Effects of using corpus-based instruction on students’ critical thinking skills and perceptions in academic writing classes

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the effects of corpus-based instruction on students’ critical skills in academic writing classes. It also endeavored to investigate the students’ perceptions towards corpus-based instruction. To conduct the research, a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design was employed. A total of 77 mechanical engineering students who took technical report writing course were selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. The data gathering instruments were academic writing tests, textual analyses, questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. Independent and paired sample t-tests and thematic analyses were employed to analyze the data.  Hence, the results indicated that the students who were instructed their academic writing skills through corpus-based instruction improved their critical thinking skills better than their counterparts who were instructed through the conventional instructional approach. Particularly, students who were instructed through corpus-based instruction employed appropriate lexical bundles and metadiscourse devices to express their argument and persuade their readers than the comparison group. Additionally, the data confirmed that students’ reacted positively towards the corpus-based instruction. Consequently, this research calls for EFL instructors to consider authentic linguistic features to enhance their students' critical thinking skills in academic writing skills classes.