Effectiveness of using technology in learning english writing of legal english students of ho chi minh city university of law

DEGREE IN ENGLISH EFFECTIVENESS OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING OF LEGAL ENGLISH STUDENTS OF HO CHI MINH CITY... v ABSTRACT The study investigates the effectiveness of

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF LAW FACULTY OF LEGAL LANGUAGES

GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH

EFFECTIVENESS OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING OF LEGAL ENGLISH STUDENTS OF HO CHI MINH CITY

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY

I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work and has not been previously included in a thesis or dissertation submitted to this or any other institution for a degree, diploma, or other qualifications

As the author of this study, I present myself as an up-and-coming specialist in the field of the English language, with a particular interest in applying technology to English writing instruction As a senior in the Legal Faculty of Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, I have amassed a vast amount of knowledge through the numerous coursework and research assignments assigned to me throughout my academic career The combination of my theoretical and practical knowledge of language learning and education within the context of the English language curriculum positions me as an authority on the subject In addition, my personal experience as a student in the Legal Eglish Faculty has given me insight into the significance of English writing in the future profession and what students may need to succeed in a globally-oriented industry where proficiency in writing, among other essential skills,

is crucial

As such, I present myself at this juncture as a respected partner willing to collaborate with instructional professionals in the field to develop well-informed strategies based on the study's findings and recommendations

Ho Chi Minh City, June 21, 2023

Duong Thi Thu Dao

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Even though I wrote my thesis, I wouldn't have been able to complete it without the help of my friends and family I am writing to express my gratitude to everyone who has offered encouragement and support while I work on my thesis My self-assurance has been bolstered, and my resolve strengthened by the comments, recommendations, and praise I've received

I owe outstanding gratitude to Mrs Pham Thi Phuong Anh, my advisor, who spent many hours helping me complete my thesis Thesis work is already challenging and time-consuming, and it would be much more so without the teacher's careful supervision Due to my lack of previous research experience at university, this project

is both an exciting and daunting opportunity

In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to our current and former instructors and the other lecturers in the Legal English department All of our instructors provided us with the most essential information in the field In addition, the instructors' energy is the primary reason I want to complete the thesis As a culminating experience in my undergraduate career, I want to do original research I would like to thank Mr Luong Minh Hieu, our head teacher, for always responding promptly to our queries I'd also like to thank the faculty and staff at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law and so many others

Finally, I want to thank my loved ones for supporting me throughout my life, keeping me safe, and allowing me to make this choice When I'm most vulnerable,

my family is there to unconditionally love and cheer me on as I progress through life

I owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents for providing me a first-rate place to study and develop my skills

So many people cheer me on at this critical turning point that I would be here all day if I named everyone who has supported me in silence over the last several months Last but not least, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the individuals

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ABSTRACT

The study investigates the effectiveness of technology in improving English writing skills among students in the Legal Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law The research aims to identify the most effective form of technology for improving English writing skills and to understand students' perceptions of using technology for learning Two main research questions guide this study: What is the most effective application to improve English writing skills among Ho Chi Minh City University of Law students? And, what are the perceptions of students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law about using technology to learn writing skills?

A survey and interviews were conducted with Legal Faculty students as part of

a mixed-methods study designed to address these issues The survey data investigates how frequently and effectively students use various technological applications to enhance their command of the English language In contrast, the interview data aims

to shed light on how students perceive the efficacy of such educational approaches After conducting research, the author concluded that Grammarly is the most effective application for acquiring English writing skills among students of the Legal English Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law In addition, most students positively perceive using technology to teach writing skills

The outcomes of this study can potentially improve the teaching and learning of English composition at the Legal English Faculty by recommending effective technological combinations for this purpose The findings also propose methods in which English composition instructors may incorporate students' preferable technological applications In addition, the overarching objective of the research is to improve communication between educators and their students by increasing the latter's understanding of the former's attitudes towards the application of technology

to the study of English

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF FIGURES ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the Study 1

