Wiki-based Collaborative Writing in EFL Classrooms: Writing Accuracy in Focus

Wikis, as one of the Web social networking tools, have been increasingly integrated into second language instruction to promote collaborative writing. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of wikis as a collaborative tool affected language learners’ writing accuracy. To this end, 72 EFL learners were selected from a language institute in Gachsaran, Iran. The selection of participants were based on the results of their OPT test scores (among 80 students). They were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. The participants of experimental group were asked to upload their writing assignments in the teacher- created wiki site where they edited and corrected their classmates’ writings and sometimes discussed their writing topics. On the other hand, the control group delivered their writing assignments to the teacher for corrections and corrective comments. The participants’ performances in pre-test and post-test were compared. The obtained results indicated that the participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group in terms of writing accuracy. The results confirmed the positive effect of teaching writing through wiki.