Education

 

Academic Summary

J. Elliott Casal is an applied linguist with interests in corpus linguistics and corpus-based language teaching, second language/multilingual writing, and genre-based language teaching. 

Elliott’s work examines the functional and linguistic conventions of disciplinary and professional communication, the means by which language learners develop the linguistic and conceptual resources necessary to gain membership to discourse communities, and the role of corpora and corpus-tools in language teaching activity. His recent publications have adopted corpus-based discourse analytic approaches to syntactic complexity, phraseology, and ‘shell nouns’ in academic and professional genres, and he has also investigated qualitative approaches to assessing learner development through an emphasis on agency, creativity, and intentionality.

 

Select Publications 

Refereed Journal Articles

• Casal, J. E., & Kessler, M. (2023). Can linguists distinguish between ChatGPT/AI and human writing?: A study of research ethics and academic publishing. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 2(3), 100068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100068.
• Casal, J.E., & Yoon, J. (2023). Frame-based formulaic features in L2 writing pedagogy: Variants, functions, and student writer perceptions in academic writing. English for Specific Purposes, 71, 102-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2023.03.004. 
• Casal, J.E., Shirai, Y., & Lu, X. (2022). English Verb-Argument Construction profiles in a specialized academic corpus: Variation by genre and discipline. English for Specific Purposes, 66, 94-107. 
• Casal, J. E., Lu, X., Qiu, X., Wang, Y., & Zhang, G. (2021). Syntactic complexity across academic research article part-genres: A cross-disciplinary perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 52, 1-12.
• Casal, J. E., & Lu, X. (2021). “Maybe complicated is a better word”: Second language English graduate student responses to syntactic complexity in a genre-based academic writing course. International Journal of English for Academic Purposes: Research and Practice, 1, 1-12.
• Casal, J. E., & Kessler, M. J. (2020). Formulaic language in Fulbright grant writing: A corpus- and genre-based analysis of self-promotional writing. System, 95, 102370.
• Yoon, J., & Casal, J. E. (2020). Rhetorical structure, sequence, and variation: A rhetorical move analysis of applied linguistics conference abstracts. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1-17.
• Lu, X., Casal, J. E., & Liu, Y. (2020). The rhetorical functions of syntactically complex sentences in research article introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 44, 1-16.
• Casal, J. E., & Lee, J. J. (2019). Syntactic complexity and writing quality in assessed first-year L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 44, 51-62.
• Lee, J. J., Hitchcock, G. C., & Casal, J. E. (2018). Citation practices of L2 university students in first-year writing: Form, function, and stance. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, 1-11.
• Bikowski, D., & Casal, J. E. (2018). Interactive digital textbooks and engagement: A learning strategies framework. Language Learning & Technology, 22(1), 119-136.
• Lee, J. J., & Casal, J. E. (2014). Metadiscourse in RAD chapters: A cross-linguistic analysis of English and Spanish thesis writers in engineering. System, 46, 39-54.

Book Chapters

• Lu, X., Casal, J. E., & Liu, Y. (2022). Automated syntactic analysis for language teaching. In R. R. Jablonkai & E. Csomay (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of corpora in English language teaching and learning. New York: Routledge.
• Lu, X., Casal, J. E., & Liu, Y. (2021). Corpus-based genre analysis. In C. Coombe & H. Mohebbi (Eds.). Research questions in language education and applied linguistics: A reference guide. Berlin: Springer.
• Casal, J. E., & Bikowski, D. (2020). A framework for learning with digital resources: Applications for project-based language learning. In G. Beckett & T. Slater (Eds.). Global perspectives on project-based language, teaching, and assessment: Key approaches, technology tools, and frameworks. New York: Routledge.
• Yoon, J., & Casal, J. E. (2020). P-frames and rhetorical moves in Applied Linguistics conference proposals. In U. Römer, V. Cortes, & E. Friginal (Eds.). Advances in Corpus-based Research on Academic Writing. Effects of Discipline, Register, and Writer Expertise. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
• Casal, J. E., & Lee, J. J. (2018). Tutor discourse practices in an online writing lab: A reflective exploration. In G. Kessler (ed.). TESOL voices: Online and hybrid classroom education (41-48). Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.
• Casal, J. E. (2016). Learning technology review: Criterion Online Writing Evaluation. CALICO, 33(1).