Maximizing Exposure to Online Tasks to Improve Critical Thinking and Academic Writing Achievement

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effects of online tasks on improving critical thinking and academic writing achievement of Iranian EFL learners. To perform this study, 150 Iranian EFL learners studying English in a private Language Institute in Isfahan were selected. They took an Oxford Placement Test and 100 intermediate-levels were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. Then, both groups were given a pre-test of writing and critical thinking questionnaire before the treatments sessions to determine the participants' writing ability and critical thinking at the beginning of the research period.  During the treatments, both groups were taught writing courses. The experimental group received the courses through online program while the control group received traditional teaching of the writing courses. Having finished the treatments, the learners in the both groups were given the post-test of writing ability and critical thinking questionnaire. Data were analyzed through Independent Samples t-test to test the hypotheses of this study. The findings revealed that writing ability of the experimental group improved after the instruction while the instruction did not have significant effect on developing writing ability of the control group. In other words, the experimental group outperformed the control group at the significant level. Moreover, critical thinking ability of both experimental and control group did not improved after the instruction.