Attention to form in collaborative writing: language-related episodes in L1 and L2 use conditions

Abstract

Previous research has noted an increased attention to language form as one of the many benefits of collaborative writing (CW). Although prior studies have investigated different variables (e.g. proficiency, pre-task modelling) to promote attention to form (often operationalized as a language-related episode, LRE), one crucial yet underexplored variable is whether a shared native language affects LRE use during CW. Researching this question informs an understanding of how L1 use influences the potential of CW in L2 classrooms. The present study considers LREs in both L1 and L2 use conditions. Thirty-five pairs of EFL learners were asked to complete two argumentative writing tasks collaboratively. In the first task, one group interacted in the L1 and another group interacted in the L2. In the second task, the groups switched the language used for interaction and wrote on a similar topic. Results showed that interacting in a shared L1 affords learners more opportunities to discuss and resolve lexis and mechanics related issues. Furthermore, learners in the L1 use condition were able to negotiate language use in a more elaborate manner and use a wider range of L2 lexical items. In light of these findings, the pedagogical implications of L1 use during CW are discussed.

Keywords:

• Collaborative writing
• language related episodes
• L1 use
• task-based language teaching

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The percentage was calculated as the number of words in Chinese divided by the total number of words in a pair talk. Although the participants were allowed to employ the L2 to rehearse/produce lexis and grammar that they were considering incorporating into the text, they often only uttered a few words in the L2 and rarely produced sentences in the L2, as shown by Example A in Table 2.

2 Given that the transcripts of pair talk were lengthy (M = 512 turns, SD = 194), we randomly selected 10% of the data to check the inter-coder reliability

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Meixiu Zhang

Meixiu Zhang (Ph.D., Northern Arizona University) is an Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics at Texas Tech University. Her main research areas include L2 writing, corpus linguistics, L2 pedagogy, and second language acquisition. Her work has appeared in journals such as Language Teaching, Journal of Second Language Writing, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Corpora, System, Language Teaching Research, and Register Studies.

William J. Crawford

William J. Crawford is a Professor in Applied Linguistics at Northern Arizona University. His main research areas are in SLA, L2 writing and corpus linguistics. His most recent research applies corpus linguistic approaches to second language data (both spoken and written) with the goal of describing learner performance in order to inform both theory and pedagogy. He also has extensive teacher-training experience in both the inside and outside of the United States.