‘Take me to a virtual trip if you want me to write better!’: the impact of Google Expeditions on EFL learners’ writing motivation and performance

Abstract

The current mixed-methods study aimed at incorporating a virtual reality (VR) tool (i.e. Google Expeditions) into the writing process of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, examining its impact on their writing motivation and performance. To that end, 42 EFL learners were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, exploring their favorite places in the world with and without Google Expeditions, respectively. Independent-samples t-tests and paired-samples t-tests were run to investigate the participants’ writing motivation as well as their performance on the pretest and posttest. As the quantitative results demonstrated, the experimental group significantly outscored the control group in both writing motivation and overall writing performance at the end of the experiment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the participants’ attitudes toward Google Expeditions, casting further light on the initial quantitative findings. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data lent support to the contribution of this VR tool toward boosting the participants’ confidence, general knowledge, and autonomy on the one hand and reducing distraction and anxiety on the other. Implications are discussed and future research avenues are outlined.