Language Educational Department

Effects of Web-Based Academic Projects on EFL Students Writing Performance,Critical Thinking Skills and Writing Motivation

2026-06-05T08:29:52Z

Effects of Web-Based Academic Projects on EFL Students Writing Performance,Critical Thinking Skills and Writing Motivation Yirga, Tseganesh The main objective of the study was to examine the effects of Web-based academic projects on EFL students’ writing performance, critical thinking skills and their motivation towards writing. A single group quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 35 second year English major students (30 males and 5 females) enrolled in advanced English course at Woldia University. Comprehensive sampling technique was used to select participants. Test was used to collect data about learners’ writing performance and their critical thinking skills in writing before and after intervention. Questionnaire was used to collect data about learners’ writing motivation before and after intervention. Textual analysis, students’ diary analysis and focus group discussion were also employed as data gathering instruments in order to triangulate the data obtained through test and questionnaire. The data obtained through students’ tests were analyzed quantitatively using one-way repeated measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), as well as the data obtained through students’ questionnaires were analyzed using paired sample t-test. On the other hand, the data gathered using textual analysis, focus group discussion and students’ diary analysis were analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. Specifically, Google Docs was employed in this study among other academic Web-based writing applications. Hence, the results obtained from the MANOVA test indicated a significant difference in learners’ writing performance and critical thinking skills before and after the intervention which, F (10, 11) =9.013b P= .01 Wilks’ Lambda = .217, ηp2=.783, observed power =1.000. Similarly, the result obtained through using the paired sample t-test showed significance difference between learners’ writing motivation before and after intervention, particularly the highest mean difference was found in self-efficacy dimension in which its MD=-0.474 (t =- 7.794, p<.05). Likewise, the findings obtained through using the thematic analysis strengthen the statistical findings. Overall, the results of the study suggest that collaborative writing using academic web-based projects specifically, via Google Docs positively influenced students’ writing performance, critical thinking skills, and their motivation towards writing. Therefore, EFL teachers can employ academic Web-based projects besides the face-to-face collaborative writing approach as a means to develop their students’ writing performance and critical thinking skills, and increase their students’ motivation towards writing through considering the necessary conditions in using it in to account.

Effects of Text Modification on EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension and Reading Motivation: Ethiopian Secondary School Students in focus

2025-07-18T06:32:30Z

Effects of Text Modification on EFL Students’ Reading Comprehension and Reading Motivation: Ethiopian Secondary School Students in focus Keneferegib, Asefa The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of text modification on the reading comprehension achievements and reading motivation of general secondary school students in Ethiopia. Drawing on input processing and cognitive theories, the researcher hypothesized that text modification would enhance both students' reading comprehension and their motivation to engage with reading. A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test comparison group was employed to examine this hypothesis. The study involved 105 Grade 10 students from three sections at Fasilo General Secondary School in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, during the first semester of the 2023 academic year. The participants were divided into three groups: a simplified text group, an elaborated text group, and a control group, each consisting of 35 students. Over the course of 16 weeks, the experimental groups received modified texts either simplified or elaborated while the control group worked with unmodified, baseline texts. The study aimed to assess whether these modifications would have a significant impact on students’ reading comprehension and reading motivation. Data were collected using reading comprehension tests, a reading motivation questionnaire, and interviews with participants. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA was conducted to examine differences in reading comprehension achievements and motivation between the groups, with the significance level set at p<0.05. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between the three groups in terms of their pre-test reading comprehension and reading motivation scores. However, after the 16 week intervention, the experimental groups, both simplified and elaborated text groups significantly outperformed the control group on both the reading comprehension post-test and the post-reading motivation questionnaire, with p-values less than 0.05. The results of the study suggest that educators and language instructors can benefit from incorporating text modification into their teaching practices to enhance student outcomes in reading comprehension and motivation. Furthermore, the study's findings can contribute to curriculum development and instructional design in language education. Future research can build on these findings by exploring the impact of text modification on other language skills, such as writing and speaking, and by examining the role of teacher professional development in implementing text modification strategies.

