Insights into the effects of Online-based Writing Mock-Tests on EFL learners’ writing skills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/eltej.v9i2.16414Keywords:
Attitude, CALL, EFL learner, Online-based Writing Mock-Tests, Writing skillsAbstract
This quasi-experimental study primarily aims to examine the effects of online-based writing mock tests (OWMT) on Vietnamese EFL learners’ writing skills and their attitudes toward OWMT. Thirty-six learners at an English center in Ho Chi Minh City participated in a ten-week course. Nineteen experimental learners participated in an OWMT platform called Cambridge English Write & Improve (CEWI), whereas 17 learners in the control group studied with the traditional teaching method. Quantitative data were collected from pre-tests and post-tests, evaluating four writing criteria (content, communicative achievement, organization, & language), analyzed by using SPSS through descriptive statistics and T-tests. Questionnaire data were collected to respond to the effects and learners’ attitudes towards OWMT. Ten experimental learners were invited for semi-structured interviews, analyzed by the thematic analysis approach. Findings indicated OWMT significantly improved learners’ writing performance, particularly in language, organization, and communicative achievement. Participants specifically demonstrated positive attitudes as dynamic triangular relationship of cognitive, affective, and behavioral, assisted their learning. These findings indicate that OWMT can serve as an effective formative assessment tool to foster writing development and learning autonomy.
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