EFL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONST OWARDS USING PARAPHRASING TOOLS IN WRITING COURSES AT AN-NAJAH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
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Date
2025-09-02
Authors
Riham Fawzi Abed-Alrahman Abu Diak
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
جامعة النجاح الوطنية
Abstract
Education is affected significantly by technological advancements. Students may be prone to plagiarism due to the widespread use of technology. Paraphrasing tools assist in rewriting texts using technology. The current study sought to investigate the perspectives of EFL Students towards employing paraphrasing tools in writing courses at An-Najah National University. To accomplis this, the study employed a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative). The quantitative approach involved a 50-item questionnaire divided into four domains. A random sampling of 240 English department students at An-Najah National University filled out the questionnaire during the second semester of the academic year (2024-2025). For the qualitative approach of the study, the researcher conducted interviews with 17 male and female English Language and TEFL majors at An-Najah National University. These interviews involved six open-ended questions to gain thorough responses. The study results showed an overall positive influence of using paraphrasing tools on improving EFL students' writing skills. Regarding the study's independent variables, it was found that gender played a statistically significant role in the perceptions of EFL learners at An-Najah National University towards using paraphrasing tools in writing courses, in favor of male learners in the second and fourth domains. The first and third domains, however, showed no statistically significant differences. However, there were no significant differences in the students’ perceptions due to students’ academic level and faculty. The researcher recommended employing paraphrasing tools to develop students' writing skills and presented some recommendations to EFL instructors, paraphrasing tools developers, researchers, and curriculum designers.