1.2 Rationale 2

1.3 Aims Of The Study 4

1.4 Scope of the Study 4

1.5 The Significance of the Study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Technology 6

2.1.1 What is technology? 6

2.1.2 Technology in Learning English Language 7

2.1.3 Forms of technology used to improve writing skills 12

2.1.3.1 Google Docs 12

2.1.3.2 Grammarly 13

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2.1.3.3 Electronic Portfolios 13

2.1.3.4 Facebook 14

2.1.3.5 Moodle 14

2.1.3.6 Blog 15

2.1.3.7 Wiki 15

2.2 Writing Skills 16

2.2.1 Definition of writing skills 16

2.2.2 Importance of writing skills 17

2.2.3 Challenges in learning writing skills 18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 21

3.1 Participants 22

3.2 Study design 22

3.3 Data procedure 23

3.3.1 Data collection 23

3.3.2 Data Analysis 23

CHAPTER 4: RESULT 24

4.1 Research Question 1 25

4.2 Research Question 2 27

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 35

5.1 Conclusion 35

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5.2 Limitations of the Study 35

5.3 Further Study 36

REFERENCES 37

APPENDIX 46

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 In your opinion, writing skill is… 24 Figure 2.What is the most challenging stage when you write? 24 Figure 3.Do forms of technology (writing tools) help you in solving problems? 25 Figure 4 How often do you use forms of technology in learning writing skills? 26 Figure 5.Which is the most effective form of technology for learning writing skills? 27 Figure 6 The advantages of using forms of technology in learning writing are… 28 Figure 7.The disadvantage of using technology in learning writing is that… 29 Figure 8 Do the advantages of using technology in learning writing outweigh its disadvantages? 32

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study

Friggard (2002), Miner (2004), and Timucin (2006) all concur that the use of technology in the classroom contributes to the growth of both pedagogical practices and students' understanding The fundamental reason is that in today's environment, knowledge is more accessible than ever because of the widespread availability of technological tools For example, recent data suggests 5 billion mobile phone users globally (eWeek, 2017) Users may access any training and instructional content whenever and wherever they choose, thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices like PDAs, mobile phones, iPods, laptops, Tablet P.C.s, and wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G, 4G, and satellite systems With the advent of CALL (computer-assisted language learning) programs and networked settings (e.g., Lafford, 2009), information technology has also played an essential part in learning foreign languages

Solanki and Shyamlee (2012) and Pourhosein Gilakjani (2017) agree that technological advancements have altered language instruction practices They said that using technology in this way enables students to tailor their education to their passions Students' auditory and visual needs are met Lam and Lawrence (2002) and Pourhosein Gilakjani (2017) argue that students benefit from technology because it allows them to personalize their Education and access resources that traditional classrooms cannot provide

The English language is now the most widely used and studied international language Rao (2019) claims that English's global reach has resulted in almost 360 million native and 500 million non-native speakers Moreover, Szmigiera (2022) says that English is spoken by around one-third of the world's population, or 1.5 billion people Nishanthi (2018) adds that English's usefulness has been recognized in fields

as diverse as medicine, engineering, and teaching People all across the globe utilize English as a foreign language to act as brokers of growth by sharing, exchanging, and

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acquiring information and expertise with one another Each country's citizens should

be fluent in English if they are to benefit from these changes

Writing is one of the four basic skills of English proficiency and is seen as "a basic communication skill and a unique asset in the process of learning a language" (Chastain, 1988, p 244) As one of the four primary linguistic abilities that all language students must acquire, Banat (2007) emphasized the importance of writing

to students' ability to communicate and grasp the interconnected nature of the language's many components Writing is both an internal and external process, requiring one to think about what one wants and how to say it and then lay down those thoughts in a manner that makes sense to the reader (Sokolik, 2003)

