Independent learner strategies to improve second language academic writing in an online course

This article explores how 40 first-year students in a compulsory English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course undertook written tasks during a semester suddenly undertaken online. The university in Japan described here provided on-demand lessons via the Learning Management System (LMS) during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Students prepared three-minute reflective videos as part of their course work describing their strategies to improve their second language (L2) academic writing and their perceptions of how these strategies affected their learning. These videos were transcribed, coded, and analysed. The use of Machine Translation (MT) to proofread work before submission was used by 58% of the participants, of whom 45% report improved assignment grades and higher levels of confidence in their L2 writing skills. Results suggest that learners should be encouraged to use MT for this step in the L2 academic writing process.