Error Analysis (EA) has long been used in English language teaching to identify recurring learner difficulties and inform decisions about instruction and feedback. However, the research literature on EA has developed unevenly, making it difficult for TESOL practitioners to judge what this work can usefully offer in classroom settings.
This scoping review examines how EA has been used in English-language research and what it can reasonably contribute to TESOL classrooms. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and reported in line with PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the review included 106 peer-reviewed studies published up to February 2025. Analysis of the literature showed three recurring patterns: a strong emphasis on grammatical and lexical errors, continued reliance on small datasets and manual coding, and uneven connections between error description, theoretical explanation, and pedagogical application. Taken together, the findings suggest that EA remains most useful when treated as a diagnostic rather than a prescriptive classroom resource.
This review maps the recent findings on the AI-driven feedback given to undergraduate-level ESL/EFL academic writing, examining how it is implemented, what learning outcomes it produces, and what shapes those outcomes. Drawing on 39 peer-reviewed empirical studies retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC, and following the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews, this review covers 2,796 participants across 18 countries and regions. The findings show that 27 of the 39 studies in the full corpus reported measurable improvement in ESL/EFL writing. Lower-proficiency students showed larger surface-level gains but higher rates of passive uptake, while higher-proficiency learners engaged more critically when appropriately scaffolded. This review also identifies a persistent local-global revision gap: grammar and vocabulary improvements were reliably documented, but gains in argumentation, genre awareness, and critical reasoning remained weak and variable across the corpus. While AI-driven feedback shows genuine promise for addressing the feedback deficit in large-scale ESL/EFL writing instruction — a challenge with direct relevance to SDG 4 (Quality Education) and its advocation for inclusive, equitable access to quality learning at all levels - the conditions that produce durable learning gains remain poorly understood. The field's methodological development has not yet caught up with its empirical output.
Xiaojun Yuan, Nee Nee Chan· International Journal of Lea...· 0 citations
This paper investigates how a Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) approach can support English learners (ELs) with below-grade-level English proficiency in meeting rigorous national social studies standards. In a case study, three high school ELs in a U.S. History class wrote protest letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the World War II Japanese American internment (Executive Order 9066). Prior to writing, students analyzed primary sources using guiding questions to consider multiple perspectives. Analysis of the letters revealed evidence of four National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) thematic standards (Themes 1, 2, 5, and 10), while focus group interviews showed student awareness of two of the same themes (Themes 2 and 5) and one additional theme (Theme 6). These findings suggest that SAC enabled ELs to access rigorous content while addressing NCSS standards. A key benefit of SAC was the development of critical thinking and communication skills essential for democratic participation. The SAC process also afforded ELs meaningful opportunities to produce authentic writing that demonstrated engagement with high-level social studies concepts and civic reasoning.
C. Brown, S. Waters, W. Russell· Research in Social Sciences...· 0 citations
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been widely known as a promising approach within Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), yet its implementation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings frequently reveals a clear gap between theoretical ideals and classroom realities. This paper critically examines that gap, paying particular attention to how Long’s (1981) Interaction Hypothesis fares against the everyday constraints of managing instruction in Chinese middle schools. Drawing on empirical studies and key frameworks—including Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis and Ellis’s (2003) work on task complexity—the analysis identifies a set of obstacles: teachers’ insufficient pedagogical preparation, students’ entrenched examination-oriented habits, and the logistical difficulties of fostering interaction in overcrowded classrooms. The tension between linguistic accuracy and communicative fluency is also addressed. Possible responses include differentiated task design, dynamic scaffolding, and strategic integration of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The conclusion is that TBLT’s sustainability depends on pragmatic alignment with local socio-cultural conditions, not on wholesale replication of Western instructional models.
