7. Thai EFL learners’ interaction during collaborative writing tasks and its relationship to text quality
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Kim McDonough
Abstract
Second language (L2) writing research has shown that L2 learners routinely scaffold each other when working together to co-construct written texts. The analysis of peer interaction has focused largely on the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs), with fewer studies documenting how learners discuss other elements of written texts, such as their content or organization (Elola & Oskoz 2010; Storch 2005; Storch & Wigglesworth 2007; Wigglesworth & Storch 2009), or establishing a link between student interaction and text quality. This chapter describes the interaction that occurred when Thai EFL students worked in pairs to write summary and problem/solution paragraphs and explores whether their discussions were related to text quality in the form of analytic ratings. The results indicated that problem/solution collaborative writing tasks showed a positive relationship between student talk and text quality and elicited significantly more discussion of content, organization, and language than summary tasks. Implications are discussed in terms of pedagogical considerations for the use of collaborative writing tasks in EFL contexts.
Abstract
Second language (L2) writing research has shown that L2 learners routinely scaffold each other when working together to co-construct written texts. The analysis of peer interaction has focused largely on the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs), with fewer studies documenting how learners discuss other elements of written texts, such as their content or organization (Elola & Oskoz 2010; Storch 2005; Storch & Wigglesworth 2007; Wigglesworth & Storch 2009), or establishing a link between student interaction and text quality. This chapter describes the interaction that occurred when Thai EFL students worked in pairs to write summary and problem/solution paragraphs and explores whether their discussions were related to text quality in the form of analytic ratings. The results indicated that problem/solution collaborative writing tasks showed a positive relationship between student talk and text quality and elicited significantly more discussion of content, organization, and language than summary tasks. Implications are discussed in terms of pedagogical considerations for the use of collaborative writing tasks in EFL contexts.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement of reviewers vii
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Introduction
- Understanding peer interaction 1
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Section I: Interactional patterns and learner characteristics
- 1. Peer interaction and learning 33
- 2. Peer interaction and metacognitive instruction in the EFL classroom 63
- 3. Interaction or collaboration? Group dynamics in the foreign language classroom 91
- 4. Interactional behaviours of low-proficiency learners in small group work 113
- 5. Collaborative dialogue in a two-way Spanish/English immersion classroom 135
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Section II: Tasks and interactional modalities
- 6. Peer interaction in F2F and CMC contexts 163
- 7. Thai EFL learners’ interaction during collaborative writing tasks and its relationship to text quality 185
- 8. Engagement with the language 209
- 9. EFL task-based interaction 241
- 10. A focus on mode 267
- 11. Small-group meta-analytic talk and Spanish L2 development 291
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Section III: Learning settings
- 12. How adolescents use social discourse to open space for language learning during peer interactions 319
- 13. Peer interaction while learning to read in a new language 349
-
Epilogue
- New pathways in researching interaction 377
- Index 397
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement of reviewers vii
-
Introduction
- Understanding peer interaction 1
-
Section I: Interactional patterns and learner characteristics
- 1. Peer interaction and learning 33
- 2. Peer interaction and metacognitive instruction in the EFL classroom 63
- 3. Interaction or collaboration? Group dynamics in the foreign language classroom 91
- 4. Interactional behaviours of low-proficiency learners in small group work 113
- 5. Collaborative dialogue in a two-way Spanish/English immersion classroom 135
-
Section II: Tasks and interactional modalities
- 6. Peer interaction in F2F and CMC contexts 163
- 7. Thai EFL learners’ interaction during collaborative writing tasks and its relationship to text quality 185
- 8. Engagement with the language 209
- 9. EFL task-based interaction 241
- 10. A focus on mode 267
- 11. Small-group meta-analytic talk and Spanish L2 development 291
-
Section III: Learning settings
- 12. How adolescents use social discourse to open space for language learning during peer interactions 319
- 13. Peer interaction while learning to read in a new language 349
-
Epilogue
- New pathways in researching interaction 377
- Index 397
