Effects of Multimedia-based Materials onTeaching Writing at University Level A Case Study of University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST), Khartoum

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of multimedia-based materials on teaching writing at university level. It used both qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect the data from asample of university students who were studying writing skills as a requirement. Two questionnaires were designedto collect data for this study; the first one was responded to by university English language teachers whilethe other was answered by the EFL students who were studying the writing as a university requirement at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology. An interview was also conducted with 10 EFL teachers from various Sudanese universities. The data were analyzed using a variation of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study showed that the multimedia-based materials assisted the students to develop their ability to write appropriate texts. They also showed that the multimedia-based materials helped both teachers and students with the time and effort experienced in the writing tasks. The findings also displayed that university English language teachers did not effectively use multimedia-based materials to teach English as a university requirement. It was, however, demonstrated that these teachers had significant roles to play in multimediated environments. As for the achievement of students receiving mulitmedated writing multimedia being higher than that of students receiving traditional writing instruction, the findings did not support this. It was, however, found out that the EFL writing learners who were using multimedia-based materials were much more motivated than the learners using traditional materials to study the writing. Finally, the study arrived at useful recommendations and some suggestions for further studies.