The use of digital tools for writing instruction in EFL : a case study

Abstract

The use of digital tools in education has become an indispensable alternative for a more efficient and motivating approach to the teaching of foreign languages (KRAJKA, 2000). However, while a large number of studies have been reported in this research area, little has been explored about the use of digital tools for writing instruction in EFL. This work, therefore, aims to analyze a teacher’s perception of the use of digital tools for the teaching of textual genres and its contributions to the process of teaching and learning writing in English as a foreign language. The theoretical framework of this work is based on the notion of genre presented in Bakhtin (1997) and on the contributions of Dolz and Schneuwly (2004) and Marcuschi (2005) on the teaching of languages based on textual genres. The research also relies on Xavier (2005) who addresses themes such as the concept of digital genres and the importance of their insertion in the educational context. This research is also based on Krajka (2000), Dudeney and Hockly (2008), Bingimlas (2009), and Sweeny (2010;) who support teaching mediated by digital technologies. The corpus consists of a transcribed interview carried out with a teacher of English. The findings indicate a positive attitude of the teacher regarding the incorporation of digital tools for writing instruction. Furthermore, this research demonstrates that the teacher’s confidence when integrating digital tools in the classroom can be positively influenced by the following factors: level of digital literacy, technology training, and technical support from the school. The conclusion reached in this work is that digital tools are great resources for the development of writing practice in English and, if used properly, they can improve the students’ writing capacities.