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The present study investigates the relationship between initial learner motivation, engagement, and pragmatic development within a self-access web-based instructional environment. Focused on the development of awareness and production of English email requests to faculty, the study involved 65 first-year English Studies students at a Spanish public university. Motivation was assessed qualitatively through open-ended responses which were classified as having Pragmatic orientation, Linguistic orientation, or No orientation. Engagement was captured multidimensionally via project-linked indices of behavioural, cognitive, and affective involvement. Findings reveal that initial motivation predicted greater overall engagement, including increased time invested and deeper cognitive processing. A distinct modality gap was identified: while engagement related positively to pragmatic gains, it exerted stronger effects on awareness than production. Most crucially, profile analyses revealed that sustained engagement can override initial motivational deficits. Learners who entered the module with no initial orientation but still engaged at a moderate level significantly outperformed unmotivated, disengaged peers and achieved gains comparable to those of more motivated students. These findings underscore the mediating role of engagement in pragmatic instruction and advocate for specific motivational and engagement assessments over general scales to better account for the effects of these individual differences in L2 pragmatic gains.

The present study pursued three objectives: (i) to examine whether self-access web-based instruction could significantly improve EFL students’ ability to formulate pragmatically appropriate email requests; (ii) to determine whether L2 proficiency influenced students’ pragmatic performance and their gains following instruction; and (iii) to explore changes in learners’ confidence when evaluating the appropriateness of their own email requests. Sixty-eight first-year English Studies students at a Spanish university completed a five-week intervention integrated into their curriculum. Their L2 proficiency was assessed using the Oxford Placement Test, which categorized them into B1 (n = 22), B2 (n = 23), and C1 (n = 23) levels. Using a pre–post-test design, learners’ performance was assessed through email tasks varying in imposition, and their confidence was measured via Likert-scale ratings. Results showed statistically significant improvements across all dimensions of an analytic rubric—particularly in request appropriateness and organization—indicating that self-access instruction effectively enhanced learners’ pragmatic competence. Gains were similar across the three proficiency groups, with B2 students showing slightly higher though not statistically significant improvements. Participants also reported significantly increased confidence in evaluating their own email appropriateness post-intervention. Findings support the integration of self-access pragmatic resources into EFL curricula to develop academic communication skills in higher education contexts.

There has been a growing interest in the study of writing from the perspective of its potential contribution to language development. However, scant attention has been paid to key methodological considerations regarding the analysis of the connection between L2 writing processes, reflection on language while writing, and language learning. In an attempt to advance in this domain, and informed by models of L2 writing, and cognitive L2 writing research framed in the problem-solving paradigm, this study provides a comprehensive description of the language reflection individual writers engage in when solving the linguistic problems they face while completing writing tasks in their L2. The think-aloud protocols generated by 21 EFL learners while writing an individual argumentative essay were analyzed on the basis of a reconceptualization of language-related episodes as problem-solving strategy clusters. The result is a comprehensive, theoretically motivated, and empirically based coding system that is offered as a basis for future research in the domain. We discuss the methodological implications of our analytic approach and advance some theoretical implications for future debates on the language learning potential of individual writing tasks.

Framed in a cognitively-oriented strand of research on corrective feedback (CF) in SLA, the controlled three- stage (composition/comparison-noticing/revision) study reported in this paper investigated the effects of two forms of direct CF (error correction and reformulation) on noticing and uptake, as evidenced in the written output produced by a group of 8 secondary school EFL learners. Noticing was operationalized as the amount of corrections noticed in the comparison stage of the writing task, whereas uptake was operationally defined as the type and amount of accurate revisions incorporated in the participants’ revised versions of their original texts. Results support previous research findings on the positive effects of written CF on noticing and uptake, with a clear advantage of error correction over reformulation as far as uptake was concerned. Data also point to the existence of individual differences in the way EFL learners process and make use of CF in their writing. These findings are discussed from the perspective of the light they shed on the learning potential of CF in instructed SLA, and suggestions for future research are put forward.