Shuming Qiu· Academic Journal of Educatio...· 0 citations
The increasing global prominence of English has placed unprecedented demands on educational systems to equip learners with effective communicative competence, yet a persistent gap remains between theoretical recommendations and classroom realities in English Language Teaching (ELT). This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence from 257 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025 to identify effective strategies for teaching English in modern classrooms and to articulate evidence-based principles for pedagogical practice. Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search across ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses was conducted, with data extracted and thematically synthesized to address four research questions concerning effective strategies, moderating contextual factors, synergistic integration of approaches, and evidence-based principles. The findings reveal that Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching demonstrate robust positive effects on learners' fluency, pragmatic competence, and willingness to communicate, while technology-enhanced instruction offers significant affordances for personalized learning and engagement, though effectiveness is consistently moderated by learner proficiency, teacher cognition, institutional resources, and cultural contexts. Culturally responsive and translanguaging practices contribute meaningfully to learner engagement and identity affirmation, yet implementation remains constrained by institutional resistance and persistent native-speakerist ideologies. Based on these findings, the study proposes the Principled Eclecticism Framework, built on four interconnected principles: learner-centered adaptation, pedagogical coherence, contextual responsiveness, and ongoing professional development. This framework provides an orienting guide for teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers to navigate the complexity of contemporary ELT contexts. The review concludes that effective English teaching requires a dynamic interplay of strategies adapted to specific learner profiles, contextual affordances, and institutional constraints, moving beyond one-size-fits-all prescriptions toward principled, evidence-informed decision-making. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed, with particular attention to the need for sustained professional development, supportive institutional environments, and policies that recognize linguistic and cultural diversity.
Anika Jabin· Journal of innovative resear...· 0 citations
English writing proficiency among EFL learners in Indonesia remains below regional benchmarks, and despite growing interest in learner-centered pedagogies, there is limited synthesis comparing the effects of inquiry-based learning (IBL) and contextual teaching and learning (CTL), particularly regarding their combined impact. This study addresses this gap through a PRISMA-guided systematic literature review of empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025. Searches were conducted across major databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Taylor & Francis, yielding 35 eligible studies for analysis. A narrative synthesis complemented by a quantitative summary of comparable studies indicates that both IBL and CTL produce significant positive effects on students’ English writing performance, with a pooled effect size of approximately d ≈ 0.81 (95% CI [0.65, 0.97]), suggesting a moderate-to-large overall impact. IBL consistently enhances cognitive dimensions of writing, such as idea generation, organization, and critical thinking, whereas CTL demonstrates strong effects on engagement, contextual understanding, and learner motivation. However, direct comparative and hybrid studies remain limited, although preliminary evidence suggests additive benefits when both approaches are integrated. These findings imply that EFL teachers and curriculum designers should consider combining inquiry cycles with context-based writing tasks to simultaneously develop cognitive and affective dimensions of writing. Future research should prioritize rigorous comparative and longitudinal designs to validate the effectiveness of integrated IBL–CTL models across diverse EFL contexts.
Sapto Sugiharto, Merry Lapasau, W. Widodo et al.· Journal of Languages and Lan...· 0 citations
This narrative aims to examine what writing feedback has come to mean in a multilingual provincial university classroom where students increasingly revise between teacher guidance and AI-generated suggestions.
Grounded in classroom experience across Advanced Grammar in English, History of the English Language and Language and Journalism, courses in a university in the Philippines with a number of Indigenous students, the paper reflects on how students negotiate feedback in contexts shaped by language diversity, institutional expectations and emerging AI use.
Students value teacher feedback for clarity, explanation, personalization and support for deeper revision, while AI feedback is appreciated for speed, accessibility and help with surface-level concerns.
As a teacher narrative rooted in one context, the paper offers situated insight rather than broad generalization. It points to the need for further classroom-based work on feedback, AI-assisted revision and multilingual writing.
English teachers need to help students distinguish between surface correction and deeper revision, and to use AI critically rather than unreflectively.
Feedback shapes not only writing quality but also students’ sense of legitimacy, voice and belonging, especially in multilingual and Indigenous-facing classrooms.
The paper shows that AI has not displaced teacher feedback but clarified its interpretive, relational and ethical value in English teaching.
J. R. Paloma· English Teaching: Practice &...· 0 citations