Researching and Teaching Second Language

Writing in the Digital Age

“This informative monograph makes a much-needed contribution to L2

writing scholarship, advancing the field toward a comprehensive understanding
of the nature of L2 writing in the digital age. Written in a clear and cogent
style, the book provides valuable insights for L2 writing researchers and
practitioners across different contexts from around the world.”
—Icy Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

“This book is a very welcome and timely addition to the field of L2 writing. It
discusses in a clear and accessible manner how rapidly changing technologies
have impacted L2 writing practices. It promises to be an invaluable resource
for L2 writing scholars wishing to understand and take advantage of the
teaching and research opportunities created by these new technologies.”
—Neomy Storch, University of Melbourne, Australia

“Li provides a comprehensive and well-organized overview of how writing is

changing in the digital age and the implication of these changes for second
language teaching and research. This is a valuable resource for both scholars
and educators interested in second language writing.”
—Mark Warschauer, University of California Irvine, USA
 Mimi Li

Researching
and Teaching Second
Language Writing
in the Digital Age
Mimi Li
Department of Literature and Languages
Texas A&M University–Commerce
Commerce, TX, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-87709-5 ISBN 978-3-030-87710-1 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87710-1

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 This book is dedicated to my parents
who instill in me virtues and ignite my passion for learning and teaching
 Acknowledgments

This very first book of mine would not have been possible without the
support and help from many people. I owe a great debt of gratitude to
my academic advisers, particularly Dr. Wei Zhu who has conscientiously
trained me in second language research and enlightened my path ahead
in the field of second language writing (SLW). Her continuing guidance,
insights, and encouragement fuel my professional growth. I am extremely
grateful to my two doctoral students Miriam Akoto and John Gibbons
for sharing their tremendous passion for SLW scholarship and working
diligently on illustrating previous research in the form of tables for this
book. I would like to express my utmost appreciation to the anony-
mous reviewer for many constructive comments on the earlier version
of the book. I also immensely thank Dr. Neomy Storch, Dr. Icy Lee, and
Dr. Mark Warschauer for reading this book and writing endorsements.
Moreover, I am very much thankful for receiving the AHSS Research
Grant to support this book project from my institution Texas A&M
University–Commerce (TAMUC). My heartfelt appreciation also goes
to my colleagues Dr. Lucy Pickering, Dr. Salvatore Attardo, Dr. Hunter
Hayes and others at TAMUC for their faith in me and constant support

vii
viii Acknowledgments

in my research efforts. Furthermore, my deepest thanks go to my good

friends Dr. Julie Dell-Jones and Dr. Jinrong Li, who have been my bril-
liant consultants, sounding boards, and cheerleaders over these years.
Finally, I am extremely indebted to my husband and soul mate Dr. Feng-
ming Wang for his wisdom, inspiration, and devotion, and two sons
Jeremy and Oliver for sparkling up my life’s journey.
 Contents

1 Introduction 1
The Aims of the Book 1
The Structure of the Book 3
References 5
2 New Landscape of L2 Writing and Theoretical
Frameworks 7
New Landscape of L2 writing 7
Theoretical Frameworks Informing Research 12
References 17
3 Computer-Mediated Teacher Feedback 23
Introduction 23
Key Texts 25
Research Directions 42
Teaching Recommendations 44
References 47
4 Computer-Mediated Peer Response 51
Introduction 51

ix
x Contents

Key Texts 53
Research Directions 70
Teaching Recommendations 72
References 75
5 Digital Multimodal Composing 79
Introduction 79
Key Texts 82
Research Directions 100
Teaching Recommendations 102
References 109
6 Computer-Mediated Collaborative Writing 113
Introduction 113
Key Texts 116
Research Directions 137
Teaching Recommendations 140
References 145
7 Automated Writing Evaluation 151
Introduction 151
Key Texts 153
Research Directions 174
Teaching Recommendations 175
References 179
8 Corpus Analysis and Corpus-Based Writing
Instruction 183
Introduction 183
Key Texts 186
Research Directions 206
Teaching Recommendations 208
References 213
9 Resources 217
Books 218
Journals 221
Professional Conferences and Association SIGs 227
 Contents xi

Webinars 230
Websites and More 232
10 Conclusion 235
Recap of the Content 235
Limitations 237
Concluding Remarks 238

Index 241
 About the Author

Dr. Mimi Li is a faculty member in the Department of Literature

and Languages at Texas A&M University–Commerce (TAMUC), where
she teaches courses in linguistics/applied linguistics and advises grad-
uate students. Dr. Li earned her Ph.D. in Second Language Acqui-
sition/Instructional Technology from the University of South Florida.
She worked at Marshall University and then Georgia Southern Univer-
sity prior to her appointment at TAMUC. Dr. Li is an enthu-
siastic educator who has taught a diverse student population for
twenty years. Her research areas focus on second language writing
and computer assisted language learning. She has conducted research
projects on online collaborative writing, computer-mediated teacher/peer
feedback, multimodal composing, game-based vocabulary learning, and
multimodal pedagogy in teacher education. Her work has appeared
in Journal of Second Language Writing (JSLW), Computer Assisted
Language Learning, Language Learning & Technology (LLT), Language
Teaching, System, Computers & Education, Computers and Composition
(CC), Journal of Computers in Education, and International Journal of
Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT), among

xiii
xiv About the Author

others. She received the JSLW 2016 Best Article Award for the publica-
tion on wiki-based collaborative writing. She co-edited the 2017 special
issue on “Second language writing in the age of computer mediated
communication” and is co-editing the 2022 special issue on “L2 writing
assessment in the digital age” for JSLW. Dr. Li serves on the Editorial
Boards of LLT, JSLW, CC, and IJCALLT.
 List of Figures

Fig. 10.1 Interaction of teacher, students, and technology

in digital L2 writing classrooms 236
Fig. 10.2 Contents covered in this book 237

xv
 List of Tables

Table 3.1 Research matrix of computer-mediated teacher feedback 27

Table 3.2 Research timeline of computer-mediated teacher
feedback 33
Table 3.3 Representative technologies for computer-mediated
teacher feedback 46
Table 4.1 Research matrix of computer-mediated peer response 55
Table 4.2 Research timeline of computer-mediated peer response 60
Table 4.3 Representative technologies for computer-mediated
peer response 74
Table 5.1 Research matrix of digital multimodal composing 84
Table 5.2 Research timeline of digital multimodal composing 90
Table 5.3 Representative technologies for digital multimodal
composing 106
Table 6.1 Research matrix of computer-mediated collaborative
writing 117
Table 6.2 Research timeline of computer-mediated collaborative
writing 125
Table 6.3 Representative technologies for computer-mediated
collaborative writing 142
Table 7.1 Research matrix of automated writing evaluation 155

xvii
xviii List of Tables

Table 7.2 Research timeline of automated writing evaluation 163

Table 7.3 Representative automated writing evaluation
systems/tools 177
Table 8.1 Research matrix of corpus analysis and corpus-based
writing instruction 187
Table 8.2 Research timeline of corpus analysis and corpus-based
writing instruction 195
Table 8.3 Representative corpora and writing analysis tools 209