KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Judit Kormos
Task-Mediated Cognitive Model of L2 Writing and Writing to Learn
Abstract:
As second language (L2) writing is a cognitively demanding task, working memory (WM) resources and aptitude can exert a substantial impact on L2 writing processes and the quality of the written product. L2 writers with different cognitive abilities might also benefit from differing pedagogical approaches and tasks. Therefore, it is important to investigate how L2 writing instruction can support students who might be disadvantaged by their lower WM capacity or language aptitude so that they also achieve the required level of L2 writing expertise. In my plenary I will discuss the role of cognitive individual differences in L2 writing. I will first review recent advances in research findings on the effect of WM and language learning aptitude on L2 writing processes and performance. Next, I will explore how cognitive factors can mediate learning gains when L2 users engage in writing. Using theoretical accounts of cognitive individual differences, I will also discuss how the characteristics of writing tasks can interact with individual variation in WM and language learning aptitude. Building on these areas, I will describe the Task-Mediated Cognitive Model of L2 Writing and Writing to Learn (Kormos, 2023) that provides a hypothetical account of the role of cognitive factors in L2 writing processes and in learning through writing. The talk will conclude with proposing a research agenda for future studies on the role of cognitive individual differences in L2 writing.
Bio:
Judit Kormos is a Professor in Second Language Acquisition at Lancaster University. Her research focuses on the cognitive processes involved in learning and using additional languages. She has published widely on the effect of cognitive factors in second language writing and writing as well as on the effect of dyslexia on learning additional languages including the book “The Second Language Acquisition Process of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties” (Routledge, 2017). She is also the author of several research papers that have investigated the accessibility of language tests for young learners. She was a key partner in the EU-sponsored Dyslexia for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language and the Comics for Inclusive Language Teaching projects both of which won the British Council’s ELTon award. She is the lead educator of the Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching massive open online learning course offered by FutureLearn and has run teacher education workshops and webinars on inclusive language teaching in a large variety of international contexts.
Mark Johnson
Formal Genre-Specific Knowledge as a Resource-Dispersing Feature of Cognitive Task Complexity: Implications for Task Complexity Theory and Research
Abstract:
Despite early criticisms that task-based theories of language teaching and learning favor the oral productive mode (Manchon, 2014; Tavakoli, 2014), task complexity frameworks—most notably Robinson’s (2011) triadic componential framework—have been enthusiastically adopted in L2 writing research. Results of research seeking to determine the effect of task complexity features on L2 writing performance—most frequently operationalized as syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency—have demonstrated some trends demonstrating an effect of task complexity features on L2 written production (Johnson, 2017). However, the role of genre—a task feature particularly salient to writing—remains underexamined in the research domain. This presentation attempts to situate formal genre-specific knowledge—a component of genre-specific knowledge (Tardy, 2009, 2012; Tardy et al., 2020)—as a resource-dispersing feature of task complexity in Robinson’s triadic componential framework, arguing that abstract genres make unique demands on the working memory capacity of L1 and L2 writers (Kellogg, 1996), demands which in turn affect the fluent, accurate production of complex forms. Theoretical implications are discussed in terms of their repercussions for theories of task-based language teaching and learning and their application to L2 writing research as well as their repercussions for cognitive models of working memory and its role in L1 and L2 written production. Practical research implications are discussed with regard to research design, research methods, metric selection, and analytic methods.
Bio:
Mark D. Johnson is associate professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics at East Carolina University, where he teaches classes on linguistics and teaching English to speakers of other languages. His research focuses on cognition in second language writing, particularly on features of writing tasks and the demands they make on language production. His publications have appeared in TESOL Journal, Writing and Pedagogy, Language Teaching, Applied Linguistics, and the Journal of Second Language Writing. His 2017 article, Cognitive Task Complexity and L2 Written Syntactic Complexity, Lexical Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency: A Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis, received an honorable mention from the Journal of Second Language Writing in their competition for the best paper of 2017. He is co-editor of the volume Cognitive Task Complexity and Second Language Performance: Understanding L2 Learner Affect and Engagement, which is scheduled for publication by Routledge in 2025.