1.2 Rationale

As more and more cutting-edge tools become accessible in classrooms, it is vital

to assess how well they are being used (Iriti et al., 2016) Boosting student learning outcomes, broadening access to education, and increasing student engagement are just a few examples of the many reasons to include technology in the classroom (Bower, 2017) In addition, several high-quality meta-analyses (Clark et al., 2016; Merchant et al., 2014) find that technology usage has a constant, somewhat favorable impact size

In addition, some studies show the effectiveness of integrating technology in learning and teaching languages, especially English Students' abilities to synthesize information, participate with digital material and challenging text, and use their comments to express ideas were all enhanced when Shamburg and Craighead (2009) had them use computer programs to remix video and audio from their lives with the words of Shakespeare's plays After incorporating new literacy practices into their study of 1920s American literature, Gainer and Lapp (2010) concluded that such initiatives had the "potential to expand students' understandings about race, history, society, and their participation" (p 60) Kimbell-Lopez et al (2018) developed a process for incorporating digital storytelling in the classroom They argued that it

As a result of the integration of technology in education, technology has positively impacted English students' writing skills Weblog-based procedures (Azari, 2017), smartphones, handheld devices, and personal digital assistants (Shadiev et al., 2017) are examples of cutting-edge tech that recently garnered attention as valuable ways to enhance ELLs' writing abilities In addition, according

to researchers, computer-supported collaborative writing settings, such as Facebook (Dizon, 2016) and Google Docs (Abrams, 2016), have also been shown to improve ELLs' writing abilities In the same way, both Zou et al (2016) and Wang (2015) discovered that Wiki-based collaborative writing helped ELLs improve their writing abilities In addition, although seemingly straightforward, word-processing software

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has been demonstrated to favor ELLs more favorably than traditional note-taking methods (Zhu et al., 2016)

Therefore, the author will concentrate on the effectiveness of technology used

in class to improve English writing skills at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law because students and graduates of the university are expected to have good English writing skills to work and deal with documents in the international law field

1.3 Aims Of The Study

The Industrial 4.0 era's advancements in information and communication technology have significantly impacted the educational system worldwide, particularly at universities and institutions of higher learning (Syakur, 2017) Furthermore, specific educational technology applications have been demonstrated

to increase student learning outcomes (Schmid et al., 2014; Tamim et al., 2011) Therefore, the study's first aim is to explore the most effective applications to improve students' writing among numerous technological advances

The authors will then discover the English students' perceptions about applying technology in their learning process, especially in learning writing skills From their perception, the study will evaluate the effectiveness of integrating technology in improving writing skills

This study intends to achieve these goals by answering the following two research questions:

1 What is the most effective form of technology to improve the English writing skills of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law students?

2 What are the perceptions of Legal English students at the Chi Minh City University of Law about using technology to learn writing skills?

1.4 Scope of the Study

The thesis incorporates results from interviews and surveys administered to Legal English students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, a school focusing on

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law education and training The juniors and seniors who have completed the university's requirements are expected to have good writing skills because of their professions in law and their duties, such as writing for clients, briefs, contracts, memorandums, motions, and more

In addition, current students of the university are Generation Z As M Prensky (2001) argues, no previous generation has grown up in an era when technology is so freely accessible to children as today's Generation Z Therefore, the authors chose Legal English students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Law as research subjects

1.5 The Significance of the Study

This thesis aims to identify, among the many forms of technology available to students today for improving their writing, the one that has shown to be the most widely utilized and effective Readers who want to improve their English writing skills will be exposed to beneficial feedback from students who use modern technology

In addition, students' perceptions about using technology to enhance their English writing education will be allayed The investigated application's effectiveness may be shown via the students' tool use Both educators and students can benefit from the final finding to enhance effective learning and teaching using technology

These differences also inspire an early conception of technology in terms of artificial functions, seeing technologies as beings producing desirable outcomes: Technologies, by definition, are things that generate artificial functionalities Moreover, second, as a result of a problem-solving procedure geared towards the future, one that represents the form of speech acts influenced by technological desires:

