Dr. Mufeeda Irshad
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Collaboratively learning, in general, is shown to be both a beneficial (Jeong & Hmelo-Silver, 20160) and a challenging process (Richey, & Gadgil, 2015). As for second language writing development, many studies have shown that on-line collaboration positively impacts learners’ writing performance (Yim, Wang,Olson, Vu, & Warschauer, 2017; Yeh, 2014). However, there are hardly any studies on the factors that affect the interactional patterns of second language learners during the collaborative writing process using Google Docs. In this research study, the researcher attempted to find out the practical classroom issues within the collaborative writing context and how it could be overcome. A study of one semester within the normal curriculum was conducted, and the content of course was not altered. The participants were a group of tertiary level second language learners from a university in Sri Lanka. Data was collected by means of participant observation with the researcher, who also happened to be the teacher in charge of the group, positioning herself as an overt observer. In addition, text mining tools were used to investigate the collaboration trajectories across different phases of collaboration (Yim & Warschauer, 2017). The findings revealed that on-line collaboration is complex and challenging since learners have different learning trajectories (Lowie & Verspoor, 2018). The conclusion of the research is that by making the learners aware that the teacher can follow their collaboration trajectories, some of the practical issues could be controlled. The theoretical base of the research was the Complex Dynamic System Theory (Larsen Freeman, 2012).
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The Fourth Annual International Conference on Languages, Linguistics, Translation and Literature (WWW.TLLL.IR), 1-2 February 2020, Ahwaz.
