E-collaborative tasks and the enhancement of writing performance among Iranian university-level EFL learners

Abstract

The prevalence of using social software in foreign and second language settings has caused a resurgence of interest in collaborative writing. This study investigates the benefits of collaborative and e-collaborative tasks on writing performance of the students in a process-oriented approach. It, in fact, examines the effects on the accuracy, complexity, and fluency of the written text produced by the learners. To this end, the quasiexperimental design was employed and 74 intermediate students at Islamic Azad University (Isfahan Branch) in Iran participated in the study. They were divided into three groups by random assignment in which two experimental groups were required to perform their tasks in collaboration while only one of them had access to Telegram Application outside the classroom. The control group followed the conventional method of learning how to write. The Measures of One-way ANCOVA, having compared the pretests and posttests results, showed a significant change in the accuracy and complexity of the written texts produced by the students in the experimental group applying e-collaboration. It also revealed that there was no significant change in the fluency of the written texts produced by the students.