Mastering WRITING has always proved an almost insurmountable barrier to EFL learners. In an attempt to alleviate problems advanced EFL learners have with WRITING, this study aimed at investigating the effect of scaffolded instruction through WRITING frames constructed from extended prefabricated lexical bundles. 40 female advanced English students, selected out of a population of 65, were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The participants of both groups were assigned a WRITING pre-test prior to any instruction, and a WRITING post-test following the twenty-session scaffolded instruction in both groups. The results revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group as a result of the WRITING frames they were provided with. Overall, it is concluded that scaffolded instruction through WRITING frames can be a useful means of helping advanced students to improve their WRITING quality.

To explore the effectiveness of flipped instruction in influencing second language learning outcomes, the current research investigated the contribution of flipped classrooms of an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) WRITING course to Iranian learners’ WRITING development and WRITING motivation. In so doing, two intact classes were chosen as the participants (N=43) of this research and they were randomly assigned to a Control Group (N = 18) and an Experimental Group (N = 25). During one semester, the Control Group underwent the traditional WRITING instruction, while the Experimental Group received a flipped WRITING instruction. Second Language WRITING Motivation Scale (SLWMS) and two timed WRITING tasks were given to gather the required data. The results demonstrated that the flipped method of teaching was substantially effective in improving the L2 WRITING performance of the experimental group (F=22. 20, p = 0. 000, partial eta squared = 0. 35). Also, the results indicated that the flipped instruction had a statistically significant effect on learners’ WRITING motivation (F= 51. 67, p = 0. 000, partial eta squared = 0. 56). The findings have remarkable implications for L2 WRITING methodology.

The present study examined relationships among critical thinking, WRITING strategy use, second/foreign language (L2) WRITING anxiety, and L2 WRITING performance of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, 100 homogenized EFL learners (57 female learners and 43 male learners) filled out Facione and Facione’ s (1993) California Critical Thinking Skills Test-form B (CCRST), Petric and Czarl’ s (2003) WRITING Strategy Questionnaire (WSQ), Cheng’ s (2004) Second Language WRITING Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and the second task of the academic version of IELTS exam. Multiple correlation analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between L2 WRITING performance and WRITING strategy use; and L2 WRITING performance and critical thinking. Results also revealed a significant negative relationship between L2 WRITING performance and L2 WRITING anxiety. Furthermore, it was found that L2 WRITING anxiety was a stronger predictor of L2 WRITING performance. Additionally, the results of one-way MANOVA showed a significant difference between Iranian male and female EFL learners regarding both their L2 WRITING performance and L2 WRITING anxiety. These results emphasize the inclusion of pre-planned WRITING sessions for Iranian EFL learners which can help foster critical thinking skills and WRITING strategy use, reduce L2 WRITING anxiety and hopefully, improve their L2 WRITING ability.

The present study examined the effect of four types of post reading-based tasks with different index of task-induced involvement load (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001) on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of unfamiliar L2 vocabularies. To this end, 88 intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups and were instructed to employ four different tasks after reading two narrative texts: (1) simple sentence WRITING; (2) text summary WRITING; (3) creative sentence WRITING; and (4) imaginary story WRITING. A day after the output activity session, the participants took two post-tests: the production test and the recognition test. Three weeks later, the delayed post-tests were administered. Mixed ANOVA (Split-plot) was run to compare the performances of the groups on immediate and delayed post-tests. The results revealed that there were overall significant within-group and between-group differences among four groups of the study both in immediate and delayed posttests. The creative sentence WRITING group outperformed in comparison to the other three groups. The results of this study turned out to be partially consistent with involvement load hypothesis.

The use of Web 2. 0 technology in language education has received much research attention quite recently. In an attempt to shed more light on the use of Google Docs as a kind of Web 2. 0 technology in language learning, the purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of online collaborative WRITING using Google Docs and collaborative WRITING in a face-to-face classroom on the WRITING performance and WRITING self-regulation of EFL learners. A sample of 38 homogeneous intermediate learners was recruited as the participants who were then randomly divided to an experimental group (N = 19) and a control group (N = 19). The participants of the experimental group received online collaborative WRITING using Google Docs while the control group received collaborative WRITING in the face-to-face classroom. Two timed-WRITING tasks and the Second Language WRITING Self-regulation (SLWS) scale were administered to gather the data. The results obtained from performing paired-samples t-tests and ANCOVA revealed that collaborative WRITING both via using Google Docs and in the face-toface classroom significantly enhanced the WRITING performance and WRITING self-regulation of the participants. However, the gains experienced by the experimental group were significantly higher than those experienced by the control group. Pedagogical implications for Google Docs-supported collaborative WRITING are finally discussed.