Turkish EFL Learner Perceptions of Using a Social Network Environment for Collaborative Writing: Creating a Trustful Affinity Space

Introduction

With the rapid growth and increasing accessibility of Web 2.0 technologies, web-based learning environments have gained prominence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing practice. Ciftci and Aslan (2019) identified studies that showed learners employing blog formats, Facebook (FB) groups, forums, Google Docs, Instant messaging, text chat, wikis, and Skype as web- based EFL writing environments. FB groups, the social networking site and the focus of the current study, have been used extensively as an environment to promote EFL writing.

Previous studies on FB-based EFL writing have shown that the use of FB groups has enabled learners to develop their writing performances through collaborative writing (CW) and peer feedback in a community of learners (Razak & Saeed, 2014; Bani-Hani, Al-Sobh & Abu-Melhim, 2014; Wichadee, 2013). Most empirical studies on FB-based EFL writing to date have focused on university undergraduate students with a dearth of studies on FB-based CW among high school EFL learners. To address this gap, the purpose of this study was to explore the potential for learning space, specifically in respect of high Turkish school secondary EFL students, to expand opportunities for CW in a FB setting. CW is defined as “an activity where there is a shared and negotiated decision- making process and a shared responsibility for the production of a single text” by Storch, (2011, p.275) and has been widely used through web-based settings in EFL instructional settings.