Cooperative Learning Methods and the Teaching of English Writing: Peer Response (original) (raw)
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The present case study examined factors that mediated interaction among 3 Asian learners of English while they collaboratively wrote a summary using Google Docs and text-chat (Task 1) and Google Docs and voice-chat (Task 2) in the context of a debate club. Data were collected from multiple sources including a survey questionnaire, debate summaries, screen recordings, and stimulated recalls. The survey questionnaire elicited the learners' background information and individual goals for the writing tasks. Debate summaries, transcripts of screen recordings, and stimulated recall interviews were analyzed to investigate interaction patterns of the group and mediating factors in their collaborations. Firstly, the group's interaction patterns were identified by adapting Storch's (2002) dyadic interaction model, revealing a facilitator/participants pattern in Task 1 and a collaborative pattern in Task 2. Informed by activity theory, participants' goals and the goal-directed actions that influenced their collaborative writing activities were identified. Drawing upon an expanded activity model, the findings suggested that modes of communication, task representations, matches/mismatches between participants' self-perceived and other-perceived roles, and perceptions of peer feedback were the primary mediating factors on the qualities of collaboration. The findings may help explain why collaborative performance varies and may provide insights into how web-based collaborative writing activities can be designed and facilitated in L2 classes.
Peer-Assisted Learning: Revisiting the Dyadic Interaction Process in L2Academic Writing
The Asian EFL Journal, 2019
Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a form of collaborative learning which is an effective method of helping learners to give feedback in Second Language (L2) Academic Writing (AW) courses; however, there are still many teachers today who do not implement this approach for various reasons. With fewer students, a student-centered approach is ideal. In larger classes however, an alternative approach might be required to maintain a similar amount of feedback without sacrificing quality. This research proposes PAL as a viable alternative for large AW classes, in helping to facilitate meaningful interaction and improve critical thinking skills through deep engagement with writing tasks.291 students, across nine faculties, participated in the study. Being able to receive ongoing and detailed feedback was essential in order for students to fully acquire the range of skills and knowledge needed to participate effectively in later advanced writing and research courses. A survey was administered to students to determine which method of feedback was most beneficial in helping students to improve writing: teacher-feedback solely or a blend of PAL with in-class teacher instruction. Results showed that 80% of students felt more engaged with the writing process through the PAL system with regard to pedagogic, academic, affective, cognitive, metacognitive, and social factors. The research concludes that there is great potential for collaborative learning in higher education institutions in the L2 context depending on various factors, such as the learner’s language skills as well as motivational levels of both the teacher and learner. Keywords: Peer-Assisted Learning, Collaborative Learning, L2 Academic Writing, TEFL/TESL
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This study investigated how writing groups function in a multilingual university classroom, the kinds of responses students in such groups give one another, and how students respond to peers' suggestions about writing. Subjects were 11 students of varied linguistic background in a freshman composition class. Data were gathered over 10 weeks through observation, analysis of student writing samples, student interviews, and field notes of casual conversations and ancillary reactions. Results suggest both positive and negative aspects of peer response techniques. The groups helped students respond to their own writing as they sensed audience needs, and students talked to explore and enlarge understanding of their own writing. Limitations included students' reluctance to offer negative criticism, tendency to drift away from appropriate tasks, potential for falling prey to inaccurate or bad advice, exaggerated emphasis on mechanics over content, and overlooking problems in the pap...
Interactive methods used in collaborative writing in the online ESL classroom
English Australia, 2023
The last few years have amplified the use of digital technology in the second language (L2) classroom due to the emergence of COVID-19. Students were forced to study online, and, as a result, changing the interaction among students became crucial. While most English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) classrooms have since returned to face-to-face delivery, many providers are now considering the potential benefits of online learning and the strategies that make the platform and classroom interaction effective. One method of facilitating online interaction is collaborative writing (i.e., co-writing). Co-writing refers to two or more individuals producing work and contributing to a task together. While not a new phenomenon in face-to-face settings, this research project closely investigates the methods that students use to interact while completing co-writing tasks in an online environment and the impact these may have on L2 learning. The data, taken over five weeks, was collected from 15 adult English for Academic Purposes students in an online ELICOS classroom. Results showed areas of improvement in co-writing and a perception among students that co-writing was helpful. The paper aims to contribute to greater understanding and improved co-writing delivery and practice for ESL students and practitioners.