Ron Leow
Leow's (2020) Feedback Processing Framework: Implications for ISLA-Oriented L2 Writing Theory and Research
Abstract:
The role of feedback (oral or written), and more specifically, corrective feedback (CF), in the L2 learning process has permeated the (I)SLA literature for decades (e.g., Lalande, 1982; Long, 1996). Corrective feedback is a response (whether oral, written, computerized or digital, in the L1 or L2) that is provided by a teacher, a researcher, or a peer in reaction to an error committed by the L2 learner (Leow, 2020). The provision of CF, whether oral and written, has been a pedagogical staple for teachers in the classroom across educational contexts, and has been extended empirically to what Loewen (2015) calls a "systematic manipulation" to L2 learning conditions. Meta-analyses conducted to investigate the pedagogical effectiveness of both oral (e.g., Mackey & Goo, 2007; Li, 2010; Lyster & Saito, 2010; Russell & Spada, 2006) and written feedback (e.g., Kang & Han, 2015; Russell & Spada, 2006) have generally reported an overall medium effect size for its beneficial role in L2 learning. However, most studies in these meta-analyses have relied on L2 learners’ performances on post-exposure writing assessment tasks to infer how some type of CF was processed. Not surprisingly, there is not only theoretical debate as to the usefulness of CF (e.g., Krashen, 1985 and Truscott, 1996 vs. Leow, 2015 and Long, 1996) but also numerous cognitive-based theoretical underpinnings cited for its role (e.g., the Schmidt’s (1990 and elsewhere) Noticing Hypothesis, Swain’s (2005) Output Hypothesis, DeKeyser’s (2015) Skill Acquisition Theory, Bitchener’s (2019, 2021) Model of the Cognitive Processing Stages of a Single Written CF Episode, and Leow’s (202) Feedback Processing Framework. To establish the rationale for Leow’s (2020) Feedback Processing Framework, I will first provide 1) a broad yet succinct overview of the WCF strand of research and 2) a critical review of theoretical underpinnings cited in the WCF strand of research to account for the role of WCF in L2 learning. I will then report 3) Leow’s (2020) Feedback Processing Framework, and premised on the postulations of the Framework, provide implications for 4) ISLA-oriented L2 writing theory, and 5) future ISLA-oriented WCF research.
Bio:
Ronald P. Leow is Professor (Applied Linguistics) in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. His interests include language curriculum development, teacher education, Instructed Language Learning, cognitive processes in language learning, research methodology, (written) corrective feedback, and CALL. Professor Leow has published over 100 articles in prestigious journals (e.g., Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Language Learning, Applied Psycholinguistics, Second Language Research, Hispania, Language Teaching, Language Teaching Research, The Modern Language Journal etc.) and in refereed edited volumes (e.g., Routledge, John Benjamins, Cambridge University Press, John Wiley & Sons, etc.) and his 2015 book titled “Explicit learning in the L2 Classroom: A student-centered approach” (Routledge) provides his Model of the L2 Learning Process in ISLA that serves as the theoretical underpinning for several strands of research, exemplified in his 2019 edited Routledge Handbook of second language research in classroom learning, that includes writing and language learning. For over two and a half decades Professor Leow has been a leading proponent of the use of concurrent verbal reports to access data on learner cognitive processes. Currently, he has been promoting a process-oriented and curricular approach to Instructed Language Learning studies and has recently proposed a Feedback Processing Framework that provides a cognitive explanation for the role of corrective feedback, whether oral or written, in L2 development in direct relation to how L2 learners or writers process such feedback.
Matt Kessler
Digital Multimodal Composing: Reflecting on Research Trends and Charting Future Directions
Abstract:
Due to recent advancements in digital technologies, what it means “to write” – whether in a first or a second language (L1/L2) – has fundamentally changed. Specifically, during the past two decades, writing has become increasingly digital and multimodal in nature, often requiring people to communicate by leveraging digital tools to manipulate various modal resources (e.g., text, speech, images, colors, music) (Lim & Kessler, 2023; Tardy, 2005). The shift from monomodal to digital multimodal writing, which is referred to as digital multimodal composing (DMC), has also become commonplace in both academic and professional settings. For instance, in academic contexts, L1 and L2 students are now frequently asked to compose multimodal genres such as digital posters, e-portfolios, lab reports, slideshow presentations, and websites, among others (Lim & Polio, 2020). In turn, these developments have led to an explosion of scholarly activity, in which researchers have investigated a variety of topics pertaining to DMC and L2 teaching and learning (e.g., Hafner & Ho, 2020; Jiang, 2017; Li, 2022; Zhang et al., 2023). In this presentation, I open with a brief discussion of DMC and its relevance to the L2 writing curriculum. Then, I provide an overview of prior empirical research that has been published during the past 20 years. This review is organized thematically, with foci involving explorations of DMC and learners’ writing processes, evidence of L2 learning, teachers’ and students’ perceptions, and DMC’s impact on individual differences. Finally, the presentation closes with a discussion of future research directions. Multiple research tasks are proposed, which are aimed at fostering connections between theory, research, and practice.
