EFL Students Develop Cognitive and Metacognitive Self-Regulated Writing Strategies Using Automated Feedback: A Case Study

Abstract

This study investigated the impacts of automated feedback on EFL students’ development of cognitive and metacognitive self-regulated writing strategies, using ProWritingAid online tool. Data were collected from students enrolled in level one writing course at the College of Languages and Translation, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The results indicated significant impacts of automated feedback on students' self-regulated writing strategies, reflected in an overall mean score of (3.75 ± 0.69).Findings after using automated feedback showed participants’ development of cognitive strategies, including language usage (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation), which reached 73%. The cognitive strategies of writing revision, encompassing revise cohesiveness and connection among sentences, reached 70%. Participants’ development of metacognitive strategies, including idea planning and goal-oriented monitoring and evaluation, reached 75% and 77%, respectively. The results also indicated significant impacts of automated feedback on motivational and social strategies, with scores of 87% and 80%, respectively. Comparing participants’ written assignment scores before and after using automated feedback, the results showed a 62% improvement in performance among low-proficient students. One implication of the study is that, with the aid of automated feedback, EFL students have the abilities to autonomously improve their writing skills. The adoption of a self-regulated approach, within the utilization of automated feedback, significantly influences students' performance. These findings suggest that integrating automated feedback into the EFL curriculum and instruction can foster students' self-reliance and proficiency in writing.