Changes in Students' Collaborative Writing Behaviour as a Result of the Wiki's Implementation in EFL Writing Classes

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine Addis Ababa Science and Technology University Engineering students’ views of wiki-based collaborative writing and the type of collaborative writing behavior exhibited while utilizing the wiki. For 10 weeks, the participants were joined in an essay-writing course that was linked with the wiki platform via http://befikadulemma.pbworks.com. The participants were selected using random sampling techniques. Questionnaires and students sample essays were sources of data. All students completed questionnaires; eight pairs were selected randomly to collect sample essays from the wiki interface. In the current study, a mixed research design was employed. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. Students' perceptions of using a wiki and their technological self-efficacy were considered to analyze the quantitative data. Students viewed the use of wiki-based collaborative writing to develop their writing abilities favorably. Students' sample essays were also taken from wiki-discussion and history pages and analyzed qualitatively to identify the type of collaborative writing behavior they developed. The analysis was done thematically by considering the types of posts (content-related, language-related, phatic communication related, procedure-related, and product-related) they made and the types of revisions (surface and meaning-related changes) they carried out. The findings indicated that students showed both collaborative and non-collaborative behavior during the process of using wiki-based collaborative writing. Finally, EFL instructors have to train students on how to use technologies such as a wiki in their writing classes.