Student attitudes towards computer-assisted language learning and its effect on their EFL writing

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students towards the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) programs and their perceived view on an online writing system that was developed in the present study by means of a questionnaire as well as an asynchronous discussion forum. An online writing system was developed and a sample of 30 EFL learners, studying at Sharif University of Technology in Iran, was assigned to the study. The CALL attitudes of the participants were assessed by a CALL questionnaire, which indicated that Iranian students attached a high value to CALL. Moreover, the comments of the participants that were posted on a discussion forum were analysed with the aid of Henri’s framework (1992), which revealed the presence of certain concepts and themes within the views of learners towards the use of computers in their educational settings.   Keywords: Computer-assisted instruction (CAI), computer-assisted language learning (CALL), EFL writing, student attitudes.