Sasha Loewen
Biographic Data
| ID | 1572852 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sasha Loewen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sasha |
| FAMILY NAME | Loewen |
| SIGNATURE | LOEWEN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2195-313X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 164 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Instructed Second Language Acquisition and Language Teaching
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) is a discipline that aims to enhance second language (L2) development through systematic manipulation of learning processes and conditions to promote both accuracy and fluency in real‐life communication. While both explicit and implicit instruction are important, balanced attention to meaning and form is crucial to develop both fluent and accurate L2 ability. ISLA, by its nature, assumes that instruct…
Bimodal Input in Processing and Learning of Novel Vocabulary During Reading: An Eye‐Tracking Study
This study compared the effectiveness of written versus bimodal input on the processing and learning of novel words in a text. While their eye movements were recorded, 59 university‐level second language (L2) English readers read a 9,500‐word text containing 24 unfamiliar words over 2 consecutive days in one of two conditions: reading only and reading while listening. Vocabulary development was assessed with a real‐time sentence‐reading test and …
Instructed Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Pronunciation
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) inquiry emphasizes the ways in which systematic manipulation of learning conditions may facilitate second language (L2) acquisition. ISLA research has tended to prioritize grammar and vocabulary over pronunciation. However, an increase in classroom-based pronunciation research has begun to address this oversight. Within ISLA inquiry, themes of interest include (a) the extent to which instruction effec…
How to present L2 Chinese words effectively for learning: Exploring learning outcomes and learner perceptions
Second language (L2) research on input manipulation has focused mainly on increasing the salience of target structures, but presentation formats of L2 input can be another important aspect for manipulation. This study compared the horizontal, vertical, and adjacent formats for presenting the characters, pinyin, and English meaning of L2 Chinese vocabulary, by recruiting 69 English native speakers to study 30 Chinese words in these formats. Learni…
Acceptance and engagement patterns of mobile-assisted language learning among non-conventional adult L2 learners: A survival analysis
Research on mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has revealed that high rates of attrition among users can undermine the potential benefits of this learning method. To explore this issue, we surveyed 3,670 adult MALL users based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and also conducted an in-depth analysis of their historical app usage data. The results of hierarchical k-means cluster analysis and recurrent event su…
(Re)Examining the research–practice interface: International perspectives, multiple methods, persistent challenges, and novel directions
In applied linguistics, the interface between research and practice (broadly construed to include but not be limited to additional language teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, materials designers, test developers, etc.) has gained increasing attention in recent years (e.g., Sato & Loewen, 2022a). Recent calls (e.g., Sato, 2023) have urged applied linguists to both prioritize research which can INFORM and BE INFORMED BY practice as well as …
‘Who Is My Research for?’: Researcher Perceptions of the Research–Practice Relationship
This study investigated second language (L2) researchers’ perceptions of the research–practice relationship. While research use (or lack thereof) in the classroom has been debated by researchers for decades, researchers have rarely investigated themselves as stakeholders in the relationship. However, it is vital to know researchers’ approaches to the issue so that collaborative researcher-practitioner relationships may be fostered. Hence, the cur…
The Research–Practice Dialogue in Second Language Learning and Teaching: Past, Present, and Future
This article explores ways in which a dialogue between researchers and practitioners can be bidirectional, effective, and beneficial for the two professional communities. We suggest concrete directions for second language (L2) research: (a) a collaborative mindset, (b) the nature of research, (c) venues for dialogue, and (d) institutional support. First, we argue that we, researchers and teachers alike, can develop a collaborative mindset and und…
Conversation and transcription activities with synchronous video computer-mediated communication: A classroom investigation
Stimulating learner engagement in app-based L2 vocabulary self-study: Goals and feedback for effective L2 pedagogy
Exploring Young Learners’ Strategic Behaviors in a Speaking Test
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article
Small Samples in Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research
This commentary discusses the issue of small samples in instructed second language acquisition research. We discuss the current state of affairs, and consider the disadvantages of small samples. We also explore other considerations regarding sample size, such as research ethics and ecological validity. We present a range of recommendations for researchers to address the issue of small samples. Recommendations include (a) engaging in sample size p…
Coming of age: The past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research
