The current study focused on emergent processes during real‐time second language (L2) writing activity in an English as a foreign language university context, examining differences in these processes across individual capacities. Participants included 22 adult Japanese learners of L2 English and their tutor. The data were collected using digital screen capture and eye‐tracking technologies while the learners wrote a 35‐minute argumentative essay. Supplementary stimulated retrospective recalls were also conducted to document the learners’ and the tutor's reflections on the writing event. Results revealed clear differences in L2 writing activity at different periods in time as well as differences in cognitive activity that appear to be mediated by L2 proficiency. Importantly, the obtained patterns differed depending on whether duration or frequency data were considered. These findings thus demonstrate the need to broaden the study of the temporal dimension of L2 writing and to consider more nuanced mixed‐methods approaches in future work.

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Framed within a Sociocultural theory perspective to L2 learning, this article investigated the potential of a suite of pedagogical materials for enhancing metalinguistic knowledge in a foreign/second (L2) language context. The linguistic focus of the project was the tense-aspect system, specifically the contrast between the Preterite and the Imperfect in Spanish given the challenges this poses for L2 learners. Six L1 English university students of L2 Spanish at intermediate level volunteered to participate in the study. Drawing on a pre/post-test research design as well as qualitative microgenetic analysis, the study revealed that all the participants benefited from the treatment and interaction with the pedagogical materials. The finding also reveal interesting insights into metalinguistic and strategic resources used by the participants to describe contrasts between the Preterite and Imperfect. The article concludes by discussing pedagogical and research implications regarding the alternative approach to L2 explicit grammar instruction considered in this study.

This study reports on an investigation into the use of L1, discourse markers, and metalanguage for regulatory purposes during individual task performance. The study involved nine L1 English university‐level learners of L2 Spanish. Drawing on thinkaloud protocols, the extent to which the participants used the three linguistic tools while completing a form‐focused task was investigated. The analysis reveals the importance of L1 and metalanguage as problem‐solving tools, while discourse markers appear to be valuable devices to structure and organize thought. The findings support the Vygotskian view regarding the social origins of individual cognition and provide further evidence of the pedagogical value of metalanguage and use of L1 to enable L2 learners to explore form‐meaning relationships and overcome specific language difficulties during task performance. El presente estudio informa sobre una investigación acerca del uso de la lengua materna (L1), los marcadores del discurso y el metalenguaje como herramientas lingüísticas de regulación durante la ejecución de tareas individuales. Nueve estudiantes de español como lengua extranjera (L1 inglés) a nivel universitario participaron en la investigación. Con el fin de obtener información acerca del uso de dichas herramientas lingüísticas se les pidió a los participantes que expresaran sus pensamientos verbalmente mientras completaban una tarea gramatical. El análisis revela la importancia del L1 y el metalenguaje como instrumentos para la resolución de problemas relacionados con la segunda lengua, mientras que los marcadores del discurso parecen ser de gran utilidad en términos cognitivos, por ejemplo para ayudar a organizar y estructurar el pensamiento. Los resultados apoyan el pensamiento de Vygotsky quien adjudicó orígenes sociales al desarrollo cognitivo. Nuestra investigación también demuestra el valor pedagógico del metalenguaje y del uso del L1 como herramientas que facilitan el descubrimiento de la interacción entre forma y significado en términos lingüísticos.

This paper reports on an investigation of semiotic mechanisms mediating collaborative activity during pair/group work interaction at the computer. The study is informed by sociocultural theory. The participants were university students of L2 Spanish performing three tasks in two modes of implementation: computer vs. paper-based. The questions addressed relate to the degree and functions of repetition, L1 and reading aloud deployed during interaction in both media. The findings suggest there is a high degree of variation in the use of these semiotic tools. No significant medium-related difference was found in the degree to which these mechanisms were deployed by the participants, but a significant difference was found between the use of the three mechanisms overall. The functions for which the mechanisms were used provide some interesting insights into the nature of semiotic mediation during interaction in general and into the role of the computer in the L2 classroom, in particular.

This chapter examines L2 writing from a complex systems perspective, viewing text construction as a process operating over multiple, interconnected timescales and levels. Any attempt to capture the full complexity of the system needs to be able to identify the different components in play, the timescales and levels of social organization at which they operate, the relationships between the components, and how the components and their relationships change over time. We argue, similarly to Dörnyei (2009: 109), that mixed methods research "suits the multi-level analysis of complex issues, because it allows investigators to obtain data about both the individual and the broader societal context" and discuss some of the affordances and challenges of this approach with respect to L2 writing.

This study investigated interaction between an adult EFL university student in Japan and her EFL tutor/researcher while they observed the student's L2 writing event during a stimulated retrospective recall session. Interaction is considered both a methodological instrument to investigate the complex cognitive activity underpinning L2 writing and a pedagogic tool to encourage linguistic-as well as strategic-awareness and change. Informed by Sociocultural theory, this paper argues that interaction which is sensitive to learners' potential development can be a powerful tool to promote the co-construction of L2 knowledge. Data were collected through eye-tracking and real-time screen capture of the writing event and analysed using descriptive statistics and microgenetic multimodal interaction analysis. The paper aims to illustrate the potential value of a mixed-methods, multimodal, design to better understand the dual role of interaction (i) to support development, and (ii) as a methodological instrument to investigate the unfolding history of that development.