The purpose of the study is to provide an analysis of lexical, syntactic, and cohesive features, which were utilized to distinguish written products of L2 writers in the individual writing task from those in the group writing one using Coh-Metrix. In addition, the study attempts to explore linguistic differences in their written outputs with regard to their L2 proficiency and the correlationships between receptive lexical knowledge and productive lexical knowledge. A total of 105 Korean university students participated in this study. Results show that L2 learners’ written outputs varied in several variables used in this analysis such as lexical diversity and word frequency. L2 learners in the individual task yielded more cohesive texts, and they were able to incorporate more difficult words into their written products. Meanwhile, learners in the group task produced longer texts with using more logical and temporal connectives. When proficiency level was considered, L2 learners at the advanced level did not produce more cohesive texts, but instead produced more syntactically complex texts. The scores of productive lexical knowledge in the individual task positively correlated with those of receptive lexical knowledge from two different vocabulary tests. Meanwhile, the scores of productive lexical knowledge in the group task did not yield the similar results. The results implied that Korean university learners in the individual task were more task-oriented and produced a better written output.

This study examined the effectiveness of integrated language instruction using dictogloss on vocabulary knowledge and retention. Forty EFL students from two classes of an elementary school participated in the study. The integrated language class and segregated language class were examined by looking into the effect of each instructional type on the vocabulary knowledge development and retention. A total of 10 target words were selected from a storybook related to their textbook. Four types of vocabulary knowledge were measured: passive recognition, passive recall, active recognition, and active recall. The pretest and posttest were performed to measure the vocabulary growth. The retention rate of each instruction was examined by conducting a delayed posttest on the same words after two weeks. The results of this study indicate that integrated language instruction using dictogloss works better in vocabulary retention. They also suggest that further classroom research is required to prove that dictogloss is an effective way for vocabulary learning.

The present study was motivated by the claim that attention and noticing are important for SLA and investigated the extent to which learners may notice the target form and its subsequent learning through noticing. To address the methodological concern about how to collect and analyze noticing data, the dictogloss procedure was employed following Swain’s (1998) suggestion. The transcripts of LREs of each pair of the learners were examined to capture the moments when their attention was drawn to form for their L2 output when performing a dictogloss. In general, the basic premise that the more attention to the form, the better its chance of learning was attested. There was also a positive relationship between the extent of noticing and subsequent learning and the learner’s readiness for the target form. This result led to the second research question which explores what factors constrain noticing and learning of the target form. Internal learner capacities (i.e. readiness, attentional capacity, bias, type of processing, and familiarity) appear to be the crucial constraining factors on noticing and subsequent learning. There was a disparity between the extent of noticing and learning outcomes in the case of some learners. This disparity seems partly due to the problem with the coding of noticing data. Therefore, the present study suggests that concerns still exist about how to best operationalize and measure the noticing of L2 forms. Finally, the limitations of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.

This study investigates the collaborative task of dictogloss, which can be described as a communicative based activity which allows for the focus of form. The current study employed two dictogloss tasks in immediate repetition, and an examination was done concerning the ability of learners to notice recently taught target lexical items (TLIs) as they occurred during the individual and collaborative activities of the tasks. Fifty three Korean EFL learners enrolled as second year students in the English Department of a university in Seoul, South Korea, participated in the study. The results indicated that learners can successfully notice and attend to TLIs in addition to other grammatical forms during both individual and collaborative activity, and that immediate repetition of the dictogloss showed to increase these instances of noticing. The pedagogical implications of dictogloss as an effective learning procedure for promoting vocabulary noticing are discussed, in addition to the benefits of immediate repetition to further increase new vocabulary noticing.