First, we trace the history of second language acquisition (SLA) from early stages in the mid-twentieth century to today. We next consider the status of the field in today's research world with a particular focus on all aspects of methodology and, finally, we take a look at the future and discuss issues related to scientific rigor in light of Open Science
Was Krashen right? An instructed second language acquisition perspective
Methodological Synthesis of Cluster Analysis in Second Language Research
We present a review of second language researchers' use of cluster analysis, an advanced statistical method still uncommon but increasingly used to identify groups or patterns in a dataset and to examine group differences. After describing key methodological considerations in conducting cluster analysis, we present a methodological synthesis of 65 studies published between 1989 and 2018 that employed cluster analysis. We specifically review the u…
Toward an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: Sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana
Epstein, K., D. J. A. Wood, K. Roemer, B. Currey, H. Duff, J. D. Gay, H. Goemann, S. Loewen, M. C. Milligan, J. A. F. Wendt, E. Jack Brookshire, B. D. Maxwell, L. McNew, D. B. McWethy, P. C. Stoy, and J. H. Haggerty. 2021. Toward an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana. Ecology and Society 26(1):10. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12141-260110
The effectiveness of app‐based language instruction for developing receptive linguistic knowledge and oral communicative ability
Hundreds of millions of language learners around the globe study a second language with popular apps such as Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Busuu, and Babbel. This study examined the effectiveness of one app, Babbel, for developing both receptive linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as oral communicative ability in Spanish as a second language. Fifty‐four English speakers not enrolled in Spanish classes studied Spanish on Babbel over…
Instructed Second Language Acquisition
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) is a subfield of second language acquisition (SLA) that investigates any type of second language (L2) learning or acquisition that occurs as a result of the manipulation of the L2 learning context or processes. Learners' self‐study of the target language is also considered part of ISLA; however, ISLA research has generally focused more on traditional, face‐to‐face classrooms, as well as online instruc…
Do teachers care about research? The research–pedagogy dialogue
Instructed second-language acquisition (ISLA) research endeavours to make positive changes in pedagogical practices. In this regard, there is a recent debate concerning whether teachers are (or should be) willing to engage with research. To investigate the research–pedagogy link, the current case study conducted interviews with 12 EFL teachers in Chile. The findings suggested that teachers’ understanding of research was relatively consistent with…
Interaction and instructed second language acquisition
Interaction is an indispensable component in second language acquisition (SLA). This review surveys the instructed SLA research, both classroom and laboratory-based, that has been conducted primarily within the interactionist approach, beginning with the core constructs of interaction, namely input, negotiation for meaning, and output. The review continues with an overview of specific areas of interaction research. The first investigates interloc…
Metacognitive Instruction Enhances the Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback: Variable Effects of Feedback Types and Linguistic Targets
This study explored the impact of metacognitive instruction provided in conjunction with corrective feedback, investigating the moderating effects of two types of implicit corrective feedback (input‐providing conversational recasts vs. output‐prompting clarification requests) that targeted English third‐person singular – s and possessive determiners his / her . Adult English as a foreign language learners from intact classes ( N = 83) were assign…
The development of statistical literacy in applied linguistics graduate students
Statistics play an important role in analyzing data in applied linguistics research. Given the increase over time in the field’s reliance on quantitative analysis ( Brown, 2004 ; Gass, 2009 ), statistical literacy is critical for both producers and consumers of L2 research. Although there has been some investigation into statistical literacy among applied linguists, no research to date has examined how such literacy is obtained by masters and doc…
Aila matters
Narrative Perspectives on Self-Directed Foreign Language Learning in a Computer- and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Context
Millions of learners around the world use self-directed computer- and mobile-assisted language learning (CALL, MALL) programs to study foreign languages. One such program, Duolingo, currently attracts over 120 million users and is claimed (by the publisher) to be a highly effective method of language learning. While L2 researchers have shown limited engagement with similar large-scale commercial programs, issues related to learner persistence, mo…
Aila Matters: Research Network Reports
Learner Uptake in Communicative ESL Lessons
This article examines incidental and transitory focus on form. Learner uptake was studied in focus-on-form episodes occurring in 12 hours of communicative ESL teaching. Learner uptake was generally high and successful-to a much greater extent than has been reported for immersion classrooms. Uptake was higher and more successful in reactive focus on form and in student-initiated focus on form than in teacher-initiated focus on form. The level of u…
Interaction and instructed second language acquisition
