Researchers and teachers often invoke context to explain their particular research/teaching issues. However, definitions of context vary widely and the direct impact of the context is often unexplained. Based on research showing contextual differences in second language (L2) learner beliefs and interactional behaviors, the current project compared…

The Interaction Approach argues that negotiation for meaning and form is conducive to second language development. To date, most of the research on negotiations has been either in face-to-face (FTF) or text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) modes. Very few studies have compared the nature of negotiations across the modes.…

An important aspect of advanced academic writing is the ability to incorporate source material. Yet this ability often poses considerable challenges for international ESL students. Although a number of scholars have called for the explicit teaching of how to acknowledge and incorporate source materials, research evidence on whether explicit…

Although pair and small group activities are commonly used in second language (L2) classrooms, there are very few studies which can inform teachers about whether it is best to have students work in pairs or in small groups. In this study, conducted in a junior high school in Indonesia with learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), we…

This classroom-based study investigated the metatalk of learners working in pairs on a text reconstruction task. Specifically, the study investigated the learners' level of engagement with linguistic choices, and whether the level of engagement affected subsequent language development. Data were collected over a 2-week period. In the first week,…

The assessment of oral language is now quite commonly done in pairs or groups, and there is a growing body of research which investigates the related issues (e.g. May, 2007). Writing generally tends to be thought of as an individual activity, although a small number of studies have documented the advantages of collaboration in writing in the…

Although the literature on language pedagogy encourages the use of pair work in the second language classroom, students sometimes seem reluctant to work in pairs, particularly on grammar-focused tasks. This study investigated the merits of pair work by comparing pair and individual work on an editing task and by analysing the nature of pair…

Investigated how 30 tertiary English-as-a-Second-Language learners, at advanced and intermediate levels, engaged in a text reconstruction task. The study examined the types of grammatical items that caused the students most concern, and the reasoning they used to arrive at grammatical decisions. (Author/JL)

Investigated the talk of 14 intermediate learners of English as a Second Language in a tertiary setting as they performed a passage-editing task collaboratively. Transcripts of the students' dialogs were analyzed for the kind of talk the task elicited, the grammatical items that drew the most attention from the learners, and the knowledge sources…