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In:Language-Learner Computer Interactions: Theory, methodology and CALL applications
Edited by Catherine Caws and Marie-Josée Hamel
[Language Studies, Science and Engineering 2] 2016
► pp. 137–162

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Video screen capture to document and scaffold the L2 writing process

 | University of Ottawa, Canada
 | University of Ottawa, Canada
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

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Published online: 14 June 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lsse.2.07ham
This chapter explores the potential of video screen capture (VSC) as a technology that can provide new insights when investigating learner-computer interactions in CALL research, and that can play a mediating role in second language (L2) writing pedagogy. Arguments are put forward as to why CALL researchers and language educators should be interested in this accessible and flexible tool. Three studies are described to consolidate these arguments. The first one, a usability study, investigates L2 learners’ dictionary search processes in the context of the design of an online dictionary prototype. The second study examines the composition processes and strategies of L2 writers. The third study looks at the pertinence and added value of integrating VSC in the L2 writing class. Affordances of VSC arose from these studies. VSC emerged as a powerful documentation tool enabling the collection of process-oriented learner data and new forms of dynamic corpora. It also emerged as a retrospection tool capable of supporting L2 writers in their literacy development and as a scaffolding tool to provide multimodal feedback on L2 written output.
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Mroz, Aurore P.
2025. Process Research Screen Capture. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Smith, Cameron W.
2025. Technologies and Sociomaterial Tensions in the Second Language Classroom. CALICO Journal 42:2 ► pp. 281 ff. DOI logo
Tian, Yu & Sara T. Cushing
2025. Exploring the application of keystroke logging techniques to research in second language (L2) writing. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 4:1 ► pp. 100179 ff. DOI logo
Vinall, Kimberly, Wen Wen & Emily A. Hellmich
2024. Investigating L2 writers' uses of machine translation and other online tools. Foreign Language Annals 57:2 ► pp. 499 ff. DOI logo
Séror, Jérémie & Guillaume Gentil
2023. Direct observation of writing activity. In Research Methods in the Study of L2 Writing Processes [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 5], ► pp. 141 ff. DOI logo
Gilquin, Gaëtanelle
2021. The Process Corpus of English in Education: Going beyond the written text. Research in Corpus Linguistics 10:1 ► pp. 31 ff. DOI logo
Hamel, Marie-Josée & Louis-David Bibeau
2021. Pratiques (numériques) de rétroaction corrective des enseignants de langue et prototype d'outil numérique pour les optimiser. Alsic Vol. 24, n° 2 DOI logo
Hellmich, Emily A.
2021. Machine Translation in Foreign Language Writing: Student Use to Guide Pedagogical Practice. Alsic Vol. 24, n° 1 DOI logo
Gánem‐Gutiérrez, Gabriela Adela & Alexander Gilmore
2018. Tracking the Real‐Time Evolution of a Writing Event: Second Language Writers at Different Proficiency Levels. Language Learning 68:2 ► pp. 469 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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