Copying words by writing and typing are two effective methods in traditional learning, but their merits for learning L2 words have seldom been compared. Because of technological advances and the growing popularity of utilising smart mobile products to acquire L2 vocabulary, this study investigated the effectiveness of writing and typing techniques…

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) sought to address the challenge of optimizing handwriting instructional practices and assessment methods for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) at St. Andrew's School (SAS). SAS is an Episcopal, co-educational boarding school in Middletown, Delaware. With 18 years of experience as the primary…

Although computer-assisted vocabulary acquisition tools have been widely applied to English as a foreign language learning, the kinesthetic and tactile potential of such tools has not been fully utilized. Embodied cognition suggested that the change of practice modality (from handwriting to keyboarding), involves different sensory-motor…

Recent years, dramatic changes in the mode of writing have occurred. Computers and other digital devices are increasingly replacing writing by hand. The sensory-motor experiences of typing (e.g. visual, haptic, motor) are different from those used in handwriting. Therefore, the influence and effect of keyboarding on linguistic performance,…

Keystroke logs provide a comprehensive record of observable writing processes. Previous studies examining the keystroke logs of young L1 English writers performing experimental writing tasks have identified writing processes features predictive of the quality of responses. Contrarily, large-scale studies on the dynamic and temporal nature of L2…

Feedback is an essential component of learning environments. However, providing feedback in populated classes can be challenging for teachers. On the one hand, it is unlikely that a single kind of feedback works for all students considering the heterogeneous nature of their needs. On the other hand, delivering personalized feedback is infeasible…

This study examined the extent to which L2 writers with varied working memory display differential pausing and revision behaviors at different periods during writing. The participants were 30 advanced Chinese L2 users of English, who wrote an argumentative essay. While composing, participants' keystrokes and eye-gaze movements were recorded to…

Writing in a language different from one's mother tongue is a daunting task. The same challenge may apply to languages that have diglossic features whose spoken form differs from the written form. This article investigates Arab students' writing behaviors (fluency, pauses, and revision) in response to an argumentative composition in their L1…

Numerous studies of written language development have shown minimal improvement over the course of an instructional period, yet these solely text-based studies offer little explanation for the lack of changes in writers' language because little is reported about the classroom and the participants. The purpose of this study is to use goal theory to…

The last two decades have witnessed a quick shift from pen-and-paper writing to computer keyboard writing. Corresponding to this shift in the writing medium are vigorous research efforts to understand new features of writing in computer keyboard settings. Using Inputlog7.0, this study investigated the writing process of 60 Chinese English as a…

This special issue is devoted to describing and evaluating new methods for analyzing online writing processes in a second language (L2). As all the contributors have stated, the aim is to identify the cognitive processes underlying writing. The ultimate aim is to employ observations and experimental manipulations of these processes to build…

When responding to a writing task, writers spend a significant amount of their time not writing. These periods of physical inactivity, or pauses, during writing provide observable and measurable cues as to when, where, and how long writers halt to plan and/or revise their texts. Consequently, examining writers' pausing patterns can provide…

Second language writing researchers have examined the affordances of Automated Writing Evaluation programs in providing immediate feedback that helps improve students' writing outputs. However, a little is known about tracking learners' process during writing essays and whether much/less pauses made by learners could predict good/poor quality of…

Most research into second language (L2) writing has focused on the products of writing tasks; much less empirical work has examined the behaviours in which L2 writers engage and the cognitive processes that underlie writing behaviours. We aimed to fill this gap by investigating the extent to which writing speed fluency, pausing, eye-gaze…

This dissertation study explored the feasibility of using authenticated spoken texts to test L2 Chinese listening comprehension. The spoken texts used in the study were created using an "authenticating" technique, in which scripted spoken Chinese texts were infused with characteristics of real-world, unscripted spoken Chinese. In the…