Another definition is that technologies result from a problem-solving process that alters the external environment to conform to an internal model to obtain an artificially-motivated result

The first definition is an engineer's viewpoint since it reflects how recently graduated engineers see technologies: as tools for addressing specific challenges The second view, which reflects managers' desires to enhance the process, may be called

an innovation or technology management view The names serve more as metaphors than actual designations in both instances

Artifacts, like software or organizational rules and regulations, are typical examples of what this technique produces "artificial" describes technologies' purposeful, human-made character, while "function" describes how humans put them

to work Automobiles serve their intended transportation purpose; medications alter

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biological processes; and screwdrivers turn screws A human heart may pump blood, but it is not technology since humans did not create it, and vice versa for waste, which was created by humans but serves no useful purpose and hence cannot be considered technology

John Searle, whose language we use here, argues that functions are not inherent

to the universe but imposed by observers (also see Meijers, 2009) Planets, mountains, and molecules all have an intrinsic nature that would persist without humanity On the other hand, imposed aspects of the world exist solely about observers' or users' intentionality (i.e., the aboutness of mental states) (Searle, 1995, p 6) So a screwdriver is only a screwdriver because it was produced as a screwdriver, is used

as a screwdriver, or is seen as a screwdriver (ibid), even though it has inherent features such as being composed of wood and metal While it contributes nothing physically

to the item, this attribute adds an epistemologically objective quality

These principles imply two-part thinking on technological objects is implied by these principles (Searle, 1995; Meijers, 2009) The first functional component reflects our expectations for the technology's performance The latter accurately depicts the underlying physical features that govern its behavior The efficacy of pharmaceuticals

in curing illnesses and umbrellas in keeping you dry during a rainstorm are two examples where the underlying physics plays a significant role

What technology depends not on its inherent physics but on the purpose that is placed on it? Even if a safety valve fails to prevent explosions due to a malfunction,

it is still a safety valve, as pointed out by Searle (1995, page 19) It would be beneficial to shift from seeing technology as a collection of artifacts to viewing it as

a complex of artifacts and knowledge since imposed functions determine what technologies are

2.1.2 Technology in Learning English Language

Education is crucial in today's evolving environment There is no denying the interconnected nature of education, the economy, and society in today's "knowledge

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economy," "network society," or "information age." Therefore, most modern types of education transformation and reform have been guided by two fundamental ideas and values: first, that a knowledge economy demands an information-skilled workforce, and second, that the path to an information-skilled society is through learning and education Consequently, the knowledge economy is "intrinsically related to education," as Roger Dale (2005, p.118) explains Education is framed as an ongoing issue, true to the "lifelong learning" philosophy that incorporates formal and informal learning opportunities at all stages of one's existence

The importance of digital technology in education constitutes the basis of the information era, the knowledge economy, and the digital society It should come as

no surprise after this little overview that most experts consider digital technology an integral part of today's educational systems The debates that heated up in the 1980s and 1990s over whether or not digital technology education should be mandatory have been settled, sometimes referred to as the "issue of computer literacy." Incorporating computers into K-12, higher education, and professional development settings and the remote delivery of online courses and training has recently gained general support as a necessary component of lifelong learning The "informal" learning methods inspired by broad interests, pastimes, and hobbies outside the traditional curriculum also include digital technology and media as implicit parts Digital technology is becoming vital yet inconspicuous in educational settings and arrangements worldwide

According to Clint Wallington, when it comes to schools, "technology in education" refers to applications of digital technologies in educational institutions or systems

According to Benjamin Herold, one computer is provided for every five students in U.S public schools, and other forms of technology are pervasive throughout the educational system They annually invest over $3 billion in online media There is now a nationwide push, spearheaded by the federal government, to

