Gender‐Based EFL Writing Error Analysis Using Human and Computer‐Aided Approaches

Abstract

AbstractCommitting errors is expected in the development of language acquisition and learning; however, there is limited research that contributes to the literature on the effect of gender of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. This study explored the gender differences in EFL students' writing using two approaches: human evaluation and computer‐aided error analysis (CEA). A corpus of 90,753 words was compiled from written samples collected from 197 participants (98 males and 99 females [freshmen or sophomores]) who were studying on a full‐time basis in a private institution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). By utilizing descriptive analysis and factorial two‐way ANOVA to detect counting errors, the findings reveal that the distinctions between male and female writings are nonsignificantly related to specific errors. Generally, the results exhibit noteworthy differences between the error types of the two male and female groups (more error frequency in the male‐written productions). The findings support educators and decision‐makers on implementing more learner‐conscious teaching approaches, enhancing male and female students' EFL writing skills. This study further suggests diagnostic information about challenging EFL writing areas, which can benefit educators and course designers in establishing effective teaching strategies and feedback approaches that should be implemented to promote EFL writing skills.