The impact of automated writing evaluation on second language writing skills of Chinese EFL learners: a randomized controlled trial

Introduction

In the context of the burgeoning field of second language (L2) education, where proficient writing plays an integral role in effective language acquisition and communication, the ever-increasing technology development has influenced the trajectory of L2 writing development.

Methods

To address the need for enhanced writing skills among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, this study investigates the efficacy of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) training. A randomized controlled trial employing repeated measures was conducted, involving a participant pool of 190 Chinese EFL students. The study comprehensively assessed the effects of AWE training, utilizing the Grammarly platform-an AI-driven program-on various dimensions of writing skills, encompassing task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexicon, and grammatical accuracy. Control variables included writing self-efficacy and global English proficiency. Writing skills were evaluated through the administration of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) writing sample test.

Results

The results unequivocally demonstrate that the experimental group consistently exhibited superior performance across all facets of writing skills compared to the control group. Furthermore, the predictive influence of pre-test scores was pronounced in task achievement, coherence and cohesion, and lexicon, highlighting the pivotal role of learners' initial proficiency levels in shaping subsequent writing outcomes. Notably, the emergence of writing self-efficacy as a significant predictor of task achievement and coherence and cohesion underscores the role of learners' beliefs and confidence in shaping their writing abilities.

Discussion

These findings conclusively suggest that Artificial Intelligence-based instructional programs, specifically AWE, hold the potential to effectively enhance second language writing skills, especially among learners with lower proficiency levels. This study carries crucial implications for EFL educators and researchers, advocating for the seamless integration of AWE into pedagogical strategies to foster a marked improvement in writing competence.

Dialogic literary argumentation and close reading: effects on high school students' literature-related argumentative writing and motivational beliefs

Given evidence that adolescent students' motivation to read and write about literature declines with age, we proffer an approach called dialogic literary argumentation (DLA) that asks students to explore literature through argumentation in pursuit of understanding the meanings and possibilities of being human. This quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of DLA with close reading (CR), a common approach to teaching literature in high school English language arts classrooms, in improving students' motivational beliefs about writing and literature-related argumentative writing. The study also examined how the links between motivational beliefs and argumentative writing performance varied by instructional contexts. Participants were 278 high school students in 14 classrooms across 8 public high schools. Classrooms of students received either DLA or CR throughout the academic year. While both the DLA and CR groups improved in literature-related argumentative writing, the DLA group demonstrated more growth than the CR group. Neither group exhibited changes in motivational beliefs. However, at the end of the year, both DLA and CR students' transactional writer beliefs were predictive of writing self-efficacy. Transmissional writer beliefs negatively correlated with argumentative writing in the CR group and had a null relationship in the DLA group. Overall, motivational beliefs and argumentative writing were more positively correlated in the DLA group than the CR group after the intervention. We posit that the argumentative elements unique to DLA may act to protect students from the negative impacts of transmissional beliefs. Our findings provide theoretical explanations and pedagogical recommendations on how DLA and CR can be jointly employed to heighten students' motivation and strengthen their argumentative writing competence.

Measuring multiple-source based academic writing self-efficacy

Although writing self-efficacy has been a productive line of research for several decades, no prior writing self-efficacy measure has focused on students' self-efficacy for integrating information across multiple sources when producing an academic text. To fill this gap in existing research on the measurement of writing motivation, we designed a measure targeting the extent to which students are confident that they can write an academic text that integrates content from several different sources. In a study with Norwegian undergraduate students (n = 136), this measure, which we called the Multiple-Source based Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (MAWSES), was validated by means of confirmatory factor analysis and relationships between the resulting unitary construct and other relevant constructs. The findings provided evidence concerning the reliability and validity of the MAWSES. In future research, this measure could be included as an independent variable to predict processes and products of multiple-source based, integrated academic writing, as a moderator or mediator of effects in writing intervention research, or as an outcome variable in its own right.

The effect of online collaborative writing instruction on enhancing writing performance, writing motivation, and writing self-efficacy of Chinese EFL learners

Introduction

This study investigates the influence of online collaborative writing instruction on the writing performance, writing self-efficacy, and writing motivation of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The research was conducted at a language school in mainland China with 58 participants divided into an experimental group (n=30) and a control group (n=28).

Methods

The experimental group utilized Tencent Docs, an online platform, for collaborative writing and peer-editing activities outside the classroom, while the control group received traditional in-class instruction. The study spanned a duration of 13 weeks, during which writing tasks, writing motivation scales, and writing self-efficacy scales were employed to collect data.

Results

The findings revealed that the experimental group exhibited significantly greater improvement in writing performance, motivation, and self-efficacy compared to the control group. These results indicate the positive impact of incorporating Tencent Docs into collaborative writing instruction.

Discussion

The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights for language educators regarding the benefits of integrating online tools into EFL instruction to enhance writing skills. By leveraging platforms like Tencent Docs for collaborative writing, instructors can foster improved performance, increased motivation, and enhanced self-efficacy among EFL learners. Overall, this research highlights the effectiveness of online collaborative writing instruction and its potential as a valuable tool for language educators seeking to optimize EFL learners' writing abilities.

Development and validation of a genre-based second language (L2) writing self-efficacy scale

Writing self-efficacy serves as one of the essential motivational factors in L1 and L2 writing, which has been measured by a series of scales in L1 and L2 contexts. However, the issue of task specificity was not resolved appropriately. This study aims to tackle this issue by entailing the genre characteristics of L2 writing tasks through developing a genre-based L2 writing self-efficacy scale with pertinent items. The new scale was designed with reference to the available research into writing self-efficacy. Its factorial structure was examined by structural equation modeling. Convergent validity and discriminant validity of the scale were examined by taking into consideration the average variance extracted and composite reliability for each individual factor involved in the scale, whereas the predictive validity of the scale was computed through regression analysis. Results show that the genre-based L2 writing self-efficacy scale demonstrated sound psychometric qualities. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of these research findings are discussed.

Epistemological Beliefs and Writing Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Second Language Writing Anxiety: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

This study was carried out to investigate the roles of epistemic beliefs (EBs) and writing self-efficacy (WSE) in predicting second language writing anxiety (L2WA) among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). To this end, three validated scales were distributed among 240 EFL students. They were asked to complete the questionnaires during their regular courses. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to analyze the hypothesized SEM model and the causal paths among the constructs. The direct and indirect path analyses of the hypothesized model indicated that EBs and WSE accounted for 43% of the variance in L2WA. Although both constructs (i.e., EBs and WSE) had a significant effect on L2WA, EBs turned out to be a robust predictor of increasing L2WA. Notably, it was revealed that learners' EBs directly and significantly influenced their L2WA. Besides, the results indicated that WSE had a unique effect in reducing L2WA. More precisely, students who had a higher level of EBs seemed to have a greater L2WA, and those who had a higher level of WSE experienced less L2WA. The findings of this explanatory study suggest that L2 teachers and material developers should pay serious attention to the Students' cognitive and affective variables as they were known to be significant factors in influencing L2WA.