RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Proposal

Laila Andreucci

Amanda Iadeluca

Charmalee Kirk

Edenia Lai

ETEC 500 64B

University of British Columbia

April 8​th​, 2017

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Abstract

Writing activities have traditionally been focused on grammar and rote memorization. As a

society, it is helpful to understand the types of activities that are taught in the name of writing

and critically examine whether these tasks lead to improvements in writing ability. The proposed

study will focus on the use of Twitter in writing with an English as a Second Language (ESL)

secondary school population in a large high school in the Vancouver area. Using an

experimental design, ​researchers will apply a pretest-posttest control group design to sixty grade

10 students over the course of one semester. Conclusions will focus on Twitter’s effect on

writing ability and experience of participants in the study.

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Objective and Purpose

The purpose of the study is to examine and describe the role that Twitter, a social

networking tool, has on the development of persuasive writing skills among grade 10 ESL

learners in the Language Arts classroom. Communicating effectively through written word is a

fundamental skill that secondary students are expected to achieve before graduation. However,

many teaching methodologies within North American classrooms focus on rote memorization

strategies, rather than a fuller range of cognitive processes for retention and transfer (Mayer,

2002, p.227). As a result, students don’t have an opportunity to actively and creatively engage in

written language experiences.

The barriers that exist for ESL students in the language classroom are exacerbated by the

often isolating experience of writing. Luckily, current research shows that there are multiple

pedagogical affordances that social media can offer both within the classroom walls and outside

of them. These affordances support an environment where writing is encouraged, supported and

celebrated. In closing, the lack of research that specifically targets the use of Twitter as a

language acquisition tool in the secondary classroom is an area that our study aims to explore in

greater depth.

Perspectives and Theoretical Framework

Research on the use of Twitter in English Language classrooms thus far is mainly

centered on teaching and learning styles and post-secondary students. Studies conducted by

Dredger, Woods, Beach, and Sagstetter (2010), Mills and Chandra (2011) as well as Morgan

(2014) affirmed that Twitter can inform and positively influence teaching practices by being an

inclusive tool for both the teacher and the learner. Previous research also validated the use of
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Twitter as a tool to address diverse ​learning styles and for bringing new life to traditional writing

activities (Mills & Chandra, 2011, p.40). What isn’t clear, however, is whether the use of Twitter

can create a stimulating and engaging environment for writing development which increases the

likelihood of receptive learning.

Research conducted by Mervat Abd Elfatah (2016) and Bozkurt, Aydin, Taskiran, and

Koral (2016) focused on two specific genres of writing: creative and essay writing. Using a

quantitative, quasi-experimental design, Mervat Abd Elfatah analyzed the essay writing of 60

female students from Qassim University over eight weeks. The experimental group used Twitter

and the control group wrote essays traditionally (2015, p. 138-9). Using pre and post-tests,

students were assessed for ideas/content, organization, voice and style (Mervat Abd Elfatah,

2015, p.140). Comparatively, Bozkurt et al. used an explanatory sequential mixed methods

design to analyze tweets from 91 English students from Anadolu University over a four week

Twitter competition for creative writing (2016, p. 92). Mervat Abd Elfatah found that the

experimental group that practiced essay writing performed significantly better than the control

group in all aspects of the post-test. (Mervat Abd Elfatah, 2015, p.140). For the Twitter

competition, Bozkurt et al. found that the inherent brevity of the tweets encouraged more

selective word choice supporting vocabulary learning and creativity (Bozkurt et al., 2016, p.95).

Overall, both studies suggested that Twitter is an effective supplementary tool for teaching

writing.

Hattem (2014) found social benefits with the use of Twitter in a post-secondary

environment. By enlisting eleven students and a teacher in an intensive ESL advanced grammar

course in the United States, Hattem (2014) presented three vignettes to explore the use of Twitter
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for writing. Each of the vignettes focused on different aspects of the language learning process

through examination of the students’ Twitter posts. Hattem (2014) found that students engaged

in “expansive learning” which positively impacted the learning environment creating strong

social relationships. Similar to Mervat Abd Elfatah (2015) and Bozkurt et. al (2016), Hattem

(2014) concluded that Twitter supports the development of writing, while creating a positive and

engaging learning community.

This literature review discovered research primarily focused on creative writing in

post-secondary education; however, persuasive writing was not mentioned. As such, our research

study aims to measure high school students’ ability to write a persuasive response to current

world issues and controversial events, focusing on brevity within a Twitter imposed limit of 140

characters.

Description of Data Sources

This proposed study will use a pretest-posttest control group design at a large secondary

school in the Vancouver area where there is a high enrollment of ESL students. The study will

follow sixty grade 10 students over the course of one semester and will focus on persuasive

writing skills. Randomized selection will be used to divide students between the control and

subject group. Teachers will also undergo randomized selection when designated to the two

classrooms.

At the beginning of the term, students will complete a pre-test assessing their knowledge

and application of the skill, as well as a survey assessing their experience and confidence with

the writing process. The test will be separated into two sections. Part one of the test will assess
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knowledge of the subject and control group. Part two of the test will assess comfort and

confidence with regards to the writing process.

For part one, the subject group will be assessed on an initial Tweet, while the control will

be assessed on a written response. In part two, students will be administered a survey using

attitudinal questions and behavioural questions to assess confidence, comfort, and behaviours

associated with the writing tasks. Questions will be closed-ended to ensure greater consistency

across the participants.

