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Assessing Second Language Writing without Technology: A First-Year University Study

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Title: Assessing Second Language Writing without Technology: A First-Year University Study
Language: English
Authors: Maryam BoJulaia (ORCID 0000-0002-6833-0220), Dana Alzahid (ORCID 0009-0003-0268-3853), Maura A. E. Pilotti (ORCID 0000-0001-7955-680X), Arifi Wak (ORCID 0000-0003-1222-0978)
Source: International Society for Technology, Education, and Science. 2025.
Availability: International Society for Technology, Education, and Science. 944 Maysey Drive, San Antonio, TX 78227. Tel: 515-294-1075; Fax: 515-294-1003; email: istesoffice@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.istes.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 10
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: College Freshmen, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Writing (Composition), Writing Skills, Achievement Tests, Sentence Structure, Sentences, Prediction, Gamification, Educational Games
Abstract: In higher education, easy-to-administer diagnostic measures of second-language students' writing are in high demand. Asking such students to write essays is not only time-consuming but also likely to induce anxiety, which interferes with the accurate assessment of their competencies. The present study examined whether a game requiring sentences to be combined or built can adequately predict the quantity and quality of second-language learners' writing. At the start of the semester, 300 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a communication course completed a sentence-combination task and a sentence-building task modeled after those of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III). Specifically, participants (a) combined two or three brief sentences into one without altering the overall meaning (sentence-combination task) or (b) created sentences that contained a particular function word (i.e., article or preposition; sentence-building task). One week later, participants were given 10 minutes to write independently an essay on a common topic in a Unicode text file. Sentences were scored for grammatical, spelling, and semantic errors. Instead, essays were assessed by estimating the learners' effort (i.e., number of words and sentences written) and writing quality (e.g., use of academic vocabulary, syntactic complexity, and lexical cohesion). The sentence-building task was overall a better predictor of effort and academic vocabulary (a quality measure). However, neither sentence-building nor sentence-combination performance predicted the syntactic complexity or lexical cohesion of students' essays. In sum, sentence-level games represent enjoyable and time-saving diagnostic tools useful for capturing students' effort devoted to the activity of writing. However, they fail to apprehend more complex properties of their writing. Alternative time-saving diagnostic techniques are suggested. [For the complete proceedings, see ED678959.]
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED678960
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED678960
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  Data: Assessing Second Language Writing without Technology: A First-Year University Study
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maryam+BoJulaia%22">Maryam BoJulaia</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6833-0220">0000-0002-6833-0220</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dana+Alzahid%22">Dana Alzahid</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0268-3853">0009-0003-0268-3853</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maura+A%2E+E%2E+Pilotti%22">Maura A. E. Pilotti</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7955-680X">0000-0001-7955-680X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Arifi+Wak%22">Arifi Wak</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1222-0978">0000-0003-1222-0978</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22International+Society+for+Technology%2C+Education%2C+and+Science%22"><i>International Society for Technology, Education, and Science</i></searchLink>. 2025.
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  Data: International Society for Technology, Education, and Science. 944 Maysey Drive, San Antonio, TX 78227. Tel: 515-294-1075; Fax: 515-294-1003; email: istesoffice@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.istes.org
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  Data: 10
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  Data: Speeches/Meeting Papers<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Freshmen%22">College Freshmen</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+%28Second+Language%29%22">English (Second Language)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Learning%22">Second Language Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Writing+%28Composition%29%22">Writing (Composition)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Writing+Skills%22">Writing Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Achievement+Tests%22">Achievement Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sentence+Structure%22">Sentence Structure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sentences%22">Sentences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Prediction%22">Prediction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gamification%22">Gamification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Games%22">Educational Games</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: In higher education, easy-to-administer diagnostic measures of second-language students' writing are in high demand. Asking such students to write essays is not only time-consuming but also likely to induce anxiety, which interferes with the accurate assessment of their competencies. The present study examined whether a game requiring sentences to be combined or built can adequately predict the quantity and quality of second-language learners' writing. At the start of the semester, 300 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a communication course completed a sentence-combination task and a sentence-building task modeled after those of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III). Specifically, participants (a) combined two or three brief sentences into one without altering the overall meaning (sentence-combination task) or (b) created sentences that contained a particular function word (i.e., article or preposition; sentence-building task). One week later, participants were given 10 minutes to write independently an essay on a common topic in a Unicode text file. Sentences were scored for grammatical, spelling, and semantic errors. Instead, essays were assessed by estimating the learners' effort (i.e., number of words and sentences written) and writing quality (e.g., use of academic vocabulary, syntactic complexity, and lexical cohesion). The sentence-building task was overall a better predictor of effort and academic vocabulary (a quality measure). However, neither sentence-building nor sentence-combination performance predicted the syntactic complexity or lexical cohesion of students' essays. In sum, sentence-level games represent enjoyable and time-saving diagnostic tools useful for capturing students' effort devoted to the activity of writing. However, they fail to apprehend more complex properties of their writing. Alternative time-saving diagnostic techniques are suggested. [For the complete proceedings, see ED678959.]
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: ED678960
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 10
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: College Freshmen
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English (Second Language)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Writing (Composition)
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      – SubjectFull: Writing Skills
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      – SubjectFull: Achievement Tests
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      – SubjectFull: Sentence Structure
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      – SubjectFull: Sentences
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      – SubjectFull: Prediction
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      – SubjectFull: Gamification
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Games
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      – TitleFull: Assessing Second Language Writing without Technology: A First-Year University Study
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            NameFull: Maura A. E. Pilotti
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              Y: 2025
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