Research

Adam Pfau is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Second Language Studies (SLS) program. His dissertation examines how and to what extent direct (i.e., hands-on corpus use) or indirect (i.e., hands-off corpus materials) online data-driven learning modules can result in more appropriate hedging by Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) writers in the context of academic English. This work involved developing and implementing two online courses, and a central focus of the study is on assessing the learners’ user experiences concerning any difficulties, challenges, or benefits they saw in engaging with the online course modules or the online language corpora.