Using Online Tools to Help Students Elevate Lexical Range in English-as-a-Foreign-Language Writing

Different automated writing evaluation tools have been applied in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL)/English-as-a-second-language (ESL) writing instruction to facilitate feedback giving and enhance writing quality. Yet they fail to provide needs-driven focused feedback that takes account of learner differences and that drives learning. In the Vietnamese tertiary context where I taught the EFL writing course for the present innovation, vocabulary was underscored as one of the key dimensions to be assessed in students’ EFL writing performance. However, many students were not certain about what they could practically do to elevate lexical range in their EFL writing. They tended to use overtly easy words or else they repeated words that have been used to a large extent. This classroom innovation responded to these lexical problems and the recent calls for the instructional pedagogies to provide needs-driven feedback that empowers learners to explore and edit their writing by themselves. It guided students to expand their lexical range in EFL writing through use of online dictionaries and Text Analyzer, a free online tool to find the Common European Framework of Reference level of their written text. The innovation afforded the students the autonomy to explore, reflect on their lexical use and make informed changes about it. The pedagogical values of the innovation were reported from students’ perspectives and my experience as their class teacher. In light of these benefits, future pedagogical directions for upgrading lexical use in EFL writing are further discussed.