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connect even the most distant and rural schools to inexpensive broadband connections and free online teaching tools Also, in 2015–16, technology will give more state-standardized examinations for elementary and middle school students than paper and pencil

There is the thriving ed-tech sector, where large corporations and fledgling businesses are fighting for an annual market for hardware and software that tops $8 billion The "early adopters" are also highlighted: the schools, districts, and educators making the most innovative and fruitful use of the available resources

One of the most notable aspects of the last thirty years has been the steady improvement of digital technology Many observers have pointed to the rapid expansion of digital technologies like computers, the Internet, and mobile phones as

a primary reason for the progress of societies all around the globe "We know that technology does not determine society; it is society," wrote Manuel Castells (2006, page 3) As a result, the so-called "digital age" has brought about vast improvements

in the quality of life for many individuals Eliminating some of the 'frictions' and limitations of the natural world is seen as one of the numerous advantages of today's digital era There was significant discussion in the late 20th century about how technology would lead to a "time-space compression," "death of distance," "end of geography," and a preference for "virtual" over "material" arrangements Like the excitement around the telegraph, telephone, and steamship in the late nineteenth century, many believed that digital technology would help redefine what it meant to live and work in different parts of the globe

However, "technology ineducation"n is sometimes confused with "educational technology." The book Foundations of Educational Technology defines educational technology as "the disciplined application of knowledge to improve learning, instruction, and/or performance " The term "educational technology" is also a broad field encompassing various activities related to analyzing learning difficulties and developing, deploying, evaluating, and managing effective solutions The solutions

of their communities (R.Iyeangar, 2020) Sustainable management has been necessary for the education industry to adapt to the changes brought on by digital transformation ( Emilio Abad-Segura et al., 2020)

These days, students use the Internet for schoolwork and extracurricular activities alike (Al-Maroof et al., 2021) Students are utilizing ICTs to learn formally and informally (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012), and this is especially true when they engage in constructivist activities with their classmates and teachers (Fridin, 2014) The collaborative learning theory (Khalifa & Kwok, 1999; Lambropoulos et al., 2012) agrees with this reasoning Podcasts (Lin et al., 2013; Merhi, 2015), films (Hung, 2016), and live-streaming technology (Payne et al., 2017) are all examples of digital resources that students may utilize to learn Consequently, Wang (2010) argues that online education encourages collaborative learning Students in a computer-mediated classroom can better collaborate on projects, assess each other's ideas, and keep tabs on each other's progress (Lambi, 2016; Sofano et al., 2015; Sung

et al., 2015)

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To better understand the academic or professional contexts that matter to students and to provide them with realistic experiences from a socially situated perspective, technology has offered vital tools for LSP Research in LSP is "aimed at

a deeper knowledge of texts and contexts" (Belcher, 2004, p 178), and the affordances of technology help make that possible Authentic texts, methods for analyzing them, and channels of internet connection are all made available thanks to technological advancements It has also developed into a potent instrument for helping students become fully integrated members of the discourse society For instance, Warschauer (2002) demonstrated that students could "network" into the academic discourse community through a process of gradual apprenticeship made possible by the Internet (i.e., the use of computer-mediated communication for classroom collaboration and further participation in authentic networks inside the broader dis- course community) Given the widespread usage of online communication in academic and professional communities, the Internet represents a teaching instrument and a learning objective (see Warschauer, 2002)

The Internet has also changed how we question LSP resources' reliability and accuracy The trend towards sharing open-access materials further emphasizes its ability to enable unrestricted access to various text formats and fields of expertise As

a result, students learning a language other than their native tongue have access to scholarly and professional discussion boards and other internet resources However,

as Garrett (2009) pointed out, using legitimate online materials alone does not constitute CALL; instead, the natural integration of technology requires the complex process of devising assignments that make the most of such materials In the EAP textbook by Barahona and Arno (2001), for instance, students were given examples

of tasks that required both critical thinking and language awareness by having them research and evaluate disciplinary- and education-specific resources while reflecting explicitly on language and genre features

