Use of Computer Assisted Language Learning for Improving Esl Learners` Academic Writing Skills

Abstract

Poor performance in academic writing skills, lack of innovative strategies and technology for language teaching and learning (Embogama, 2010, Maharoof, 2014, Ratwawatte, 2012) are some of the major areas which should be focused when teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. Therefore, the main focus of the current study was to find out the effectiveness of developing academic writing skills among ESL learners in a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) environment. For the study setting, the researcher chose one of the state universities in Sri Lanka where the language lecturers do not use CALL to maximize the language learning opportunities for undergraduates off campus. To achieve the purpose of the study, an experimental study was designed, and it was conducted for eleven weeks which had randomly selected 54 second year undergraduates in the sample. Then the participants were randomly assigned for experimental and control groups. Those who were in the experimental group worked in CALL while the control group worked in class. The data were analyzed using mix method approach. The findings indicate that both learning modes have advantages for improving academic writing skills. Thus the introduction of blended learning is recommended while successfully addressing issues in both learning modes. It is believed that the knowledge obtained in this study can make contributions to the field of CALL and applied linguistics.