This research aims at exploring in an irregular orthographic system like French, if spelling is related to written composition. French spelling is particularly interesting because it includes phonographic irregularities (i.e., inconsistencies), lexical difficulties and numerous morphological silent marks (e.g., plural noun, adjective, and verb…

This article explores cross-linguistic lexical influence (CLI), i.e. idiosyncratic borrowings and creations based on other languages, in texts written by pupils learning French and English as foreign languages, and whose language of instruction is German. The study, carried out in German-speaking Switzerland, was based on a plurilingual conception…

Purpose: Statistical learning (SL) approaches to reading maintain that proficient reading requires assimilation of the rich statistical regularities in the writing system. Reading skills in developing first- and second-language readers in English have been shown to be predicted by individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in mappings…

Driven by the digital revolution in second language (L2) classrooms and broadened views on literacy, digital multimodal composing (DMC) has gained a robust growth of interests in the past decade. To illuminate the empirical landscape of this budding field, this paper provides a substantive and methodological review of 60 empirical L2 studies on…

Second language (L2) research suggests that synchronous written corrective feedback (SWCF) in online collaborative writing tasks can help improve L2 linguistic knowledge and writing skills. Following the rise of online collaborative writing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this exploratory study examines L2 learners' perceptions of receiving…

Many First Nations people in Canada struggle in the acquisition of the skills associated with western literacy, that is, with the skills necessary to communicate through reading, writing, and numeracy in either English or French. Rooted in the history of colonial education, this problem continues to have a negative impact on the lives of…

The use of machine translation (MT) tools remains controversial among language instructors, with limited integration into classroom practices. While much of the existing research into MT and language education has explored instructor perceptions, less is known about how students actually use MT or how student use compares to instructor beliefs and…

Purpose: This study offers the first description of misspellings across elementary school using the Phonological, Orthographic and Morphological Assessment of Spelling (POMAS), a linguistic framework based on Triple Word Form theory, adapted for French (POMAS-FR). It aims to test the "universality" of POMAS and its suitability to track…

Using machine translation (MT) tools for language learning has become a common practice among language students in recent years. Studies have investigated how students use MT, how students and teachers perceive its benefits and drawbacks and how helpful it is for language learning. These studies indicate that students think MT tools are helpful in…

Through either morphological or functional approaches, previous research has examined how instructed second language (L2) learners develop control over a challenging area of French: the use of the "imparfait." In order to better understand this challenge, this cross-sectional study utilized both approaches and examined how 94 university…

Previous review studies do not have a broad and comprehensive perspective on the usage of ACF tools in language learning. To address this gap, we reviewed 82 articles on the use of ACF tools published in the last five years. Results indicate that 43 ACF tools were used in studies to assist writing, grammar, spelling, and collocation and word use.…

Within the context of second language (L2) writing, learner engagement with feedback has elicited significant theoretical and empirical interest (e.g., Zhang & Hyland, 2018; Zheng & Yu, 2018). Research has highlighted the dynamic nature of learner engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF), but the ways in which learner and…

Motivating students towards language learning includes embedding meaningful themes, communicative tasks, and authentic assessments. When voice and choice are held as essential qualities of the task, students invest in the resources to make meaning and express their own thoughts, thus moving us away from traditional assessments that emphasize…

Pluriliterate academic practices offer students who are literate in both their L1 and English the possibility of relying on sources in multiple languages. Surprisingly, there is little research on the factors playing a role in students' choice of sources and whether this choice is related solely or partly to the language of the source. This study…

The Year Abroad (YA) is one of the most valuable parts of our language degree programmes. Here we discuss some of the elements that constitute the assessment Nottingham Trent University students carry out to earn a YA diploma. More specifically we compare the two elements (blog and dossier) that we think contribute most to reflective practice, by…