Interaction is an indispensable component in second language acquisition (SLA). This review surveys the instructed SLA research, both classroom and laboratory-based, that has been conducted primarily within the interactionist approach, beginning with the core constructs of interaction, namely input, negotiation for meaning, and output. The review continues with an overview of specific areas of interaction research. The first investigates interloc…
Doing focus-on-form
Preemptive Focus on Form in the ESL Classroom
This article contributes to the growing body of descriptive research investigating focus on form, defined as the incidental attention that teachers and L2 learners pay to form in the context of meaning-focussed instruction. Whereas previous research addressed reactive focus on form (i.e., corrective feedback), the study reported in this article investigated preemptive focus on form (i.e., occasions when either the teacher or a student chose to ma…
Coming of age: The past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research
First, we trace the history of second language acquisition (SLA) from early stages in the mid-twentieth century to today. We next consider the status of the field in today's research world with a particular focus on all aspects of methodology and, finally, we take a look at the future and discuss issues related to scientific rigor in light of Open Science
Metacognitive Instruction Enhances the Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback: Variable Effects of Feedback Types and Linguistic Targets
This study explored the impact of metacognitive instruction provided in conjunction with corrective feedback, investigating the moderating effects of two types of implicit corrective feedback (input‐providing conversational recasts vs. output‐prompting clarification requests) that targeted English third‐person singular – s and possessive determiners his / her . Adult English as a foreign language learners from intact classes ( N = 83) were assign…
Uptake in Incidental Focus on Form in Meaning-Focused ESL Lessons
Uptake is a term used to describe learners' responses to the provision of feedback after either an erroneous utterance or a query about a linguistic item within the context of meaning-focused Language activities. Some researchers argue that uptake may contribute to second Language acquisition by facilitating noticing and pushing learners to produce more accurate linguistic forms. This study investigated the occurrence of uptake in 32 hr of meanin…
The effectiveness of app‐based language instruction for developing receptive linguistic knowledge and oral communicative ability
Hundreds of millions of language learners around the globe study a second language with popular apps such as Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Busuu, and Babbel. This study examined the effectiveness of one app, Babbel, for developing both receptive linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as oral communicative ability in Spanish as a second language. Fifty‐four English speakers not enrolled in Spanish classes studied Spanish on Babbel over…
Methodological Synthesis of Cluster Analysis in Second Language Research
We present a review of second language researchers' use of cluster analysis, an advanced statistical method still uncommon but increasingly used to identify groups or patterns in a dataset and to examine group differences. After describing key methodological considerations in conducting cluster analysis, we present a methodological synthesis of 65 studies published between 1989 and 2018 that employed cluster analysis. We specifically review the u…
Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers
The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition ( SLA ) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statis…
Narrative Perspectives on Self-Directed Foreign Language Learning in a Computer- and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Context
Millions of learners around the world use self-directed computer- and mobile-assisted language learning (CALL, MALL) programs to study foreign languages. One such program, Duolingo, currently attracts over 120 million users and is claimed (by the publisher) to be a highly effective method of language learning. While L2 researchers have shown limited engagement with similar large-scale commercial programs, issues related to learner persistence, mo…
The use of statistics in L2 acquisition research
Second language acquisition (SLA) as a discipline has not had a long history and, as any new discipline, has seen growing pains over the years. This research timeline traces the development of the increased and more sophisticated use of statistics in SLA research and the increasing demands for rigor in their use. Use of statistical procedures has been increasing in the SLA literature, but the tools themselves have not developed from within the fi…
Stimulating learner engagement in app-based L2 vocabulary self-study: Goals and feedback for effective L2 pedagogy
The occurrence of teacher-initiated playful LREs in a Spanish L2 classroom
Instructed Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Pronunciation
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) inquiry emphasizes the ways in which systematic manipulation of learning conditions may facilitate second language (L2) acquisition. ISLA research has tended to prioritize grammar and vocabulary over pronunciation. However, an increase in classroom-based pronunciation research has begun to address this oversight. Within ISLA inquiry, themes of interest include (a) the extent to which instruction effec…
(Re)Examining the research–practice interface: International perspectives, multiple methods, persistent challenges, and novel directions