Question format will be likert questions focusing on perception of the activity and

interest, and likert-type questions measuring the quality of the learning experience as determined

by group. The common scale of 1-5 will be used. A clear scale will be given to participants to

allow for an understanding that the higher the number/rank, the stronger agreement with the

statement in question. The inclusion of ‘no opinion’ will be included to allow participants who

are indifferent to a question to adequately represent their opinion. The tests will be deliberately

short (less than ten questions) in an attempt to acquire a higher response rate. Questions will be

straight-forward, with clearly defined questions to ensure comprehension of all participants.

A codebook will be created directly onto the survey to aid in the interpretation of data

from the surveys. A repeated samples t-test will be conducted with the mean of the pre and post

test being compared. This will assist in the measurement of difference in test scores when using

Twitter for writing instruction and practice.

Description of Methods

For this study, students will be randomly selected and assigned to one of two classes:
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1​. The control group​: Thirty grade 10 students will receive instruction in a traditional

class setting. Students will attend four classes of sixty minutes per week. The teacher will use

direct instruction and rote learning methods to teach persuasive writing. Collaborative learning

will be restricted to in-class work. The teacher will provide a news article and students will

provide their opinion in their notebooks.

2. ​The experimental group​: Thirty grade 10 students will be taught using Twitter within a

traditional class instruction setting. In addition to direct instruction and rote learning, the teacher

will incorporate Twitter into writing instruction. At the beginning of every lesson, the teacher

will post a link to a news article on Twitter. Students will then post a persuasive response to the

article, demonstrating their opinion on an aspect of the story of interest to them. They will be

required to respond to at least one other post for each lesson, which will provide additional

practice in persuasive writing, as they will be arguing for or against their classmates’ posts.

For the first part of the pretest-posttest, the evaluation of students’ writing progress will

be based on their first and last Tweet (experimental group) or written response (control group). A

rubric will be established in order to evaluate the specific components of their ​writing​. Using a

pretest-posttest design will allow us to establish how persuasive writing can be impacted by the

use of Twitter and provide more direction for future research.

Results or Conclusion

It is expected that the proposed study will indicate a measured difference in language

acquisition skills, specifically in persuasive writing, for grade 10 ESL students who are exposed

to Twitter in addition to traditional classroom instruction compared to those who are not. Prior

research by Hattem (2014), Mervat Abd Elfatah (2016) and Bozkurt, Aydin, Taskiran, and Koral
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(2016) suggest that there are benefits to the use of Twitter as a supplementary tool to teach

writing with post-secondary students. Therefore, we anticipate comparable results in our

research with secondary students suggesting a significant degree of general applicability of our

test results. By conducting the study, we aim to discern if the age of a respondent has a bearing

on the effectiveness of Twitter as a tool for teaching writing.

Two types of quantitative results will be analyzed to attain a greater understanding of

how Twitter creates a stimulating and engaging environment for writing development that differs

from conventional teaching methodologies and classroom exercises that are taught in the name

of writing. By using a control group, we aim to minimize maturation and history over the span of

the one term study. Findings will be appraised and contextualized in light of previous research

conducted using Twitter. Investigator bias will be reported to uphold the internal validity of the

study.

Educational Significance

Strong writing skills are a key indicator of a student’s ability to communicate in the

digital era. As such, writing as a critical 21st century skill bears educational significance and

deserves attention. Educators must develop goals which encourage meaningful learning focusing

on retention and transfer of knowledge (Mayer, 2002). The correlation between the use of

Twitter and the development of writing skills through multiple cognitive processes (Mayer,

2002) for students who are at different stages of language acquisition is also of educational

significance. Although there is evidence that Twitter can create a conducive environment for

writing development, there is a need to focus on its impact, specifically with secondary ESL

learners who are at different stages of language acquisition. Having this data will, ideally,
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determine whether Twitter adds another layer of support or complexity for writing challenges

already faced by the secondary ESL learner. A better understanding of how the use of Twitter

affects the acquisition of writing skills will inform educators in how best to meet the changing

needs of the secondary ESL learning community.

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References

Bokzurt, A., Aydin, B., Taskiran, A., & Koral, E. (2016). Improving creative writing skills of

EFL learners through Microblogging. ​The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education,

6​(3), 88-98.

Dredger, K., Woods, D., Beach, C., & Sagstetter, V. (2010). Engage me: using new literacies to

create third space classrooms that engage student writers. J​ournal of Media Literacy

Education, 2​. Retrieved from

http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=jmle

Hattem, D. (2014). Microblogging activities: language play and tool transformation. ​Language

Learning & Technology, 18​(2), 151–174. Retrieved from

http://llt.msu.edu/issues/june2014/hattem.pdf

Mayer, R. E. (2002). Rote versus meaningful learning. ​Theory into Practice, 41​(4), 226-232.

doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4104_4

Mervat Abd Elfatah, A. A. (2015). The effect of Twitter on developing writing skill in English as

a foreign language. ​Arab World English Journal, Special Issue No. 2​, 134-149.

Mills, K. A., & Chandra, V. (2011). Microblogging as a literacy practice for educational

communities. ​Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55​(1), 35-45.

Morgan, H. (2014). Enhancing instruction and communication with Twitter.​ Childhood

Education, 90​(1), 75.