Designing an eportfolio conceptual framework to enhance written communication skills among undergraduate students

Abstract

Eportfolio is a powerful tool to develop students’ communication as well as critical thinking skills as it allows students to produce their own reflective written products and foster active learning. This study aims to design an innovative teaching approach to improve students’ written communication skills in English which is one of the important soft skills for students entering the workforce. Specifically, this study intends to design an eportfolio conceptual framework that can be embedded into an English course. Furthermore, the interactivity mediated by the social networking platform and students’ familiarity using this platform can also elevate their motivation to write in English language. This study contributes to the creation of an innovative teaching approach, a student-centered learning approach that utilizes online technology. The new developed eportfolio framework can also be adopted in other English courses for the purpose of improving students’ writing skills in English language. Future research should emphasize on the eportfolio model evaluation, integration with soft skills and students' perception of the use of this web-based tool using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).