Resumen de Collaborative Writing of Argumentative Essays in an EFL Blended Course: Chilean Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions and Self-Assessment

Lucía Ubilla Rosales, Lilian Gómez Alvarez, Katia lorena Sáez Carrillo, Paulo Etchegaray Pezo

• This mixed method research project sought to unveil pre-service EFL teachers’ perceptions about the collaborative writing of argumentative texts in a blended environment at a Chilean university, as well as their self-assessment of their performance during the process. Thirty-three senior students took part in a twelve-lesson workshop assisted by a file storage and synchronization service. Data collection included a semi-structured interview, a Likert-scale survey, and a tailor-made selfassessment rubric. Findings indicated that participants held positive perceptions of the collaborative process and were very satisfied with task evaluation, quality of interaction, and goal setting. The analysis also showed a significant correlation between the participants’ perceptions of collaboration and their performance self-assessment. The results suggested that blended collaborative writing should be considered in courses aimed at developing pre-service teachers’ EFL communicative competence. It would help them maximize their writing skills in English and reinforce their interpersonal skills in foreign language learning processes.