A Comparative Study of e-Writing and Traditional Writing Classroom to Improve English Writing Ability and Motivate Autonomous Learning of Thai EFL Learners

Abstract

The purposes of this quasi-experimental study were: 1) to compare students’ writing ability before and after receiving e-Writing program and traditional writing classroom., 2) to compare the differences in learner satisfaction and motivation after receiving e-Writing and traditional writing classroom., and 3) to explore learner autonomy after receiving the two different kinds of teaching methods. The informants were 60-second year students who were divided by quota sampling method into two groups (A and B) of 30 learners each. Group A received an e-Writing method, whereas Group B received a Traditional writing classroom. The research instruments used for data collection were lesson plans, e-Writing program, learner perception questionnaires, interview questions, and English writing test (Pretest and Posttest). The quantitative data were collected and analyzed using average, standard deviation, and t-test. Interview data was analyzed by means of content analysis. The quantitative finding revealed that the English writing ability of the students group under e-Writing teaching was significantly higher than the controlling group at the .001 level. From the questionnaire results, the overall levels of satisfaction and autonomous learning after receiving the e-Writing program were found to be good. Additionally, the interview results showed that the students seemed to enjoy the lessons more in the e-Writing which appeared to promote more learner autonomy than the traditional writing classroom. Recommendations were made and presented in two categories: benefits of future practice and further research.