The Effect of Test Delivery Mode (Online Vs. Paper-Based) On EFL Integrated Writing Assessment

Abstract

In response to the increasing demand for online delivery of language tests, different international and local language testing bodies have considered the feasibility of delivering paper-based tests online. Integrating writing tasks has received increasing attention in diverse EFL/ESL settings. However, compared with the writing-only tasks, they are new practices in the Iranian EFL context. Despite many studies comparing the integrated and writing-only writing tasks, no studies have investigated the effect of the mode of delivery (online vs. paper-based) on the integrated writing performance of the test-takers in the Iranian EFL context. Adopting a quasi-experimental research approach, 44 Iranian EFL male and female students were divided into two online and paper-based groups. The participants received integrated writing instruction for the whole semester (16 weeks). At the end of the course, the students' integrated writing samples were rated holistically using the TOEFL integrated rubric. The results of analysis using independent samples T-tests showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups. The study discusses that when composing a text, online modality reduces the learners' psychological burden, improving the quality of integrated texts produced by the students. The pedagogical implications for EFL writing assessment are discussed.