The effects of digital text authorship on the online writing skills and affective features of bilingual middle school students: The case of Georgia

This study aims to determine the effects of digital text authorship on the online writing skills and affective features related to writing of bilingual middle school students (the case of Georgia). The study employs an explanatory sequential design which is regarded as a mixed-method combining both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The quantitative phase utilized a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, while the qualitative phase employed the phenomenological method. The study group consisted of 32 bilingual eighth-grade students enrolled at a Turkish school in Georgia during the 2022-2023 academic year. The purposive sampling method, a type of non-random sampling, was used to select the participants. The implementation process lasted for 20 weeks and took 48 class hours conducted both face-to-face and online including the pretest and the posttest. The instruction was carried out in the elective course "Authorship and Writing Skills" data were collected using the "Personal Information Form" the "Digital Text Evaluation Scale" the "Electronic Writing Habit Scale" the "A quick, gradient Bilingual Dominance Scale" the "Writing Anxiety Scale" the "Writing Attitude Scale" the "Writing Motivation Scale" and a "Semi-Structured Interview Form". The quantitative findings revealed that digital text authorship instruction significantly improved the online writing performance of students in the experimental group. It also reduced writing anxiety and increased writing motivation; however, it did not significantly affect writing attitudes. Qualitative findings indicated that digital text authorship instruction enhanced online writing skills, positively influenced the careful application of writing conventions and vocabulary enrichment, improved and facilitated the writing process, enabled more comfortable expression of ideas, and fostered happiness in digital writing environments. In conclusion, digital text authorship instruction not only improved students' online writing skills but also positively contributed to their affective aspects of writing. Keywords: Turkish language instruction, digital text authorship, writing skills, online writing, affective factors.