Teaching Writing through Fan Fiction: A Case Study of EFL Undergraduate Students at Uzhhorod National University

Abstract

The article examines the effectiveness of teaching writing through fan fiction in an EFL university context. The study aims to investigate the pedagogical potential of fan fiction as a tool for improving students’ writing skills in textual organization, linguistic competence, and creative expression. The study’s significance lies in addressing the gap between traditional academic writing instruction and contemporary participatory digital literacy practices by exploring fan fiction as a learner-centered approach to EFL writing pedagogy. The study employs a mixed methods quasi-experimental design involving 48 undergraduate Philology students at Uzhhorod National University. Participants were divided into an experimental group engaged in fan fiction based writing activities and a control group following a traditional academic writing syllabus. Data collection included pre- and post-test writing tasks, questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t-tests and mean score comparisons. The results demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the experimental group (t = 9.84, p < 0.001), with a large effect size (d = 1.21), particularly in content development, coherence, Teaching Writing through Fan Fiction: A Case Study of EFL Undergraduate creativity, and learner engagement. The findings suggest that fan fiction-based instruction enhances writing performance by fostering motivation, reducing writing anxiety, and supporting narrative competence and collaborative learning. The study confirms that fan fiction can function as an effective pedagogical resource in EFL writing instruction. However, the findings are limited by the relatively small sample size, single-university context, and short duration of the intervention.