Abstract The use of Web technology in language education has received much research attention quite recently. In an attempt to shed more light on the use of Google Docs as a kind of Web technology in language learning, the purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of online collaborative writing using Google Docs and collaborative writing in a face-to-face classroom on the writing performance and writing self-regulation of EFL learners. A sample of homogeneous intermediate learners was recruited as the participants who were then randomly divided to an experimental group (N =19 ) and a control group (N =19 ). The participants of the experimental group received online collaborative writing using Google Docs while the control group received collaborative writing in the face-to-face classroom. Two timed-writing tasks and the Second Language Writing Self-regulation (SLWS) scale were administered to gather the data. The results obtained from performing paired-samples t-tests and ANCOVA revealed that collaborative writing both via using Google Docs and in the face-to-face classroom significantly enhanced the writing performance and writing self-regulation of the participants. However, the gains experienced by the experimental group were significantly higher than those experienced by the control group. Pedagogical implications for Google Docs-supported collaborative writing are finally discussed.