There has been a growing interest in the study of writing from the perspective of its potential contribution to language development. However, scant attention has been paid to key methodological considerations regarding the analysis of the connection between L2 writing processes, reflection on language while writing, and language learning. In an attempt to advance in this domain, and informed by models of L2 writing, and cognitive L2 writing research framed in the problem-solving paradigm, this study provides a comprehensive description of the language reflection individual writers engage in when solving the linguistic problems they face while completing writing tasks in their L2. The think-aloud protocols generated by 21 EFL learners while writing an individual argumentative essay were analyzed on the basis of a reconceptualization of language-related episodes as problem-solving strategy clusters. The result is a comprehensive, theoretically motivated, and empirically based coding system that is offered as a basis for future research in the domain. We discuss the methodological implications of our analytic approach and advance some theoretical implications for future debates on the language learning potential of individual writing tasks.

En este trabajo presentamos una serie de consideraciones prácticas sobre la elaboración y el empleo del portafolios del estudiante como alternativa metodológica en la enseñanza universitaria. Delimitamos, en primer lugar, lo que se entiende por portafolios y señalamos las principales ventajas e inconvenientes que se le atribuyen. Describimos a continuación las etapas que se aconseja cubrir a la hora de introducir el portafolios del alumno como innovación metodológica, e ilustraremos cada una de estas fases con algunos ejemplos extraídos de un proyecto en el que se utilizó el portafolios para la enseñanza de la pronunciación del inglés en la universidad de Murcia. En una sección posterior, damos cuenta de los resultados de ese proyecto a partir de un breve análisis del contenido de los portafolios producidos por los alumnos y de sus percepciones a la hora de elaborarlos. Completamos el trabajo con un conjunto de recomendaciones relativas a la implantación del portafolios del alumno como recurso didáctico en la universidad. Palabras clave: Portafolios, etapas de elaboración, repuesta de los alumnos, pronunciación del inglés. Considérations pratiques sur l'élaboration du portfolio de l'étudiant : son application à l'apprentissage de la prononciation de l'anglais Dans ce travail, nous présentons une série de considérations pratiques sur l'élaboration et l'utilisation du portfolio de l'étudiant comme alternative méthodologique dans l'enseignement universitaire. En premier lieu, nous délimitons ce qu'on entend par portfolio, puis nous signalons les principaux avantages et inconvenients qui lui sont attribués. Ensuite, nous décrivons les étapes qu'il est conseillé de suivre lors de l'introduction du portolio de l'étudiant comme innovation méthodoloqique, et après cela nous illustrerons chacune de ces phases à l'aide de quelques exemples tirés d'un projet dans lequel le portfolio a été utilisé pour l'enseignement de la prononciation de l'anglais à l'université de Murcia. Nous continuons en rendant compte des résultats de ce projet à partir d'une brève analyse du contenu des portfolios produits par les étudiants ainsi que de leurs perceptions pendant le processus d'élaboration de ceux-ci. Finalement, nous complétons notre travail par une série de recommendations en relation avec l'implantation à l'université du portfoloio de l'étudiant comme recours didactique. Mots-clés : Portolio, étapes d'élaboration, réponse des élèves, prononciation de l'anglais. Some practical considerations on students' portfolios and its application in teaching and learning English pronunciation The present paper is intended as an empirically motivated discussion of some practical considerations on the use of students' portfolios as a methodological alternative to current university pedagogical practices. After describing the defining characteristics of the portfolio as well as its purported advantages and drawbacks, the main stages involved in its elaboration and use are discussed and illustrated with examples from a portfolio-based project aimed to teach English pronunciation at the University of Murcia. A brief analysis is then presented of the content of the portfolios produced by the students taking part in that project, followed by a summary of their perceptions on the elaboration process. Finally, a number of pedagogical recommendations are suggested as to the use of students' portfolios for syllabus planning and implementation. Keywords: Portfolio, elaboration stages, student's perceptions, English pronunciation.

Some practical considerations on students' portfolios and its application in teaching and learning English pronunciation ABSTRACT The present paper is intended as an empirically motivated discussion of some practical considerations on the use of students' portfolios as a methodological alternative to current university pedagogical practices. After describing the defining characteristics of the portfolio as well as its purported advantages and drawbacks, the main stages involved in its elaboration and use are discussed and illustrated with examples from a portfolio-based project aimed to teach English pronunciation at the University of Murcia. A brief analysis is then presented of the content of the portfolios produced by the students taking part in that project, followed by a summary of their perceptions on the elaboration process. [...]a number of pedagogical recommendations are suggested as to the use of students' portfolios for syllabus planning and implementation.