Peer-mediated vs. individual writing: measuring fluency, complexity, and accuracy in writing

Abstract

Drawing upon Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (SCT), this study aimed at investigating the effect of two writing modes, namely, peer-mediated/collaborative vs. individual writing on measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity of female EFL learners’ writing. Based on an in-house placement test and the First Certificate in English writing paper, a total of 108 intermediate (N = 54) and advanced (N = 54) participants out of a pool of 150 EFL learners were randomly selected and assigned equally to collaborative (N = 18 pairs in each proficiency level, that is, intermediate and advanced) and individual writing classes (N = 18 participants in each proficiency level). All the participants wrote six argumentative compositions either individually or collaboratively in six subsequent sessions. Data on detailed discourse analytic measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity obtained from the written compositions were submitted to a series of a two-way analysis of variance statistics. The findings revealed that, across both proficiency levels, collaborative groups outperformed the individual groups in terms of fluency and accuracy but not in complexity. The results are discussed in relation to effective writing instruction through peer mediation as inspired by Vygotsky’s SCT of learning. In line with this theory, it is proposed that learning is a social activity and learners’ knowledge development depends on the interaction with others. Therefore, involving the learners in collaborative or group writing may be considered an effective instructional technique in the writing class.

Keywords:

• fluency
• accuracy
• complexity
• individual writing
• peer-mediated writing
• sociocultural theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Maryam Soleimani is a Ph.D. candidate in TEFL at Urmia University. She received her MA from Islamic Azad University-Tabriz Branch and her BA in TEFL from Tabriz University. She is a full-time instructor at Iran Language Institute. Her major research interests are focus on form, corrective feedback, and dynamic assessment.

Sima Modirkhamene has a Ph.D. in TEFL/TESOL from the University of Surrey, UK. Since her return to Iran in September 2006, she has been lecturing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and researching in Urmia University, Iran. Her main research interests include: bilingualism, first and second language acquisition, cross-linguistic transfer, and multiple intelligences in relation to language learning. She has served as the Head of the Department of English Language and Literature and the Deputy Head of the Foreign Languages Center of Urmia University since 2008.

Karim Sadeghi has a Ph.D. in TEFL/TESOL (Language Testing) from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. His main research interests include: language testing, alternative assessment, reading comprehension, and error analysis. He was selected as the Best Researcher of Urmia University in 2007, and as the Top Researcher of Iran in 2013. He is currently the editor-in-chief of Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research.