Arno, Soler, and Rueda (2006b) examined the relationship between LSP and student characteristics and came up with a list of potential areas for technological

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integration, including (a) analyzing specialized language and genres, (b) online communication, (c) CALL applications, (d) distance and blended learning, and (e) student autonomy

2.1.3 Forms of technology used to improve writing skills

2.1.3.1 Google Docs

Google Docs may be used with other online learning tools, particularly synchronous learning This application offers instantaneous document editing, including spelling and punctuation corrections Users may also write together thanks

to this feature Therefore, Google Docs helps EFL students improve their writing (Valizadeh, 2022), allows them to collaborate (Handayani & Amelia, 2021; Hsu, 2020), and showcases fantastical events (Hidayat, 2020) The evidence suggests that using Google Docs fosters a productive classroom setting EFL students have also shown enthusiasm for using Google Docs in the classroom According to research by Zaky (2021), students are often receptive to using Google Docs because of the constructive criticism they get Students responded favorably to collaborative essay writing on Google Docs (Handayani & Amelia, 2021) According to Hoang & Hoang (2022), students found that collaborative Google Docs editing helped them develop their academic English writing skills

In research by Lin et al (2016), students found that making quick edits and seeing previous versions of their work was helpful Undoubtedly, Google Docs is a helpful tool that may help students improve their writing Alharbi (2019), Ishtaiwa and Aburezeq (2015), Bradley and Thousn (2017), and Ebadi and Rahimi (2017) have all cited Google Docs as a possible technology for e-feedback practices These studies show that Google Docs may be an effective tool for collaborative writing and editing among students since it allows them to create, share, and revise documents in real time Teachers and students may also use the commenting and replying features to exchange textual feedback (Alharbi, 2019) Alharbi (2019) found that students used Google Docs written comments to respond to criticism in various ways, such as

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explaining, questioning, clarifying, agreeing, disagreeing, and verifying their comprehension As long as there is an Internet connection, students may also have their edited texts immediately saved

2.1.3.2 Grammarly

Research shows that users who use Grammarly daily see gains in their writing skills For instance, Marliyanda, Wachyudi, and Kartini (2022) discovered that using Grammarly may be helpful while writing English theses in Indonesia, a nation with a population of several languages They concluded that using Grammarly can help one improve their written English, especially in areas such as switching from passive to active voice, using articles and determiners correctly, recognizing signs of plagiarism, and correctly aligning verbs Furthermore, using Grammarly to provide formative feedback to students learning a foreign language also influenced Ambarwati's study Besides, Huong's (2023) survey on the effects of English writing aids showed that

100 out of 160 respondents saw value in using Grammarly Moreover, the students felt their writing improved after using these online English writing resources

2.1.3.3 Electronic Portfolios

Research (by Sayed (2012)) looked at how electronic portfolios helped year prep school students improve their English writing Nader El-Riyadh Preparatory School provided the sample population (n=60) The 60 students were split evenly between the control and experimental groups of the same size Students

second-in the control group did not get teacher feedback or supervision while ussecond-ing the website, whereas those in the experimental group did Information was gathered via

a test given once the writing was completed The results showed that the experimental group's mean score was significantly higher than the control group's mean score at the (0.0 1) level of statistical significance Second-year prep school students saw significant gains in their writing abilities after using the electronic portfolio

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2.1.3.4 Facebook

Shih (2011) looked into how well a blended teaching strategy, in which

"Facebook" and peer evaluation are incorporated into traditional methods, could improve student learning in a college-level English composition course Twenty-three first-year English majors at a Taiwanese technological university took part, all enrolled in an English writing class for eighteen weeks The research incorporated both quantitative and qualitative methods Pre- and post-tests in English composition,

a student-created survey questionnaire, and in-depth interviews were used to collect data The results suggested that using Facebook for peer assessment in English writing lessons at the university level could be a fun and fruitful way to improve students' writing skills Cooperative learning complements traditional classroom instruction to help students learn and practice effective English writing Furthermore, incorporating "Facebook" into the classroom has been shown to increase students' engagement and enthusiasm

