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Developing autonomy in English writing skills: a study on EFL learners’ selection criteria of open access and online self-correction tools

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2023-03-03
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Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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In this study, we carry out a comparative analysis of the functionalities of a repository of 11 open access and online self-correction tools that contribute to the development of English writing skills and self-learning abilities in online and distance English Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts. The repository has been designed based on Al-Ahdal’s (2020) taxonomy of self-correction online tools and the embedded resources for each tool (description of the tool, video tutorials and a checklist of the functionalities) have been hosted in an institutional blog. The second objective of our study entails the wide circulation of the repository among EFL learners to explore their learning experience with the navigation and the use of the tools with their own written productions, as measured via a tailor-made research survey. The EFL learners’ experience will contribute to shed light on establishing selection criteria for the use of one tool over another based on the users’ learning objectives in proofreading their own written productions with the aid of technological tools. The results of this study have revealed that there are common functionalities among the interface of the 11 open access and online tools available in the repository, namely, the identification of spelling and grammar errors, along with the display of synonyms for words that have not been used in an adequate linguistic context. However, some differences have been observed and, in particular, the inclusion of more advanced functionalities in certain tools of the repository. As for the EFL learners’ experience with the navigation and their self-correction practice with some of their own written productions, our findings have evidenced that, although all the tools provide a user-friendly interface, Hemingway, LanguageTool and Spell Check Plus have been reported to be more intuitive in terms of the navigation through their functionalities. Furthermore, the resources available in the repository have been considered to be highly effective in contributing to encourage learners in the process of writing texts and, in particular, for those learners that reported to have low digital competence. Finally, Hemingway, Spell Check Plus and Grammarly have been pointed out by the respondents of the survey that exhibiting a significant utility impact on improving the quality of English written texts, as explained by the functionalities that they offer.
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Categorías UNESCO
Palabras clave
blog, English, self-correction, writing
Citación
Sánchez Calderón S. y da Cunha Fanego I. (2023). Developing autonomy in English writing skills: a study on EFL learners’ selection criteria of open access and online self-correction tools. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 95, 95-112. https://doi.org/10.5209/clac.84416
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Facultad de Filología
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Filologías Extranjeras y sus Lingüísticas
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