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This two-phase study examines the ways in which the construct of ESL academic writing is dimensionally determined on Test of English as a Foreign LanguageTM Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT) independent essays, using both substantive and statistical methods. In the first phase, four ESL academic writing experts sorted 35 descriptors of ESL academic writing into dimensionally distinct ESL writing skills. In the second phase, a series of conditional covariance-based nonparametric dimensionality tests were conducted using the ratings awarded by 10 ESL teachers on 480 TOEFL iBT independent essays. The results from both substantive and statistical analyses indicated that (a) five writing skills (content fulfillment, organizational effectiveness, grammatical knowledge, vocabulary use, and mechanics) represent the construct of the TOEFL iBT independent writing; (b) each of the five writing skills is a statistically significant distinct dimension; and (c) writing skills associated with content fulfillment and organizational effectiveness are dimensionally different from those related to grammatical knowledge, vocabulary use, and mechanics. These findings are used as the basis for a discussion of the need for an analytic scoring system and diagnostic assessment in ESL academic writing.

The Handbooks of Applied Linguistics provide a state-of-the-art description of established and emerging areas of Applied Linguistics. Each volume gives an overview of the field, explains the most important traditions and their findings, identifies the gaps in current research, and gives perspectives for future directions.

Despite the increasing interest in and need for developing empirical and diagnostic assessment schemes in L2 assessment and testing, very little research has been devoted to it. The literature in this area is scant, and only a handful of studies (e.g., Fulcher, 1993; Knoch, 2009; North & Schneider, 1998; Upshur & Turner, 1995) have attempted to explore such possibility. In response to this need for research, this two-phase study developed and validated empirically-derived diagnostic descriptors for use in small-scale classroom assessment in English as a second language (ESL) academic writing. In Phase 1, descriptors that are relevant to the construct of ESL academic writing were developed, and in Phase 2, the use of the descriptors was validated through the multiple analyses. The results indicated that 35 empirically-derived descriptors addressed all aspects of ESL writing skills, including content fulfillment, organizational effectiveness, grammatical knowledge, vocabulary use, and mechanics. In addition, teachers were able to use the descriptors in a consistent manner. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of an empirical approach to assessment scheme development, and underscore the importance of its use for diagnostic purposes.

Writing is an important literacy skill that K-12 students must develop for academic success. For young ESL students, developing writing skills entails both learning English and developing writing as a literacy skill. The need for this dual skill development underlines the challenges of teaching K-12 ESL writing, as teachers must strike a balance between teaching writing as a tool for students’ English language development and literacy skill. This paper reports on findings related to pedagogical approaches and classroom techniques that are prevalent in K-12 ESL writing instruction. Our research is based on a systematic review of 49 studies published between 2010 and 2019. Using content analysis, three pedagogical approaches were identified: (a) approaches centered on teacher perspectives, (b) approaches centered on student perspectives, and (c) approaches centered on emerging research and theories of ESL writing instruction. As well, the analysis yielded four classroom techniques: (a) adopting SFL-oriented and genre-based activities, (b) utilizing ESL-bilingual student writers’ language learning traits, (c) incorporating digital technology, and (d) adapting instructional practices in response to student needs. Critically reflecting on these pedagogical approaches and classroom techniques, the paper discusses the advantages and challenges of implementing them in the classroom. The paper provides a taxonomy of instructional practices that K-12 ESL writing teachers may find useful.

Although research interest in second language (L2) teachers has grown, novice L2 teachers remain understudied, especially writing teachers. Existing research on L2 writing teachers has largely centred on cognitive development, often overlooking crucial personal and socio-contextual aspects. Utilising a narrative case study approach, this study addresses the gap by exploring the personal practical knowledge of a novice L2 writing teacher, offering a personal, socio-contextual perspective on teacher knowledge. The study utilises narrative interviews, reflective journal entries and teaching artefacts to construct a comprehensive portrayal of the teacher’s journey of professional development. Findings reveal that novice teachers’ self-image, a significant component of their personal practical knowledge, is profoundly influenced by their past experiences and continually guides their teaching. The study calls for a re-evaluation of training programmes to incorporate strategies that help novice teachers integrate their personal histories and contextual realities into their professional practice. Recommendations for future research include cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary longitudinal studies that incorporate multimodal narratives to more effectively track the evolution of novice teachers’ practical knowledge and its impact on teaching efficacy in the global educational landscape.

