Education

Academic Summary

J. Elliott Casal is an applied linguist with interests in corpus linguistics and corpus-based language teaching, discipline-specific and multilingual writing, genre-based language teaching, and computer-assisted language learning. 

Elliott’s work examines the functional and linguistic conventions of disciplinary and professional communication, the means by which learners develop discipline- or genre-specific literacies, and the role of corpora and corpus-tools in language teaching and learning. More specifically, he has published on syntactic complexity, phraseology, and academic literacy development across disciplines. He has also investigated qualitative approaches to assessing learner development through an emphasis on agency, creativity, and intentionality.

He is the co-author of the book Making the most of graduate school: A guidebook for students in applied linguistics, education, and TESOL (Kessler & Casal, 2024) with Applied Linguistics Press, and has a co-authored book coming out with Multilingual Matters, Concept-based language instruction and genre-based second language writing pedagogy: Provoking and assessing development (Casal, Kurtz, and Qiu). 

Select Publications 

Selected Refereed Journal Articles

• Casal, J. E., & Kessler, M. (2024). New theoretical and practical horizons in data-driven learning: Introduction to the special issue. TESOL Quarterly, 58. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3331
• Kessler, M., & Casal, J. E. (2024). English writing instructors' use of theories, genres, and activities: A survey of teachers' beliefs and practices. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2024.101384​
• Xu, Y., & Casal, J. E. (2023). Navigating complexity in plain English: A longitudinal analysis of syntactic and lexical complexity development in L2 legal writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101059
• 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.
• 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.100832. 
• 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2019.03.005. 
• 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.01.001. 
• 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.

Selected Book Chapters

• Casal, J. E., & Qiu, X. (2024). Non-finite clause use in novice and expert academic writing in Agricultural Science: A corpus driven analysis. In M. Walková (Ed.). Linguistic approaches in EAP: Expanding the discourse. Bloomsbury.
• Casal, J. E., & Kessler, M. (2024). Rhetorical move-step analysis. In Conducting Genre-Based Research in Applied Linguistics (pp. 82-104). Routledge.
• 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).