2.1.3.5 Moodle

Numerous researchers have considered Moodle for ESL/EFL writing classes Most of this research shows that students' writing improves after participating in the online session Al Fiky (2011), Behlol (2009), Garrison and Vaughan (2008), page

178, and Keshta and Harb (2013), page 211 all conducted studies demonstrating the efficacy of Moodle-based blended learning in enhancing students' proficiency in writing in English In Nagatomo's (2006) one-semester writing class for twenty-two English majors, he used action research to get more writing out of his students by having them use Moodle In addition to enhancing students' daily engagement in developing online homepages for discussion with classmates and self-study, the research shows that utilizing Moodle positively affects students' rising writing production

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2.1.3.6 Blog

Blogs are a powerful online resource for EFL educators looking to foster student writing development Many studies have shown Blogs (e.g., Sun, 2009 and Lee, 2010) to improve students' writing, feeling of community, ability to express themselves, and critical and analytical thinking in the classroom Weblogs can improve English in the context of ESP, according to the findings of a study conducted

by Arani (2005) on the topic among non-native speakers at Kashan University of Medical Sciences in Iran The students preferred writing on the weblog to more traditional methods

These results are consistent with Pardede's (2011) research on BALL (Blog Assisted Language Learning) as an auxiliary component in enhancing students' writing abilities at the Christian University of Indonesia According to the results, most participants found the concept of BALL as a writing development tool intriguing and valuable More than half said they had increased their writing output after joining BALL The online resources (legitimate articles, writing guides) they had easy access

to while blogging helped them immensely Other students' work served as a "mirror"

to look for mistakes and correct them Respondents were most inspired to keep contributing to the blog because they knew their words would reach readers all around the globe This realization prompted them to double-check their grammar and spelling

2.1.3.7 Wiki

Wiki is another useful educational tool that ELT teachers may utilize to help their students improve their writing Students at a private language school in Brazil tried out Wikis as a tool for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) at the low-intermediate level The information was compiled from two Wiki entries, and eight multiple-choice questions were answered in an online survey In a group environment, members used the Wiki to correct one another's work The findings

2.2 Writing Skills

2.2.1 Definition of writing skills

Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are the four cornerstones of language learning These abilities are complementary to one another and work seamlessly together Developing these abilities is crucial in any classroom, and Ouma (2005:74) argues that investigation into students' writing endeavors necessitates a thorough grasp of the other skills

According to Chastain (1988: 244), writing is "a basic communication skill and

a unique asset in the process of learning a language." Students are expected to hone their writing abilities in a classroom setting (Giridharan & Robson, 2011) and should practice regularly to improve their academic writing Although developing writing proficiency is widely seen as an important goal of language study (Vakili & Ebadi, 2019), it is also often regarded as the most challenging language ability for EFL students to acquire (Du, 2020; Jabali, 2018) Writing is a complex cognitive activity since it requires the student to simultaneously integrate numerous components of the target language, such as syntax, spelling, punctuation rules, etc (Dar & Khan, 2015)

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2.2.2 Importance of writing skills

The ability to put ideas down in writing is often seen as crucial to academic performance and students' overall growth and development as people (Mukulu et al.,

2006, p 52) The importance of writing to students' development of knowledge and understanding is further confirmed by Rao (2007:45) Ahmed (2010:121) argues that students' academic success is significantly impacted by their level of writing proficiency Furthermore, writing is often used to evaluate a student's performance

on tests and assignments

Writing is a crucial ability for students to master because it helps them effectively communicate their ideas, feelings, and expertise Knoch et al (2016) and Jani & Mellinger (2015) find that this technique aids authors in putting their emotions and ideas into coherent sentences and paragraphs In addition, it helps children grow

in self-assurance, linguistic competence, and imaginative capacity Learning to write well equips students to express themselves in various contexts and convey a wide range of ideas and emotions (Sulisworo et al., 2016)

