Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.5, No.37, 2014 171 The Effect of using the Social Tool of Wikis on EFL Learners’ Writing Performance Seyyed Dariush Ahmadi Department of English, College of Literature and Humanities, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran s.dariush_a@yahoo.com Seyyedeh Susan Marandi English Department, Alzahra University Abstract Due to the significance of writing for academic improvement and survival, there is an active interest today in new theoretical approaches to the study of written texts as well as approaches to the teaching writing that incorporate current theory and research findings (Brown, 2001). Erben, Ban, and Castañeda (2009) emphasize that using contemporary technologies afford us thousands of instructionally rich opportunities which might, otherwise, be missed not using such technologies. Wikis are thought to be useful in improving EFL students’ writing ability through the various features they provide for wiki members. Learners can benefit from the shared space to write, discuss, comment, edit, reflect, and evaluate (West & West, 2009) each other’s work for the attainment of the shared outcome of better writing ability. The present endeavor attempted to investigate if the use of wikis would have any effect on EFL learners’ writing performance. The study included two 16-member groups of EFL students attending the Advanced Writing course at JDKU who were randomly selected from a population of 60 EFL students. The wiki group, attending the language lab, acted as the experimental and the other group as the control group. The result of the study revealed that the wiki group outperformed the traditional writing class. Based on the obtained data dealt with in details in the study, it could be understood that the use of wikis would enable writing students to perform better. Keywords: Wiki, Writing, EFL Students, Advanced Writing 1. Introduction Traditionally, writing functioned primarily to support and reinforce patterns of oral language use, grammar, and vocabulary (Alderson & Bachman, 2002). Today, “the ability to write effectively is becoming increasingly important in our global community, and instruction in writing is thus assuming an increasing role in both second- and foreign-language education” (Weigle, 2002, p.1).Writing, in the sense of making language visible, always involves the application of technology of some sort, whether a quill, a pencil, a type writer, the printing press (Lankshear & Snyder, 2000) or the computer. To harness the affordances of new technologies, the classroom design seems to have been influenced by the rapid advances of the information technology as a computer, linked to the internet, may be found in most classes in the future. Technology can provide both collaborative writing opportunities and individualized skill development using computer-based programs (Butler-Pascoe & Wiburg, 2002) that make use of CALL tools like wikis. Being a powerful tool for online work because of their simple flexible nature, wikis offer a quick way for learners to collaborate and share ideas textually while creating a content rich website (Martinez & Jogennethon, 2002). In line with identifying influential contexts in developing the writing ability and promoting effective educational practices for teaching, the current research is an attempt to check the effectiveness of using wikis in promoting the writing ability of EFL learners in Iran. It is also performed in response to the renewed interests in writing because of the influence of new multimedia communications through the use of technologies like wikis. Thus attempt is made to answer the following question: “Does the use of wikis have any effect on EFL learners’ writing performance?” Hence, the following null hypothesis was formulated: “There is no significant difference between the comparison (non-wiki) and experimental (wiki) groups in EFL students’ writing performance.” 2. Literature Review 2.1 Technology and Writing Technology has had a tangible impact on EFL classrooms since the 1990s and writing instruction now makes (or can make) considerable use of computer technologies (Gerrard, 2003). While some teachers have welcomed the new developments enthusiastically, seeing the integration of new technology-based pedagogies as a means of enlivening instruction, improving students’ writing skills, and facilitating collaboration, cooperation, and