Abstract:

Research has demonstrated the positive impact of Web 2.0 tools such as forums, blogs, and wikis on writing education in second-language (L2) classrooms. (Liu, Chen, & Chang, 2010). Building on the ideological and technological platform of Web 2.0, other computer-mediated communication such as social media (e.g. Facebook) has become popular (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2009). Social media allow participants to generate and exchange content within a real-life situated setting (Sun, 2010). However, there is limited research on the use of social media in teaching practices in general, and writing instruction in L2 teaching in particular. Although a small but growing body of research has indicated positive effects of social media on learner's attitudes and learning outcomes within the practice of writing instruction in L2 teaching (e.g. Laire, Casteleyn, & Mottart, 2012), there is little focus on the actual learning and writing process. This paper will thus further explore the learning possibilities of the use of social media by focusing both on the learner’s perceptions and the actual writing performances. As such the following research questions were formulated: Does digital writing, using social media, affect the actual writing performance? What are the learners’ perceptions of digital writing? Can digital writing enhance the learning process? Our research design focused on a comparison of traditional and digital writing processes by integrating the digital writing tool Storify into the learning process. For this, a repeated measures design was set up over six weeks. University students (n=149), who were non-native speakers of English, were asked to compose a research plan in English. They started the assignment via traditional writing software (time period between test moment 1 and 2), but finished the assignment via Storify (time period between test moment 2 and 3). During each test moment, students completed a survey indicating their self-perceived level of efficacy in English as a second language. Finally, a survey representing the students’ acceptance of the tool was completed. A repeated measures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction determined that the self-efficacy scores differed statistically significantly between the three test moments. Post hoc tests using the Bonferroni correction revealed that both conditions generated a statistically significant increase in the self-efficacy score. In general, we can conclude that writing via a digital writing tool over a longer period of time can improve a student’s self-perceived level of self-efficacy in English as a second language.

References:
[1] Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, 59-68, 2010.
[2] Laire, D., Casteleyn, J.& Mottart A. (2012). Social Media’s Learning Outcomes within Writing instruction in the EFL Classroom: Exploring, Implementing and Analyzing Storify. Paper presented at the ICEEPSY International Conference on Education and Educational Psychology 2012, Istanbul, Turkey.
[3] Liu, P.-L, Chen, C.-J, & Chang, Y.-J. (2010). Effects of a computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy on EFL college students’ English reading comprehension. Computers & Education, 54, 436-445, 2010.
[4] Sun, Y.-C (2010). Extensive writing in foreign-language classrooms: a blogging approach. Innovation in Education and Teaching International, 47, 3, 327-339, 2010.