The effects of online EFL assignments on student success: Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU) Gölhisar Vocational School (GVS)

Giving homework is a common practice at all levels of education, yet its impact as a pedagogical tool on the learning process is still a matter of debate. The past decade has seen the rapid development of web-based tools created for educational purposes. In parallel with these developments, researchers and educators have begun to show an increased interest in online homework systems in recent years in order to evaluate learning and to overcome the drawbacks of pen-and-paper homework. Many of the problems regarding traditional homework practices are experienced in university vocational schools in Turkey as well. This study aims to investigate the effects of online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) assignments on student success, and to identify students' views on online assignments in a university vocational school context. Participants of this experimental study were 49 first-grade students studying at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU) Gölhisar Vocational School (GVS). Of these students, 28 constituted the experimental group and 21 constituted the control group. The study was conducted in the spring term of the 2016-2017 academic year for a 12-week period. At the beginning of the study, a pre-test was applied to both groups. Next, five weekly assignments were given for the experimental group via Edmodo and for the control group as pen-and-paper homework. During the assignment process, semi-structured interviews were held with the participants in the experimental group about the online assignments they did. In the final week, the same pre-test applied at the beginning of the study was applied to both groups as a post-test. The effect of the assignments on student success was determined by comparing the two groups' pre-test and post-test results using quantitative methods and the attitudes of the students towards online assignments were determined by analysing the interviews held with the participants in the experimental group using qualitative methods. The findings revealed that assignments whether online or pen-and-paper increased students' success significantly. Moreover, the success improvement of the students who did online assignments was about double that of the students who were responsible for doing pen-and-paper assignments. The study also revealed that students usually have positive views on online assignments. The study concluded with suggestions that EFL teachers should give assignments in university vocational schools and that these assignments should be given as online since they are more instructive, motivating and enjoyable to do for students, as well as, more practical in terms of submission, checking, and grading.