This quasi-experimental study set out to examine the effect of peer corrective feedback on feedback givers and receivers in L2 writing. The forms in focus were a/an, the, and the past tense.The study was conducted in an EFL classroom setting with 45 learners of English in three writing classes which served as the feedback givers, receivers, and the control group.  Over four sessions of treatmen...

This article investigates the potential benefits of using children’s literature in adult second language (L2) classrooms. A short-term, intensive university course for English reading and writing was designed incorporating children’s literature into the curriculum. The author describes the course and discusses how children’s literature can be used to improve students’ linguistic, cognitive, and...

In constructivist second language (L2) learning environments, particularly in relatively teacher-remote situations such as those involving Learning Management Systems (LMS), task performance freedom can be an obstacle to the achievement of specific educational objectives. This paper presents an example of task narrowing achieved by Cmap interface related task design. The relations represented b...

First year biology courses at the University of Sydney have traditionally incorporated assessment activities requiring students to write reports. Despite increases in the size of the student cohort during the past 10 years (n=1000 – 1600), we have maintained the philosophy that writing is integral to learning biology (Moore, 1993) and to the development of generic skills. The curriculum therefo...

The aim of this article is to establish the relevance of teaching reading and writing skills to students at Madrid Polytechnic University, and to show the relationship and interdependence of these activities in EAP courses. The skills involved in reading and writing processes for academic purposes for L2 students are compared and commented on from a rhetorical point of view. Learning tasks base...

Although the role of individual differences in second language (L2) speech has been extensively studied, the impact of individual differences on the process of second language writing and the written product has been a neglected area of research. In this paper, I review the most important individual difference factors that might explain variations in L2 writing processes and discuss the influen...

The lecturer’s dilemma Iain, a psychology lecturer, became interested in the role of writing in his students’ learning for ‘selfish reasons’. When reading his students’ writing, Iain found it difficult to distinguish between their understanding of the subject matter and their expression of ideas and arguments. This problem drove him to investigate how to improve his students’ academic writing a...