The debate continues between those who believe in giving corrective feedback to students to improve their written accuracy and those who do not. Indeed, the results of the many experimental studies on written corrective feedback carried out over the last 20 years have been so contradictory that second language teachers looking to support their…

Researchers of scholarly literacy are becoming more aware that a published research article, especially if it is written by an English as an Additional Language (EAL) author, needs to be viewed as a product involving a range of "shapers" who participate in the editorial process (e.g., Burrough-Boenisch, 2003). Drawing on data gathered…

There is significant potential for error in long production processes that consist of sequential stages, each of which is heavily dependent on the previous stage, such as the SER (Scoring, Equating, and Reporting) process. Quality control procedures are required in order to monitor this process and to reduce the number of mistakes to a minimum. In…

Since students enter college with a basic knowledge of the mechanics of writing, including grammar, spelling, and punctuation, most student writing mistakes amount to a failure to see what they have actually written. Thus, instructors must help students to apply knowledge they already have and to see their own errors through careful proofreading.…

This paper addresses the question of how grammar checkers may help or hinder students by analyzing the performance of the Microsoft Word 97's Grammar Checker at flagging and explaining errors frequently made by college students. Thousands of sentences were fed into the program. Results indicate that it caught some of the errors reliably (e.g.…

This study identified and described the ways in which negative evidence was made available and accessible to learners during two widely practiced classroom activities. One was a teacher-led discussion that emphasized communication of subject matter content. The other was a teacher-led sentence construction exercise that focused on application of…

For the purposes of this paper, proofreading will be defined as the final step of revising a paper. The paper describes what one writing lab, the Writing Center at the University of Connecticut, does to provide students with one-to-one help with their writing. It explains that services in the center include individual tutorials, a grammar hotline,…

Explores the detailed processes whereby concert performances of serious music are collectively achieved in rehearsal. The article concentrates on a youth orchestra rehearsing a section of a Beethoven symphony that was audiotaped. The article further focuses on the "talk" that shapes the collective musical activities rather than the…

Discusses standard of care and accountability for errors and omissions in the work of design consultants such as architects and engineers. Emphasizes the responsibility of owners, the importance of communication, and strategies for risk management, such as professional liability insurance, third-party review, design/build, and modified contract…

Explored how beginning learners of Spanish develop the ability to use preterit and imperfect past tense forms by analyzing the self-correction behavior they exhibited in their oral production. Each of 15 participants produced five narratives during their second semester of instruction, which were analyzed for the features learners focused their…

Discusses selected theoretical aspects of providing error feedback for language learners. Theoretical considerations concerning the dialog with the learner about linguistic errors are discussed, and some conclusions for computer assisted language learning (CALL) system design are drawn. (Author/VWL)

Reviews spelling instruction materials. Describes phonemic, whole-word, and morphemic approaches to spelling instruction. Discusses the importance of Direct Instruction components such as sequenced lessons, cumulative review, distributed practice, and systematic error correction. Compares two spelling curricula, "Spelling Mastery" and…

Claims, despite extensive research on the role of feedback in learning, there is little theoretical understanding of the concept of feedback, because of overly broad definitions which favor certain explanations and lines of research over others. Discusses implications of feedback research for group facilitation and design of experiential learning…

Making errors can be a salutary learning experience. The problem in outdoor adventure education is to protect the error makers from real harm, which requires careful structuring of the learning situation. Discusses error limits, how much error correction is appropriate, involving participants in decision making, video playback and debriefing…

The roles of advice and feedback in the facilitation of online processing during acquisition and subsequent impact on memory-based processing during a delayed problem-solving task were studied in 2 experiments with 123 college students. Results indicate that corrective feedback improves online processing during training. (SLD)