Abstract

While the benefits of portfolio assessment are well documented in second language (L2) writing literature, educators still face challenges as they seek to incorporate it in their classrooms. This study explored English as a Foreign Language (EFL) college writers’ perceived benefits and challenges of e-portfolio creation and evaluation by following two classes of sophomore students for two academic years. Through the analyses of a questionnaire, students’ reflections, and interviews, five themes emerged regarding the perceived benefits: 1) allowing students to review and reflect, 2) developing ownership and authorship, 3) seeing improvement and feeling empowered for writing, 4) cultivating digital literacies skills, and 5) enhancing scaffolded learning. Moreover, three challenges were found regarding students’ utilization of e-portfolios: technical difficulties, time taken to edit their posts, and learner issues. Overall, most students valued the practices of creating and evaluating their own Wix-based e-portfolios which displayed their development and growth as writers and learners over time. Although some students reported challenges to constructing the Wix-based e-portfolios, they considered the e-portfolio approach innovative, integrated, and reflective. This study concludes with implications for educators who wish to integrate the portfolio approach through web-based platforms.

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