Effects of Data-driven Learning Approach on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance and Engagement

2025-07-18T06:24:06Z

Effects of Data-driven Learning Approach on EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance and Engagement Chanie, Getasew This study aimed to examine the effects data-driven learning approach on EFL learners’ academic speaking performance and engagement. It also aimed at exploring learners’ perceptions of the DDL intervention. The study used a quasi-experimental research design that employed an interrupted time series design with single-group participants. The participants were fourth-year EFL major students at Mekdela Amba University, Ethiopia. In the intervention, which lasted for eight weeks, the participants were taught target language features for speaking via the data-driven learning approach. Tests, self-report surveys, questionnaires, and the students' reflective journals were used to collect data. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and one-sample t-test were used to analyze the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was employed for the reflective journals. Consequently, the findings of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA results (F (2.248, 31.470) = 381.503; p < 0.05) indicated that the data-driven learning approach had a statistically significant effect on participants’ academic speaking performance. Similarly, the results obtained from the reflective journals also indicated that incorporating authentic linguistic features in focused noticing and production activities during the intervention contributed to improving participants’ academic speaking performance. Moreover, the one sample t-test results about the participants’ engagement in the three dimensions: the behavioral engagement result (t(14)=8.454, p< 0.05); cognitive engagement result (t(14)=8. 508, p< 0.05), and emotional engagement result (t(14)= 13.759, p< 0.05), showed that the participants’ engagement in speaking during the DDL intervention was promising. Regarding participants’ perception, the findings showed that participants felt data-driven learning was beneficial to their speaking skills development and had positive attitudes to the utilization of the DDL approach in speaking instruction.

Effects of Teacher Scaffolding Instruction on EFL Students’ Writing Achievement and their Perceptions of the Instruction: Debre Tabor Secondary School in Focus

2025-07-18T06:17:00Z

Effects of Teacher Scaffolding Instruction on EFL Students’ Writing Achievement and their Perceptions of the Instruction: Debre Tabor Secondary School in Focus Kemal, Seyidu This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of teacher scaffolding instruction on EFL students’ writing achievement and its consistency of the writing sub-skills and the proficiency-level groups. The study also explored the participants’ perceptions of teacher scaffolding instruction in their writing improvements. The participants were Grade 10 students, and data were collected using pre-post tests and close-ended questionnaires, and they all were analyzed quantitatively. The result of the independent samples test demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference between the writing achievement mean score of the comparison group and the experimental group in the pretest (p=.955), showing that the study participants had comparable linguistic resources before commencing the study. Findings from a one-way MANOVA further proved that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups pretest scores writing achievement in the combined dependent variables of using relevant content, vocabulary, grammatical structure, mechanic use, and organization as indicated by F (5, 90) =.615, p=0.689; Wilks Lambda=.967; partial eta squared (η2) =.033. The results proved students’ comparable linguistic backgrounds in their writing achievement at the outset. However, results from the paired-sample t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the pretest and post-test scores for the experimental group (p=.001), but insignificant differences for the comparison group (p=.426). An independent-sample t-test of the post-test also yielded a statistically significant difference between the two groups, favoring the experimental class (p=.001). The findings verified the teacher scaffolding instruction’s feasibility for improving students’ writing achievement. Results from a one-way MANOVA also proved that the writing subskills of content, vocabulary, grammatical structures, mechanics use, and organization jointly account for significant variance between the comparison and the experimental groups’ writing proficiency, in favor of the experimental group. Separate results of the variables revealed composing relevant content as the strongest predictor (F (1, 94) =35.08, p=.001), but no mechanics use differences between the two groups, F (1, 94) =.42, p=.520. The findings verified the instruction’s substantial role in enhancing learners’ overall writing achievement and all writing sub-skills except for mechanics use. Results from a one-way ANCOVA in pre-post-test scores unveiled the efficacy of teacher scaffolding instruction in improving EFL students’ writing skills for each proficiency level (p=0.001). After adjusting for the effect of the covariates, Bonferroni’s Pair-wise comparison at an α level of 0.05 further confirmed the low proficiency level group’s most significant writing improvement in the post-test compared to medium and high proficiency level groups. This implied that the independent variable (forms of teaching) influenced the dependent variable (writing achievement scores) significantly but differently between levels/groups, with the low proficiency level being the strongest predictor. Results from students’ questionnaire further affirmed participants’ positive perceptions of the efficacy of teacher scaffolding instruction for their writing improvements. Based on the findings, it is reasonable to conclude that teacher scaffolding instruction has promising effects on improving students’ writing skills.