This study aims to explore teachers’ perceptions and students’ strategies when integrating AI-mediated informal digital learning of English tools (AI-IDLE) into career ESL writing instruction. This case study involved six university instructors and over 300 students in an English writing course. Although AI-IDLE has broadened English access beyond classrooms, existing research on writing skills often neglects students’ diverse strategies that correspond to their professional aspirations, as well as teachers’ perceptions. The data included a demographic questionnaire, think-aloud protocols for real-time assessment of cognitive processes during the task, and semi-structured interviews for teachers’ validation. Findings reveal three major student strategies: (1) explicit genre understanding, (2) student-driven selection of digital multimodal tools—such as Grammarly, ChatGPT, Canva with Magic Write, and Invideo—to integrate text with images, sound, and layout for improved rhetorical accessibility, and (3) alignment with students’ post-graduation career needs. Students’ work with these AI tools demonstrated that when they created projects aligned with professional identities and future job needs, they became more aware of how to improve their writing; however, the teachers expressed hopes and doubts about the tools’ effectiveness and authenticity of the students’ work. Suggestions to use AI-IDLE to improve writing were provided.

In this paper, I attempt to investigate whether online writing checkers, including tools looking at grammar, punctuation, spelling and composition, do in fact help potential ESL writers, and if so, to which extent, in what areas, to what effect and at what cost. The small-scale study involves 23 university level ESL students who compose various texts as part of their training. Data was collected using pre and post writing samples, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The analysis used a descriptive statistical method, Likert-scale and correlations and qualitative analysis for the three methods respectively. The results are inconclusive as students reported different opinions. It was found however that students who are frequent users of features such as MS Word Thesaurus and Online Corpora are more likely to incorporate online writing checkers and therefore found them more helpful. It was also found that regardless of their effect, students always welcomed tools available that can provide feedback to their compositions. The writing software used, AccurIT, also showed improvements in students’ ability to write correct collocations.

This research explores the impact of ChatGPT, an AI tool, on ESL students' writing proficiency at a Saudi Arabian university. Using a mixed-methods approach, data from 130 students showed a significant positive effect on their writing. A focus group interview with six students highlighted opportunities such as personalized feedback, language skill development, vocabulary expansion, and greater autonomy. However, challenges included a lack of contextual understanding, loss of individuality in writing, reduced creativity, and ethical concerns. The findings offer valuable insights for educators on how to effectively integrate ChatGPT into writing instruction while addressing its challenges.

Technology has emerged as a vital component of the dynamic realm of language education pedagogy, providing distinctive resources that facilitate the acquisition of a second language. This research seeks to fill the gap in knowledge about the effectiveness and perceived impact of specific AI tools on ESL students’ writing proficiency. It also explores students’ opportunities and challenges while engaging with these tools. A mixed methodology approach has been utilized. Data was collected from the ESL students of one of the Saudi Arabian universities. The quantitative data collected from 130 students showed that AI formative feed tools, including ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot, have a significant positive impact on ESL writing proficiency since their significance values are below 0.05, which are 0.04, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively. A focus group interview of six students was conducted for the qualitative analysis. The focus group participants discussed the challenges and opportunities of using AI formative feedback tools. The opportunities included personalized feedback, language skill development, vocabulary expansion, autonomy in learning, and content quality. Furthermore, the critical challenges were a lack of contextual understanding, loss of individuality in writing, reduction in creativity, and ethical concerns. This research can help future researchers and instructors understand how to use AI tools to write effectively and enhance the strengths and diminish the possible challenges.

Artificial intelligence revolution becomes a trend in most aspects of life. ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, has impacted various domains, including education and language learning. Enhancing writing abilities of ESL learners requires frequent writing practice and feedback, which ChatGPT can easily provide. However, ChatGPT's accuracy in identifying and correcting ESL writing errors remains unknown. This study explores writing errors detected by ChatGPT, and those beyond its capabilities, through content analysis that combines quantitative and qualitative methods, utilizing pre-created data sets and its computational processing. The findings revealed that ChatGPT demonstrated high-performance accuracy for eight categories, encompassing verb forms, word order, passive voice, conditional sentences, subject-verb agreement, singular/plural nouns, word form, and word choices. Its performance was moderate in three categories—articles, modals, and verb tense—while it showed low performance in four categories, including unclear messages, connectors, sentence structure, and non-idiomatic expressions.