In applied linguistics, the interface between research and practice (broadly construed to include but not be limited to additional language teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, materials designers, test developers, etc.) has gained increasing attention in recent years (e.g., Sato & Loewen, 2022a). Recent calls (e.g., Sato, 2023) have urged applied linguists to both prioritize research which can INFORM and BE INFORMED BY practice as well as …
Exploring Young Learners’ Strategic Behaviors in a Speaking Test
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article
Toward an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: Sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana
Epstein, K., D. J. A. Wood, K. Roemer, B. Currey, H. Duff, J. D. Gay, H. Goemann, S. Loewen, M. C. Milligan, J. A. F. Wendt, E. Jack Brookshire, B. D. Maxwell, L. McNew, D. B. McWethy, P. C. Stoy, and J. H. Haggerty. 2021. Toward an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana. Ecology and Society 26(1):10. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12141-260110
Preemptive Focus on Form in the ESL Classroom
This article contributes to the growing body of descriptive research investigating focus on form, defined as the incidental attention that teachers and L2 learners pay to form in the context of meaning-focussed instruction. Whereas previous research addressed reactive focus on form (i.e., corrective feedback), the study reported in this article investigated preemptive focus on form (i.e., occasions when either the teacher or a student chose to ma…
Learner Uptake in Communicative ESL Lessons
This article examines incidental and transitory focus on form. Learner uptake was studied in focus-on-form episodes occurring in 12 hours of communicative ESL teaching. Learner uptake was generally high and successful-to a much greater extent than has been reported for immersion classrooms. Uptake was higher and more successful in reactive focus on form and in student-initiated focus on form than in teacher-initiated focus on form. The level of u…
Metalanguage in Focus on Form in the Communicative Classroom
It has been observed that participants take time out during communicative activities to give attention to linguistic items arising incidentally within these contexts. This has been termed 'focus on form' (Long, 1991) and studies of classroom discourse have identified ways classroom participants focus on form reactively (Lyster & Ranta, 1997) and pre-emptively (Borg, 1998; Samuda, 2001). A number of general strategies have been identified in focus…
Doing focus-on-form
Uptake in Incidental Focus on Form in Meaning-Focused ESL Lessons
Uptake is a term used to describe learners' responses to the provision of feedback after either an erroneous utterance or a query about a linguistic item within the context of meaning-focused Language activities. Some researchers argue that uptake may contribute to second Language acquisition by facilitating noticing and pushing learners to produce more accurate linguistic forms. This study investigated the occurrence of uptake in 32 hr of meanin…
Implicit and Explicit Corrective Feedback and the Acquisition of L2 Grammar
This article reviews previous studies of the effects of implicit and explicit corrective feedback on SLA, pointing out a number of methodological problems. It then reports on a new study of the effects of these two types of corrective feedback on the acquisition of past tense -ed . In an experimental design (two experimental groups and a control group), low-intermediate learners of second language English completed two communicative tasks during …
Recasts in the Adult English L2 Classroom: Characteristics, Explicitness, and Effectiveness
A number of descriptive studies of language classrooms have identified recasts as a frequent form of feedback used by teachers following learners' nontarget‐like oral production. Some classroom‐based researchers (e.g., Lyster, 1998 ) have suggested that recasts are less effective than other forms of feedback because of the ambiguity of their potentially corrective purpose. The present study focused on both the provision and the effectiveness of r…
Disentangling Focus on Form. A Response to Sheen and O'Neill (2005)
This article is a response to Sheen and O'Neill's (2005) critique of our paper entitled ‘Teachers’ stated beliefs about incidental focus on form and their classroom practice’ (Basturkmen et al., 2004). In addition, it seeks to clarify a number of common misunderstandings about focus on form (e.g. that ‘form’ refers exclusively to grammar and that it is entirely reactive/corrective in nature). We argue that the study of teachers’ beliefs about and…
The use of statistics in L2 acquisition research
Second language acquisition (SLA) as a discipline has not had a long history and, as any new discipline, has seen growing pains over the years. This research timeline traces the development of the increased and more sophisticated use of statistics in SLA research and the increasing demands for rigor in their use. Use of statistical procedures has been increasing in the SLA literature, but the tools themselves have not developed from within the fi…
Second Language Research Forum Colloquia 2009: Colloquium – Measuring the effectiveness of focus on form
Presented at the Second Language Research Forum, Michigan State University, USA; 31 October 2009 Focus on form, i.e. brief attention to language items within a larger meaning-focused context (Long 1991; Ellis 2001), occurs in a variety of L2 instructional contexts. Meta-analyses of the effectiveness of focus on form have found overall positive effects; however, these meta-analyses have commented on the small number of studies available for synthe…
Instructed Second Language Acquisition
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) refers to the subfield of second language acquisition (SLA) that investigates any type of second language (L2) learning or acquisition that occurs as a result of the teaching of the L2.
Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers
The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition ( SLA ) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statis…
Aila Matters
Aila Matters
The occurrence of teacher-initiated playful LREs in a Spanish L2 classroom
Aila Matters: Research Network Reports
Aila Matters
Aila Matters
The development of statistical literacy in applied linguistics graduate students
Statistics play an important role in analyzing data in applied linguistics research. Given the increase over time in the field’s reliance on quantitative analysis ( Brown, 2004 ; Gass, 2009 ), statistical literacy is critical for both producers and consumers of L2 research. Although there has been some investigation into statistical literacy among applied linguists, no research to date has examined how such literacy is obtained by masters and doc…
Aila matters
Narrative Perspectives on Self-Directed Foreign Language Learning in a Computer- and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning Context
Millions of learners around the world use self-directed computer- and mobile-assisted language learning (CALL, MALL) programs to study foreign languages. One such program, Duolingo, currently attracts over 120 million users and is claimed (by the publisher) to be a highly effective method of language learning. While L2 researchers have shown limited engagement with similar large-scale commercial programs, issues related to learner persistence, mo…
Interaction and instructed second language acquisition
Interaction is an indispensable component in second language acquisition (SLA). This review surveys the instructed SLA research, both classroom and laboratory-based, that has been conducted primarily within the interactionist approach, beginning with the core constructs of interaction, namely input, negotiation for meaning, and output. The review continues with an overview of specific areas of interaction research. The first investigates interloc…
Metacognitive Instruction Enhances the Effectiveness of Corrective Feedback: Variable Effects of Feedback Types and Linguistic Targets
This study explored the impact of metacognitive instruction provided in conjunction with corrective feedback, investigating the moderating effects of two types of implicit corrective feedback (input‐providing conversational recasts vs. output‐prompting clarification requests) that targeted English third‐person singular – s and possessive determiners his / her . Adult English as a foreign language learners from intact classes ( N = 83) were assign…
Instructed Second Language Acquisition
Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) is a subfield of second language acquisition (SLA) that investigates any type of second language (L2) learning or acquisition that occurs as a result of the manipulation of the L2 learning context or processes. Learners' self‐study of the target language is also considered part of ISLA; however, ISLA research has generally focused more on traditional, face‐to‐face classrooms, as well as online instruc…
Do teachers care about research? The research–pedagogy dialogue
Instructed second-language acquisition (ISLA) research endeavours to make positive changes in pedagogical practices. In this regard, there is a recent debate concerning whether teachers are (or should be) willing to engage with research. To investigate the research–pedagogy link, the current case study conducted interviews with 12 EFL teachers in Chile. The findings suggested that teachers’ understanding of research was relatively consistent with…
Linguistics (32 works) · Psychology (32 works) · Computer Science (25 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (24 works) · Philosophy (17 works) · Second Language Learning and Teaching (17 works) · Mathematics education (16 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Second Language Acquisition and Learning (13 works) · Philosophy (11 works)