THE EFFECTS OF ONLINE COLLABORATIVE WRITING TASKS THROUGH GOOGLE DOCS ON IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF COLLOCATION

Abstract
The present study aimed to explore the effects of online collaborative writing tasks through the use of Google Docs on EFL learners’ knowledge of collocations. The participants of the present study were 50 Iranian EFL learners at intermediate level of language proficiency. Learners were randomly divided into two groups of 25 learners: one group as the control and the other one as the experimental group. Before the treatment, collocation test, as a pre-test was run for both groups. For the control group, the conventional method of instruction was used. But learners in experimental group adhered in online writing classes for ten weeks as an outside classroom work. After the research treatments, the learners were given 50-item collocation test as a post-test. The aim of this test was to evaluate students' knowledge of collocation after treatment. The post-test consisted of the same version of the pre-test that was run after completing the tasks to evaluate students' collocation growth. The results of these tests were contrasted to identify the effects of treatment. At the next phase, the interview was run for learners in experimental group to find out their opinions about collaborative writing tasks through Google Docs. The results of comparison of experimental group’s pre and post-test scores revealed that collaborative writing tasks through Google Docs developed EFL learners’ knowledge of collocations. Moreover, the qualitative data gained from interview questions indicated that learners had positive perceptions towards online collaborative writing tasks through Google Docs. The present study had pedagogical implications for teachers, researchers and EFL learners. Keywords - Online Collaborative Writing, Google Docs, EFL Learners, Collocation Knowledge, Pre-Test and Post-Test, Experimental and Control Groups, Qualitative Data