Bio:
Matt Kessler is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of South Florida (USF) in the United States. At USF, he serves as a core faculty member for the master’s program in Applied Linguistics and the doctoral program in Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. Kessler also serves as the Director of USF's Multilingual Writing Center, and as the Co-Lead of the Digital Discourse, Media, and Writing Lab. In terms of research, Kessler currently serves as a Section Editor for TESOL Quarterly's 'Brief Reports'. His own work explores issues related to second language writing, genre-based teaching and learning, and computer-assisted language learning. He is the author of two recent books, including Making the most of graduate school: A practical guidebook for students in applied linguistics, education, and TESOL (published open access by Applied Linguistics Press), and the book Digital multimodal composing: Connecting theory, research and practice in second language acquisition (by Multilingual Matters). Kessler also recently co-edited the volume Conducting genre-based research in applied linguistics: A methodological guide (by Routledge). Finally, his work has appeared in numerous academic journals, such as: Computer Assisted Language Learning, ELT Journal, Journal of Second Language Writing, Language Learning, and System, among others.
Idoia Elola & Ana Oskoz
Multimodal Feedback in L2 writing. Issues in Research & Practice
Abstract:
Multimodal feedback, the use of different modes such as written, oral and visual semiotic resources for feedback provision, has been increasingly examined in the heritage (HL) and second language (L2) classroom. In recent years, there has also been a significant effort to investigate whether different stages of the composing process and/or final product can be better addressed by multimodal feedback (Bakla, 2020; Ducate & Arnold, 2012; Elola & Oskoz, 2016; Harper et al., 2018), especially in a time when composing is also multimodal as well. Up to now, studies on multimodal feedback have examined, among others, the extent to which instructors have combined oral (screencast-o-matic) and written comments (track changes) for local and global issues (e.g., Harper et al., 2018; Elola & Oskoz, 2016), or the use of visual and oral comments (recordings) for indirect and direct feedback (e.g., Cunningham, 2018; Román Zuñiga, 2024; Valentín-Rivera & Yang, 2021). To move beyond previous research and practices, in this presentation we will discuss the integration of multimodal feedback in three important areas of investigation: (1) how to provide multimodal feedback to monomodal and/or multimodal texts either during the writing process or to the final products, (2) how to use different tools and their affordances (e.g., screencast software, ChatGPT) to provide feedback, and (3) whether multimodal feedback influences the nature of learners’ revisions. We will also reconsider approaches to multimodal feedback, paying greater attention to the linguistic and nonlinguistic elements of monomodal and multimodal composing as well as its impact on linguistic and non-linguistic revision. We will reflect on research agendas that explore the use of multimodal feedback and provide guidelines that address multimodal ways of providing feedback that are specific to the process and products of our learners’ work and needs.
Bio:
Idoia Elola: Professor of Spanish and Applied Linguistics in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures at Texas Tech University. Dr. Elola is Co Editor-in-chief of the journal System. Dr. Elola's research focuses primarily on (digital) second language writing, specifically on areas such as collaborative and individual writing using social tools, multiliteracies, feedback, and the use of multimodal texts (digital stories, story maps, blogs) from cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. She also focuses on L2 and SHL learners’ writing processes. Her work has been published nationally and internationally. She has co-edited two books: Current theoretical and applied perspectives on Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics with Diego Pascual y Cabo and Technology across writing contexts and tasks with Greg Kessler and Ana Oskoz. Her co-authored book, Digital L2 Writing Literacies, with Ana Oskoz, was published by Equinox Publishing.
Ana Oskoz: Professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Dr. Oskoz is the co-editor of CALICO Journal. Her research focuses on the potential of social digital tools to contribute to learners L2 writing. She has examined collaborative and individual writing using social tools, multiliteracies, feedback, and the use of multimodal texts (digital stories, blogs) from cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. Dr. Oskoz’s work has been published nationally and internationally. She has co-edited two books: Technology across writing contexts and tasks with Greg Kessler and Idoia Elola and Understanding Attitude in Intercultural Virtual Communication with Margarita Vinagre. She also co-authored the book, Digital L2 Writing, which published by Equinox Publishing, with Idoia Elola.