A socio-cognitive approach to the development of EFL writing skills through a collaborative online discussion forum in a university course

Abstract

This paper reports on a two-stage research project carried out by Dalla Costa and Gava (2016, 2017) aimed at analysing the impact of an online discussion forum (ODF) as a pre-writing activity on the students productions and perceptions. The study was carried out in the virtual classroom using the Moodle learning platform of an English Language II course at Facultad de Lenguas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), in which ICTs are employed to promote a sociocognitive approach to the development of writing skills. The findings show that the cognitive and social opportunities afforded by ICTs seem to favour the collaborative construction of knowledge through online dialogue and the application of higher order thinking skills. Further investigations could help corroborate these findings and enrich our perspective of the use of online tools to promote the practice of EFL writing skills at college level in this increasingly digital age.