This study examined the effects of collaborative blended learning writing environment on students' writing apprehension and writing performance as perceived by a selected group of EFL students enrolled in one of the international schools in Malaysia. Qualitative case study method was employed using semi-structured interview, learning diaries and observation. Twelve male students enrolled in Class Ten were selected to participate in a 13-week study. To learn how to write collaboratively, the students followed the procedures of the blended learning writing process. Students were divided into three groups and were given the freedom to choose the members of the group they would like to work with. They went through the writing process in face-to-face and online learning modes via the class blog and online Viber discussion. Data collected were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that the students had positive perceptions towards the collaborative blended learning writing environment they had experienced. They perceived that the collaborative blended learning activities had helped them reduced their writing apprehension and improve their writing performance as they experienced and learnt much knowledge concerning the micro and macro aspects of writing. Students also viewed that their online discussion and collaboration on writing in Viber groups and the class blog had assisted them greatly in their writing task.

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English writing as a productive skill, is the most challenging skill for EFL students. Nowadays, writing cohesive texts is of great importance especially the essay writing. Consequently, this study is concerned with the use of synonymy as one of the lexical cohesive devices in EFL students' essay writing. This study aims at identifying the most frequently used synonyms in Iraqi university students' essay writing. It also aims at investigating the way in which the use of synonyms as a lexical device contributes in building-up a well-built cohesive essay. Twenty male and female/ third-year students in the English Department, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar-Iraq were purposively chosen to participate in writing twenty descriptive essays. A qualitative research design was used in data collection using writing task instrument. Thus, data were analyzed qualitatively using content qualitative analysis procedure. Findings revealed that the frequency of synonymy occurrence in the students' essays was more than that of near-synonymy type. It was also indicated that the students used different synonyms and near-synonyms in their essays to achieve the goal of logical cohesion though they have a little knowledge of this type, synonymy, of lexical cohesive devices. It was also revealed that they have problems in the selection of the appropriate synonyms in their writings due to the lack of sufficient vocabulary knowledge.

Within the online learning atmospheres, language learners may confront certain obstacles in learning English grammar. Those obstacles may be associated to psychological factors which represent influential barriers on developing the grammatical knowledge of the EFL learners at the university level. Thus, the aim of the current research is to find out the exact psychological factors that influence the students' grammar knowledge. To achieve that aim, a close-ended questionnaire was designed to investigate the students' responses toward the psychological factors that can influence their grammatical knowledge. The sample of the research was the Iraqi EFL university students at the second year of the academic year (2020/2021) in English Department at the University of Anbar. At the first course, the sample of the participants (n=33) was exposed to online discussion learning activities for thirteen weeks to learn English grammar. At the end of the course, they were asked to respond to the items of the questionnaire. Depending on: T-test formula for one sample; weighted mean and percentage weight of the tenth items of the psychological domain, the collected data were analyzed. Results showed that the priority of some psychological factors like: anxiety, aptitude, attitude, and motivation were prominent and affective within the online discussion environments. Accordingly, these factors are necessary to be explored and governed within the language learning process in general and online learning in particular to get better students' performance.