were able to overcome the contextual complexity of...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: expresión escrita

Resumen:

Focusing on the relationship between linguistic, cognitive, socioemotional factors in writing English for academic purposes (EAP), this study investigated whether topic familiarity as an important cognitive factor of task complexity influences different levels of emotionality and linguistic complexity in EAP writing and whether there are relationships between emotionality and linguistic complexity. To do so, 64 international graduate learners enrolled in EAP writing courses participated in the present study. Each wrote on familiar and unfamiliar topics determined via a questionnaire at the onset of the study. Their writings were then measured for textual emotionality and linguistic complexity using automatic assessment tools. Results showed that EAP writings differed systematically in terms of both emotionality and linguistic...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: feedback/retroalimentación

Resumen:

Despite the recognized importance of supervisors’ feedback in enhancing students’ academic development, research on novice supervisors’ perspectives, especially concerning undergraduate thesis supervision in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, remains scarce. In an attempt to address this gap, this qualitative case study explored the written feedback beliefs and practices of two novice supervisors in the department of English of two universities in mainland China. It examined how their beliefs were shaped and translated into practice during their supervision of EFL undergraduate students. Data were collected longitudinally over an 8-month period, including semi-structured interviews, written feedback samples, and voice messages, to capture the full thesis supervision process. Findings revealed that supervisors held varying...

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Tipo: artículo

Metodología: estudio empírico

Temas: inteligencia artificial

Resumen:

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools in second language (L2) academic writing presents both opportunities and challenges for medical education. This study employed a SWOT (strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats) analysis to examine medical students’ perspectives on using AI writing tools in their academic writing practice. Forty-two medical students from a major Iranian university participated in the study, providing weekly reflections and a final SWOT analysis over a 15-week academic writing course. Thematic analysis revealed that AI writing tools offer significant strengths in linguistic skill development, particularly in academic vocabulary enhancement, sentence improvement, and grammar and proofreading. However, weaknesses such as over-reliance on AI, lack of contextual understanding, and occasional...

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