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

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

REPRESENTACIONES SOCIALES DEL CONTEXTO COMUNITARIO, ESCENARIO PARA GENERAR PRÁCTICAS DE ESCRITURA

RESUMEN: Este trabajo plantea la necesidad de considerar las particularidades socioculturales para crear escenarios de aprendizaje donde las prácticas de lectura y escritura constituyan una herramienta de progreso académico. La muestra se conformó con 48 sujetos de secundaria de un colegio público chileno. Los datos fueron recogidos mediante escala tipo Likert y grupos focales. La información obtenida fue analizada cualitativamente a partir de la teoría de las Representaciones Sociales, permitiendo identificar elementos nucleares y periféricos de las creencias, opiniones, actitudes sobre su contexto. Los resultados arrojaron que los elementos periféricos de la representación social de los alumnos proporcionarían insumos para generar diseños didácticos que potencien los niveles de alfabetización