IMPACT OF ONLINE INSTRUCTION ON EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS

Abstract

            This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of online method of instruction on the development of the writing skills of EFL learners. Various methodologies have evolved over time for teaching language. Teachers in Pakistan have traditionally used the Grammar Translation Method for EFL teaching. However, information technology has revolutionized educational settings, especially in the post-COVID-19 environment. The entire teaching practice was carried out online during COVID-19 and both the teachers & students compulsorily switched to this medium of teaching acquainting all to this new method. Therefore, there was a need to study the impact of online teaching on the development of writing skills of EFL learners.  This experimental study (quasi-experimental design) investigated the impact of various online techniques on developing the writing skills of intermediate-level EFL students in the Capital district of Islamabad. The subjects of the research were 30 male students of Islamabad Model College for Boys, Pakistan Town, Phase-I, Islamabad. They were divided into two groups of 15 students in the science group and 15 in the humanities group.  The study continued for fourteen weeks. A pretest was conducted to establish the equivalence among participants. The pre-test essays were rated with the help of Paulus' (1999) Essay Scoring Rubric. The study also compared the performance of students in the Science and the Arts groups. The data was analysed using SPSS to establish the impact of the frequency of participation in online activities on the writing development of students. The aspects of writing skills that were analysed included organization, development, vocabulary, coherence, structure and mechanics. The overall findings indicated that the learners who had better frequency of participation in online activities wrote better essays than those who participated with a lower rate of participation.