The Effect of Web-Integrated Instruction and Feedback on Self-Regulated Learning Ability of Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract The present study intended, firstly, to investigate the effect of web-integrated instruction on self-regulated learning ability in EFL writing, and secondly, to compare and contrast the effects of paper-based feedback and web-assisted feedback on the self-regulated learning ability. To this end, a quasi-experimental design was applied for both cases. In line with the first objective, an experimental group for implementing a web-integrated instruction as treatment, and a control group with a non-web-integrated instruction were formed. Each of the mentioned groups included an average of 15 Iranian EFL students who were pre-post tested through the Academic Self-Regulated Learning Scale (ASRLS) questionnaire. In the next phase of the study, two experimental groups for the paper-based and web-assisted feedback types and a control group with no feedback were randomly taken into account. The results of the Mann-Whitney U Test indicated a statistically significant difference between the self-regulatory ability in writing tasks of the web-integrated and non-web-integrated instruction groups. The participants in the experimental group who were taught through web-integrated instruction outperformed those in the non-web-integrated group in developing their self-regulatory strategies. Moreover, comparing the self-regulatory ability of paper-based feedback, web-assisted feedback, and no feedback groups through the application of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test revealed that there was not a statistically significant difference between them, and with respect to the type of feedback the groups received, no group outperformed another in developing their self-regulatory strategies. As a result, it might be concluded that web-integrated writing instruction might have a significant influence on the self-regulatory ability while feedback type does not.