The Use of Online Self-Reflection to Teach Writing: The Case of Second Year ENSC Students

Abstract

The introduction of online learning in the last two years offered learners the chance to develop their autonomy and compelled teachers to offer self-study activities that develop learners’ metacognition. One practice that allows students to take ownership of their learning is reflective writing. A sample of 27 students from the second year class of the Department of English at the ENSC were required to submit via email post-writing reflective journals wherein they describe, analyse, and evaluate their writing experience. This study analyses the content of the students’ self-reflection. It seeks to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent are the students able to verbalize their thoughts about their writing processes and products? (2) How is this online practice beneficial for the students? To answer these questions, the content of the reflective reports has been quantitatively and qualitatively analysed in addition to the teacher’s experience and insight from this experience. The results showed that the students generated rich and varied content about their writing and developed their reflective ability throughout the year. It improved their metacognitive knowledge and their self-evaluation skills. Besides, sharing the reflective reports allowed students to feel closer to their teachers which relieved their fear from writing.