Moreover, headhunters and potential employers know how you write—its style, cohesiveness, tone, and attitude—say a great deal about you In today's fiercely competitive job market, a candidate's CV has to stand out in more ways than simply the words on the page Communicating clearly and professionally in a foreign language might set you apart from the competition Because so few individuals are proficient in written English, having that skill puts you at an advantage in almost every career path you could choose According to a survey of 64 American businesses (Alla Kondrat, 2009), half examine a candidate's written work when making hiring and promotion decisions Therefore, students who are not native English speakers are particularly impacted by the current global trend toward creating tighter requirements for writing skills

The ability to write effectively (academically) is crucial in today's society, whether you are an English professor, a college student, or an office worker Essays,

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reports, presentations, and research papers are just a few examples of papers that should be written properly or academically since this is the intended audience In the past, non-native students may have been able to graduate without meeting the same high standards for writing as their native English-speaking peers However, this is no longer the case The current fad requires (in theory) that they be subjected to the exact writing competency requirements as native speakers

Writing, furthermore, is a process that unfolds over a while More practice in writing is necessary for the student's emotional and cognitive development (Sulisworo et al., 2016) It is a string of phrases strung together in an appropriate sequence and linked somehow The sentence constructions are similarly linked to form a unified whole In addition, a text may be made up of a sequence of sentences, with the first few serving as the text's introduction and the rest as its body Sentence-level control over the content, format, organization, and other associated linguistic components indicates that writing is a sophisticated cognitive process

2.2.3 Challenges in learning writing skills

Students of foreign languages often struggle when attempting to write in that language This ability has been identified as the most challenging for students in the classroom (Negari, 2012, p 61) Myles (2002:36) explains this scenario, arguing that many social and cognitive elements play a significant part in determining the causes

of students' challenges while attempting to write Writing is heavily influenced by social elements, including motivation and attitude (Myles, 2002, p 82) Students who take optimistic stances toward writing are more likely to succeed than their less optimistic counterparts (McGroarty, 1996, p 42)

Melati (2020) claims that writing is the most complex and complicated ability for native speakers to acquire In paragraph writing, EFL students often need to correct their writing Therefore, students struggle somewhat when attempting to write paragraphs The biggest problem might be a need for more experience in paragraph writing Students need to write regularly in order to be successful, as stated by

The next problem is in the additional clauses According to Yamin (2019), it is common for students to construct irrelevant or irrelevant-to-the-subject auxiliary clauses Ensuring the paragraph flows well and makes sense is one way to fix these problems In other words, students should ensure that the sentences flow smoothly from one to the next while constructing paragraphs Besides that, according to the available data (Al-Ahdal, 2020a; Al-Ahdal & Alqasham, 2020; Abdel Latif, 2019; Limpo, 2018; Mahfoodh, 2017), students' attitudes towards and anxieties about writing significantly impact their academic performance Poor linguistic abilities, writing anxiety, laziness, reliance on one's language, and insufficient frameworks are common problems among students (Fareed et al., 2016)

Students sometimes need help with writing effective closing lines Melati (2020) notes that students often need help to close off their statements properly It is

a big issue since many students need help recalling the crucial last sentence of the paragraph Students may solve this problem by writing effective concluding phrases that include a remark, suggestion, or reference Concerns about grammar are also present Novariana et al (2018) point out that students' most internal faults in paragraph writing are grammatical mistakes It also specifies that subject-verb agreements, pronoun references, and conjunctions are examples of grammatical problems Paragraph writing was acknowledged to be a cognitive challenge for many students According to Novariana et al (2018), multiple students have cognitive