Unfolding the Potential of Technology-Enhanced Task-Based Language Teaching for Improving EFL Students’ Descriptive Writing Skill

Abstract

The chief purpose of the research was to investigate the influence of a technologymediated task-based language teaching on students’ descriptive writing performance in a Thai English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The technological application used in the study was the FlipGrid application which is a free online platform from Microsoft. The participants of the study involved a purposively selected 29 2nd year university students enrolled at one of the provincial universities located in the North Eastern part of Thailand. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods type of research involving both quantitative and qualitative parts. Quantitative data were collected from the students’ pre-and post- writing performances and four descriptive writing quizzes whilst qualitative data were gathered from the semi-structured interview’ responses of the students. Study findings found that descriptive writing performance in terms of task response, coherence-cohesion, grammatical range and accuracy, and lexical resource, were significantly improved as indicated on students’ pre- and post- test results. Furthermore, all four writing quizzes revealed an increasing trend with “grammatical range and accuracy” as the most improved writing component whilst “coherence-cohesion” was the least improved one. Meanwhile, the qualitative results disclosed that students felt that TBLT approach with FLipGrid application was the most pedagogically innovative and a learner-centered approach that trains them to become more collaborative, communicative, and interactive, enabling them to produce effective descriptive written products. Suggestions for possible research agenda with regard to technology-enhanced TBLT are also proposed and practical implications are suggested.