This study focuses on the central concepts put forward by Ferdinand de Saussure in the field of linguistics. In the 20th century, linguistics began to develop in various perspectives, and it would not be wrong to acknowledge that famous Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure made a notable contribution to the emergence of those theories. Saussure, the central examination of the present study, scrutinizes language as a structured system of signs and introduces many ideas that have shaped the development of language studies. In this context, the paper defines and thoroughly elucidates the terms that Saussure pioneered to present his theory of language. The research includes expressions on the nature of the language, its origin, and functioning from Saussure’s linguistic point of views. Therefore, we would like to believe that this research constitutes a contribution to the elaboration of linguistic theory and Saussure’s ideas of what language really is.

This study focuses on types of feedback provided in second language writing in higher education and their evaluation in the light of students’ opinions. Data were gathered from 55 students who took English writing classes for 3 hours a week in an English preparatory program at a college in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews were used as data collection tools. Findings revealed that vast majority of students found meaning-focused feedback more motivational than form-focused feedback. Additionally, they preferred self-assessment to peer-feedback. The paper presents a discussion on feedback types in second language writing.