Collaborative writing in L2 classrooms: A research agenda
Language Teaching, 2021
Research on second language (L2) collaborative writing (CW) has proliferated over the recent decade and will continue to bloom due to the changing landscape of writing and learning in the digital age. This article provides a research agenda on CW in L2 classrooms. We illustrate six research themes for future research inquiry by pointing out the research gap, following a brief review of theoretical frameworks and existing empirical efforts on CW. We then expound on six specific research tasks that we deem to be pressing for this domain to progress, including more attention to multimodal CW, expanded frameworks for analyzing peer interaction and writing products, deployment of underused research techniques and improved research practice, development of CW assessment practice, as well as the inquiry of practitioners’ input on CW. We hope to provide guidance for future research endeavors by identifying avenues of investigations on CW and meanwhile contribute to the trajectory of vibrant...
Peer Response Groups in ESL Writing Classes: How Much Impact on Revision
Journal of Second Language Writing, 1994
The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of peer responses on subsequent revisions, comporing comments from the teacher with other sources. The revisions in essays from two groups of freshmen ESL students were evaluated over several drafts. The peer collaboration was audiotaped; written comments by the teacher or others were noted. Faigley and Witte's (1981) taxonomy of revisions wos used to identify the types of revisions: surface or text-based. There are six specific types of revisions in each of these broad categories. The results show that the students made many revisions but that few of these were the result of direct peer group response. Students who made the greatest number of changes made predominantly more text-based changes. Students who mode fewer changes generally mode more surface changes. The results of this,research raise questions regarding group formo-tion and types of modeling done for group work. Peer collaboration is used in first language (Ll) writing classes at various stages of the writing process, from the generation of ideas to the final editing. The current popularity of peer response groups or writing groups is due to an emphasis on processes in the teaching of composition (Emig, 1971; Plower & Hayes, 1981; Zamel, 1987), an emphasis on the social nature of writing (Nystrand, 1986, 1989), and an influence from the theoretical frameworks of collaborative learning in writing (Bruffee, 1973, 1984; Elbow & Belanoff, 1989; Gere, 1987). Writing groups are also used in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing classes. Reservations about the direct adoption of writing groups from the Ll practice, however, have been raised. Allaei and Connor (1990) write: Instructors of non-native English-speaking students often find that using collabora-tive groups effectively in heterogeneous classes of students from a variety of We would like to thank Mary Boyd, Susan Mayberry, two anonymous reviewers, and the editors of this journal for their comments on earlier drafts of this article. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to
College Students' Experience in Online Asynchronous Peer Feedback in Writing
TESOL and Technology Studies, 2021
Writing is heavy, tedious, and difficult for college students. Likewise, writing instruction is equally arduous for teachers. The implementation of online and remote classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic becomes an opportunity for students to develop writing through their peers’ feedback. This study analyzes the college students’ experience and evaluation in online asynchronous peer feedback in writing. One hundred college students in free sections from a private university responded to an adopted, modified, and validated survey questionnaire and focus group discussions to evaluate and validate their experience in online asynchronous peer feedback in writing. The survey results underwent statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20, to determine the weighted mean scores. Thus, the results revealed that the college students have a strong positive experience in online asynchronous peer-feedback in writing with the course facilitator of Engli...
Online Interactional Feedback in Second Language Writing: Through Peer or Tutor?
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2011
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the implementation of e-collaboration and e-tutoring will have any effect on students' writing proficiency. It is argued that interactional feedback (peer or tutor) including negotiation and recasts can facilitate writing skill development in L2 (Lynch, 2002). 83 male and female EFL students, taking English courses in a language school in Bojnourd-Iran, formed the participants of this quasi-experimental intact-group study. The participants were assigned into experimental and control groups. A couple of instruments were employed to collect data: the TOEFL Writing Test, researchers-made pre and post tests, and an Information Technology Questionnaire (2009). Data analysis through one-way ANOVA revealed significant differences between e-partnering and e-tutoring groups (p<0.05). The results also showed that though both e-partnering and e-tutoring enhanced writing proficiency, learners in e-partnering group outperformed those in e-tutoring group. The study findings indicate that e-collaboration/e-partnering can improve learners writing skill if integrated into the EFL curriculum designed for pre-intermediate level.