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This mixed-methods study investigates the use of synchronous video computer-mediated communication (SVCMC) in a U.S. university's Spanish-as-a-foreign-language curriculum. Using the SVCMC platform "TalkAbroad," the university's Spanish program required second-year students to participate in five, 30-minute, SVCMC conversations with Spanish first language (L1) speakers. Students then reflected on their SVCMC conversations by replaying the recorded audio from those sessions and transcribing passages of their conversations. Using an interactionist perspective, this research explores the utility of: (1) the SVCMC conversations, and (2) the subsequent listening/transcription activity by examining students' reported noticing of linguistic items (e.g. L1 speaker vocabulary, grammar, etc.). Additionally, we report students' general perceptions of engaging in SVCMC with "TalkAbroad." Students' noticing and perceptions were investigated using a combination of two questionnaires (N = 35) that were administered following (1) the SVCMC, and (2) the listening/transcription activity, along with semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Findings suggest both the SVCMC and listening/transcription activities are effective in promoting the noticing of vocabulary and content, but not grammar. Finally, students generally reported positive perceptions of engaging in SVCMC for the purposes of L2 learning. Related implications for pedagogy and curriculum design are discussed.

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has witnessed an explosion of interest from consumers and researchers. However, consumers often complain about the limited functionality of MALL applications, which typically do not allow for critical self-reflection or for users to consider different aspects of their learning such as the task itself, the strategies they use, and the challenges they face. Scholars, meanwhile, have argued that MALL research is frequently not grounded in theory, leading to problems with connecting theory and practice. The current study addresses these issues. Drawing upon metacognition theory, this study investigates the implementation of a weekly reflective e-journal writing activity in addition to learners' engagement with the MALL application Duolingo. Over a five-week span, the researcher conducted a case study with six learners, exploring: how the addition of a weekly e-journal activity aided students' metacognitive awareness of aspects of L2 learning; students' perceptions of using reflection journals with MALL; and users' experience with MALL and Duolingo in general. The findings show the journals aided students' metacognitive awareness in five domains, and learners generally reported finding the activity beneficial and enjoyable. Implications are discussed for future research and pedagogy regarding the combination of reflective journaling activities with MALL.

Understanding the effects of second language writers' topic familiarity on their subsequent writing performance has been a subject of great interest to researchers in second language acquisition and TESOL. However, prior studies have tended to suffer from multiple methodological limitations (e.g., no interrater reliability, limited or no control over important variables), which may call into question their results. In this conceptual replication, we highlight some of these issues by revisiting an influential study by He and Shi (2012), which explored the effects of ESL students' topic familiarity on their writing performance as assessed by measures of text quality and complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Apart from highlighting the differences in our studies' designs (e.g., the CAF measures and statistical analyses used), we highlight the similarities and differences in our findings. Finally, we close with a call for increased replication research in this area.

In this Methods Showcase Article, we highlight a qualitative research methodology called "netnography," an adaptation of ethnography and ethnographic methods applied to researching digital/online communities. We briefly discuss how netnography has evolved from its origins in the fields of consumer research and marketing to its more recent applications in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) for exploring phenomena related to online language teaching and learning. Next, we focus on the specific methods and techniques associated with conducting a netnography, and we propose numerous considerations for SLA researchers who wish to adopt the methodology in future studies. These considerations include various issues such as the recruitment of research participants (e.g., obtaining consent), researcher positioning (e.g., emic perspectives, ethics), the analysis of online multimodal data, and general reporting practices (e.g., protecting participants' identities). Finally, we close with specific recommendations for future research directions.

