Research Info

The present study aimed at investigating the complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) integrated writing assessment in online versus traditional mode. To this end, a total of 44 EFL undergraduate female students, who majored in English Language and Literature at Persian Gulf University (PGU) in Bushehr, Iran were selected by convenience sampling to participate in this study. They were all intermediate learners of English. They received integrated writing instruction for the whole semester (16 weeks). A quasi-experimental approach was adopted in this study. Data was collected by giving the participants a reading prompt on a specific topic in both online and traditional groups and asking them to write an integrated essay using the content of the source text. Online participants used LMS (Learning Management System) as a virtual classroom for uploading integrated essays produced through Microsoft Word and students in the face-to-face group did the task using pencils and papers in a classroom. Among CAF triad, accuracy and fluency were divided into branches. Lexical, morphological and syntactic accuracy were the sub-components of accuracy and fluency was categorized into wordcount and sentence- count fluency. CAF triad was assessed based on the global measurements of writing and integrated writing essays were analyzed holistically using the TOEFL integrated rubric. The results of analysis using independent samples t-tests revealed that the mean scores related to complexity, morphological accuracy, word-count fluency and integrated writing in the online group was more than those of the traditional mode. On the other hand, the traditional group was more competent in lexical accuracy, syntactic accuracy and sentence-count fluency compared to the online group’s performance. The study provides several implications for improving the integrated writing practice.