Employing collaborative writing technologies within a genre-based approach to strengthen university EFL students’ multigenre writing skills

Purpose This study aims to explore how collaborative writing technologies, such as Padlet, Google Docs, and ChatGPT, within a Genre-Based Approach (GBA), can enhance university EFL students’ multigenre writing development, with particular focus on their ability to apply and adapt genre conventions, structure, and language use across different writing tasks. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a sequential mixed-methods design to examine the impact of collaborative writing technologies within GBA on the writing development of 27 university EFL students across four genres. Pre- and post-tests, along with genre-specific writing tasks administered throughout the six-session intervention, were used to assess improvement. Collaborative tools were integrated into each session to support writing processes. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore students’ learning experiences and perceptions of the technologies. Findings Results indicate a significant overall improvement in pre-test (M = 10.29) and post-test (M = 15.35) scores, with the “narrative” and “descriptive” genres showing the most progress and “argumentative” the least. Qualitative analysis, focusing on students’ experiences with the intervention, supports these findings. Notably, the “content” component demonstrated the most improvement, contrasting with modest gains in “lexical resources.” The qualitative findings show that students appreciated collaborative writing technologies within a genre-based framework for enhancing their writing skills, collaboration, and autonomy, despite challenges in maintaining logical order and genre transferability. Originality/value This study advances existing research by treating the integration of collaborative writing technologies within GBA as a coordinated instructional system rather than isolated tool use. It foregrounds multigenre writing development, emphasizing learners’ ability to adapt and transfer genre knowledge across tasks. The findings also refine current understanding by showing both the affordances and limits of such integration, particularly in supporting higher-order reasoning and cross-genre transfer.