Developing EFL Learners’ Referential and Expressive Types of Writing Implementing Project-Based Procedure: Achievements and Perceptions

This mixed-method study is an attempt to investigate the effects of the Project-based expressive and referential types of writing instruction on the Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing skill, and to explore the views of the learners towards implementation of project-based instruction (PBI). The convenience sampling procedure was used to select the participants of this study. The present study was conducted at Islamic Azad University, the South and Central Tehran branches. The initial population of the study was 60 EFL students (male and female) enrolling in B.A. English language translation program who took the advanced writing course. After administering Oxford placement test (OPT) as an English proficiency test, 50 participants were selected as the participants of the study based on the OPT results. The participants were randomly assigned to two experimental groups, namely experimental group A and experimental group B. The experimental A group received the instruction based on PBI in the referential writing form, and the experimental B group received the treatment according to PBI in expressive writing type. IELTS writing task 2 was administered as the pretest and posttest of the study. At the end of the study, the semi-structured interview was administered, and 20 EFL students from two experimental groups were randomly interviewed to explore their views towards PBI implementation. The quantitative results showed that project-based expressive and referential types of writing instruction had significant effects on the development of writing skill among EFL learners. an‎d also the results indicated that there was statistically significant difference between the effect of project-based referential and expressive types of instruction on writing skill among EFL learners. The experimental B group outperformed the experimental A in improving writing skill. The qualitative results revealed that the participants adopted significantly positive attitude towards the implementation of PBI in the writing course. The pedagogical implications of the study are discussed at the end of the paper.