The use of e-portfolios in EFL writing: a review of literature

Abstract

In English as a foreign language (EFL) context, writing is generally considered as a very difficult task which requires an experience to accomplish. Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) are widely used as a systematic collection of students’ works that indicates their progress, effort and achievements in the EFL writing process. However, the number of studies on how e-portfolios affect the EFL writing process remained limited. Thus, the current study aims to present a review of research on how e-portfolios affect the EFL writing process to guide further research. For this purpose, after presenting the theoretical background of EFL writing and e-portfolios, the study briefly reviews the studies on the effects of e-portfolios. The review first focuses on e-portfolios and learners’ motivation and their effects on academic writing. Then, the study concentrates on the e-portfolio creation process and its limitations. The study concludes that e-portfolios develop reflective learning, writing skills and increase writing motivation. It is also concluded that e-portfolios have considerable effects on academic development and the teaching and planning processes. On the other hand, findings obtained from this review reveal that e-portfolios have also some limitations and adverse effects. The study ends with some recommendations for target groups and further research in the light of the findings.

 

Keywords: English as a foreign language; writing; e-portfolios