This article explores a long-standing criticism of the task-based language teaching (TBLT) approach regarding the applicability of TBLT to curricula in English as a foreign language (EFL) settings and, specifically, whether authentic tasks can be designed for EFL learners. To further investigate this issue, the authors explored the EFL context of China and examined students enrolled at two universities in different provinces. Data include (1) focus groups, (2) questionnaires (N = 555) surveying students' second language (L2) English use outside of the classroom for nonacademic purposes, and (3) semistructured interviews (N = 7) examining teachers' perspectives regarding their students' L2 English use outside of class. The results show that a large majority of the students did engage in numerous L2 English tasks and activities outside of the classroom for nonacademic purposes. Despite this widespread use by students, the teachers themselves appeared largely unaware of students' engagement in such activities. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to criticisms of TBLT regarding task authenticity and in relation to the design of curricula in similar EFL settings.

This paper introduces readers to the TESOL Quarterly special topic issue: Assessing the effectiveness of corpus‐based approaches to English language teaching. The authors open by briefly defining and outlining data‐driven learning (DDL) research on second language (English) teaching. This is followed by an extended discussion of four themes, which pertain to recent developments and future directions in DDL. These themes include: (1) selecting corpora for corpus‐based language teaching; (2) pushing the boundaries of DDL; (3) preparing language educators for corpus‐based language teaching; and (4) reflecting on theory and methods. Throughout the piece, readers are also introduced to those contributions within the special issue, which include a diverse range of pieces that focus on aspects of theory, research, and pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have investigated the effects of prewriting tasks on writing quality and language (e.g., individual vs. collaborative planning, text-chat vs. face-to-face [FTF] discussion, etc.). Recent meta-analyses have found a small advantage for text chat on writing, but no studies involved logographic languages, for which character learning may limit and tax language production. In this study we explore this issue, as university learners of Chinese (N = 10) engaged in prewriting discussions orally and via text chat followed by a timed-writing task. Results show that during FTF planning, students engaged in talk that was greater in terms of discussion length and number of turns; in students' writing, FTF planning resulted in increased lexical complexity and syntactic richness. Our results contradict theoretical perspectives suggesting that text chat might be more advantageous, as well as one empirical study by Liao. Finally, we discuss the implications for learning to write in a non-alphabetic language.

Autoethnography, a qualitative research methodology that investigates aspects of individuals' identities, ideologies, and emotions, has recently gained traction in applied linguistics and second language (L2) scholarship. However, research is needed that investigates the use of autoethnography in preservice teacher education programs, along with exploring the connections between individuals' autoethnographies and actual pedagogical practices. The current study explores such issues by implementing a critical autoethnographic narrative assignment in a master's TESOL course for teacher candidates (TCs). Eight TCs completed two installments of a critical autoethnographic narrative, reflecting on their prior L2 learning and teaching/tutoring experiences. After completing various course assignments (e.g., textbook review, lesson plans), TCs then produced a final multimodal reflection, examining how their experiences influenced their pedagogies. TCs' narratives and reflections were thematically analyzed to examine 1) shared identities, ideologies, and challenges faced, and 2) explicit connections TCs made between their experiences and pedagogies. The findings of this study point to multiple shared ideologies and challenges among the TCs. Some preservice teachers were also able to link aspects of their identities and ideologies to specific curricular design practices. Implications are discussed for L2 teacher educators in terms of leveraging autoethnography for fostering reflective practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal composing, which has sometimes been referred to synonymously as multimodal composition or multimodal writing, is the use of different semiotic resources (e.g., audio, visual, gestural, and/or spatial resources) in addition to linguistic text for making meaning. Notably, multimodal composing is neither a new type of writing nor a new area of research, with studies dating back to the early 2000s. In the domain of second language (L2) research, Tardy's (2005) study on multimodal composition in academia was one of the earliest to bring attention to the nonlinguistic features of L2 written output. Even after this pioneering study, in the few years that followed, only a handful of studies further explored aspects of L2 learners' multimodal compositions. However, over the past decade, the fields of applied linguistics and second language acquisition (SLA) have witnessed an explosion of interest in both its study and classroom applications, with teachers' adoption of multiple modes becoming an indispensable part of their pedagogical toolkits (e.g., Kessler, 2022; Li, 2021; Zhang et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this series, we explore technology-related themes and topics. The series aims to discuss and demystify what may be new areas for some readers and to consider their relevance for English language teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]