Abstract:
Meta-analysis is a quantitative approach to systematically reviewing primary studies in certain research domains. Its main purpose is to sufficiently consider sampling errors and non-statistically significant results, and to overcome analysis omissions caused by subjective factors such as emotion and memory. This paper sifts through the meta-analytic reviews of L2/FL studies published in SSCI and CSSCI indexed journals from 2010 to 2019. It is found that in the past ten years the themes of meta-analyses encompass a wide range of topics including L2/FL reading, vocabulary, grammar, speaking, writing, strategies and computer-assisted language learning. CMA has been a prevalent tool adopted by meta-analysts. A large proportion of meta-analyses aggregate the standardized mean difference Cohen’s d, some opt for Hedge’s g as effect size indicators to render corrections on the small sampling bias, whereas only a small number of studies address Pearson’s r. The results provide some implications for meta-analyses of L2/FL studies and foreign language teaching and learning.
Keywords：meta-analysis;L2/FL studies; primary studies; effect size; recent developments;
