The Role of Online Collaborative Writing in Enhancing Teaching English as a Foreign Language Doctoral Candidates’ Abstract Writing: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran Tehran, Iran

2 Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/elt.2026.71359.2846

Abstract

Online collaborative writing is an effective method in higher education, fostering interaction and shared responsibility in academic writing. Despite the growing demand for research publications, doctoral Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students often struggle with writing research article abstracts due to challenges in organizing their content, developing their structure, and choosing the correct language. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, which highlights fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness and incorporating genre-based principles, the present study developed an online collaborative academic writing course designed to enhance abstract writing performance. This 10-session online intervention was run for 40 TEFL doctoral candidates using Adobe Connect for synchronous teaching and Google Docs for asynchronous tasks. Using a quantitative experimental design, the study employed t-tests to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional course. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in participants’ abstract writing performance following the intervention. These findings demonstrate the value of integrating technology-mediated writing instruction into teacher education and highlight the importance of fostering collaborative learning through digital platforms. The study provides practical insights for teacher trainers, professors, and researchers seeking to improve academic writing instruction in TEFL contexts.

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Main Subjects

Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 10 April 2026

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