The influence of nonautonomous online collaborative writing on EFL learners

Abstract

Web-based collaborative writing has received significant attention in the twenty-first century. This study aims to investigate students’ attitudes toward nonautonomous online collaborative writing. A mixed methods approach was employed in this study, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative aspect involved the administration of a questionnaire, while the qualitative component involved conducting interviews. The participants comprised 42 male Level 3 English language students from Qassim University in Saudi Arabia, aged 20 and 22. The findings indicated that nonautonomous online collaborative writing assisted students in efficiently completing written drafts and improved writing speed, fluency, and organization. It encouraged learners to write by guiding them through brainstorming ideas, generating an outline, and addressing spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. According to the interviews, online collaborative writing required the teacher’s supervision and support to provide comments, share drafts with peers, and receive feedback from others. The teacher’s guidance focused on how students create their essays, such as acquiring relevant ideas and organizing material, resulting in much-improved writing. The teacher provided students with clear directions and instructions, including what to do and what not to do at the start of the task. He also reviewed students’ assignments, wrote encouraging notes, and praised them for their accomplishments.