Pre-service Teachers’ Experience of Online Content-based English Writing

Abstract

This study investigated pre-service English teachers’ experience of online content-based English writing with a focus on their writing skills and writing attitudes. For the purpose of the study, six college students were recruited to participate in an academic learning program that was designed to assist their writing development. During eight weeks of writing practice, the students were asked to perform content-based writing tasks. They submitted two drafts, via email, for the same writing prompt each week and received two-stage feedback from a native speaker for each draft. They were also asked to keep learning logs after completing each task. At the same time, they were asked to take pre- and post-tests: essay writing tests, two types of vocabulary tests, and attitude questionnaires. The study found positive changes in the students’ writing ability, vocabulary knowledge, and writing attitudes. With regard to feedback, the students believed that it was nicely balanced, covering all three categories: content, organization, and form. The students, however, reported some difficulty in interpreting content-focused feedback or feedback that implicitly suggested areas for improvement.