We observe that current language resource tools only provide limited help for ESL/EFL writers with insufficient language knowledge. In particular, there is no convenient way for ESL/EFL writers to look for answers to the frequent questions of correct and appropriate language use. We have developed a language information retrieval method to exploit corporal resources and provide effective refere...

Task-based language teaching, which requires learners to transact tasks resembling their real life language needs, demands language learners to perform planning at different stages of their learning. Since various types of tasks can be used in task-based instruction, the present study examined the effect of task types and various participatory structures during pre-task planning on the quality ...

This study applied design research in designing a mobile-device-supported interactive writing platform (ePoetry Zone, ePZ) for elementary EFL learners in collaborative creation. In the first iteration essential supports needed in interactive writing were identified and became the design foundation of the mobile interactive writing platform (ePZ). In the second iteration, ePZ was developed and t...

The current study investigated the effectiveness of genre-based instruction on the development of EFL learners’ writing skills. Participants were 34 undergraduate students majoring in textile engineering at an Iranian state university, and they had enrolled in the English for specific academic purposes course. Participants were taught how to write 4 types of business letters, highlighting the p...

In EFL programs, rating scales used in writing assessment are often constructed by intuition. Intuition-based scales tend to provide inaccurate and divisive ratings of learners’ writing performance. Hence, following an empirical approach, this study attempted to develop a rating scale for elementary-level writing at an EFL program in Saudi Arabia. Towards this goal, 98 students’ essays were sco...

The focus of this study is to investigate the comparative effect of teaching grammar through interpretation tasks and pictorial clues on EFL learners’ writing accuracy. The participants were 60 female intermediate EFL learners with age range of 21-35 who were divided into two experimental groups after being homogenized by a piloted PET test. In the piloted researcher-made pre-test, the research...

English language teaching (ELT) writing practitioners have long attempted to improve EFL/ESL learners’ competence in writing with recourse to either instruction or feedback. Likewise, researchers have, to date, mainly focused on either of these treatments to enhance language learners’ composing ability. Which treatment leads to more significant improvements is, however, unclear. Moreover, of th...

this study investigated the impact of using the technique of self-monitoring on non-academic efl learners’ composition writing. fifty female students studying english at navid english institute in shiraz, iran were chosen based on the results of a proficiency test. they were all 16-20 years old and were intermediate learners of english who were divided into two control and experimental groups a...