EFL University Students’ Use of Online Resources to Facilitate Self-Regulation for Writing

Abstract

This qualitative study was conducted to descriptively identify the kinds of online resources EFL students use and how the online resources are used in the phases of self- regulated writing. Four English students of a private university in Malang, Indonesia, were recruited for three reasons: they are high-level self-regulated students; they have passed an academic writing course with excellent scores; they have published at least one article in a national-scale journal. Using a semi-structured interview, the students were asked about online resources they use and how they use the online resources in three phases of self-regulated writing. The interview data were analyzed using content analysis. Investigator triangulation was performed by involving two data analysts. The analysis reveals that students use eight types of online resources: communication tools, repositories, social networks, assessment tools, Internet, management tools, social markers and RSS, and other technology. In addition, the students use online resources throughout the three phases of online self-regulated writing. However, due to insufficient technological knowledge, the use of online resources is limited to simple tasks (e.g. gaining ideas, understanding writing theories, transforming the language, obtaining feedback, and verifying plagiarism). Accordingly, teachers need to direct their students to make use of the available online resources properly and effectively.