Text structure (e.g., left-to-right orientation) can bias later task performance by supporting scanning strategies on related tasks (e.g., scanning left-to-right when learning word pairs). The current study was designed to investigate how the reading habits of native Arabic speakers might affect the acquisition of English vocabulary in word lists.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of interactions among second/foreign language (L2) writing subskills. Two types of relationships were investigated: subskill-item and subskill-subskill relationships. To achieve the first purpose, using writing data obtained from the writing essays of 500 English as a foreign language (EFL)…

Textual coherence is an important part of writing. This study examines whether textual coherence affects the quality of argumentative essays by evaluating papers written by 22 EFL university students. Firstly, the argumentative essays were evaluated by two raters using an AP English Argumentative Writing rubric available on Turnitin, an online…

Paragraph structure has been identified as consisting of three distinct parts, which are the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a paragraph ending sentence. Although topic sentences have been widely researched, similar consideration for paragraph endings has been less forthcoming. This discrepancy may be problematic as research suggests…

This classroom-based study was conducted in Kuwait to investigate the impact of text structure strategy (TSS) instruction on the ways in which 54 English as a foreign language (EFL) college students approached expository and medical texts. Data collection involved two surveys, fieldnotes, class observations, and group interviews. A system of codes…

This preliminary study explores how international students bring their cultural knowledge and experiences into relationship with other writers' ideas as they engage in an online discussion in response to a news text. This article focuses on a language excerpt from an online discussion group, including the assignment prompt, reading text, student…

This study investigated EFL college students' culture-related templates of written texts along the possibility of inter-cultural transfer. We designed a case study to explore how certain cultural assumptions contribute to EFL students' rhetorical decisions while writing an argumentative writing. The participants were four EFL college students.…

The Theme is a major aspect of how speakers construct their messages in a way which makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event. Thematic choice provides clues as to how English learners organize information and shape their texts. Previous studies reveal that English learners deviated from English native speakers in their thematic…

This study explored patterns in L2 writing development by focusing on one of the linguistic features of texts (fluency) from a complex dynamic systems perspective. It investigated whether two English-as-a-foreign-language university students would experience discontinuous change (phase transition) in their writing fluency through repetition of a…

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to look at Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' organizational strategy use in English writing at universities in Taiwan. One significant area that has been indicated in contrastive rhetoric studies spins around the notion of culturally constructed organizational patterns. It is claimed that…

Writing an essay is a very important skill for students to master, but a difficult task for them to overcome. It is particularly true for English as Second Language (ESL) students in China. It would be very useful if students could receive timely and effective feedback about their writing. Automatic essay feedback generation is a challenging task,…

The purpose of the present pedagogical experience was to address the English language writing needs of university-level students pursuing a degree in bilingual education with an emphasis in the teaching of English. Using mentor texts and coding academic writing structures, an instructional design was developed to directly address the shortcomings…

The theme for the 62nd annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Educating for a Just Society. Connie Briggs, previous Program Chair, reminded us that, "Education has always been the foundation of a democratic nation. It is important that our students understand the principles upon which our nation was…

The current study examined 24 Japanese university students' processes of negotiation in conditions of self revision and of peer revision about their English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. Analyzing their negotiation episodes and text changes, I categorized within a common coding scheme the types of negotiation from (a) think-aloud protocols…

Examined the role of text structure awareness in the recall of information of four expository text types: description/collection, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution. University-bound students of English-as-a-Foreign-Language participated in the study. Results revealed participants were most aware of the comparison/contrast,…