Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abdul Hakim

Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

English

Committee Chair

Rebecca Adams

Committee Member

Emily Thrush

Committee Member

Ronald Fuentes

Committee Member

Scott Sundvall

Abstract

Some research (e.g., Dobao, 2012; Shehadeh, 2011; Wigglesworth & Storch, 2009; Storch, 2005) suggests that collaborative L2 writing results in higher quality L2 writing production than individual writing. Similarly, collaborative L2 writing has also been found to bring about more L2 learning opportunities for learners (e.g., Dobao & Blum, 2013; Dobao, 2012; Wigglesworth & Storch, 2012; Brooks & Swain, 2009). However, much is still unknown about how CW promotes higher quality L2 writing and other L2 learning opportunities. The purpose of the current study was to examine second language collaborative writing in an under-researched EFL context to determine (1) whether CW promotes higher quality written production as measured by complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) dimensions and (2) to determine whether collaboration influences learner noticing and use in revision of second language reformulation feedback. Adopting a quasi-experimental, quantitative research design, this study was carried out in 3 intact EFL classes of students at a private university in Bangladesh (n=80). For this study, the participants wrote short, paragraph-sized texts on Facebook in pairs and individually which were reformulated by the researcher, and the participants compared their writing with the reformulated versions of the texts in pairs and individually and revised their texts in pairs and individually based on the reformulations. The results from statistical analyses showed that the writing condition influenced written production in terms of lexical complexity and accuracy but did not influence other aspects of written production, i.e., syntactic complexity and fluency, as measured using CAF scales. Similarly, the results also showed that although collaborative writing did not result in more noticing and incorporations of reformulations into the revision of students L2 writing than individual writing, student collaboration when comparing feedback and revision resulted in significantly more noticing and incorporation of reformulations into the revisions of students writing. These findings suggest that collaborative writing may not always lead to higher quality language production, possibly because of the unfamiliarity of collaborative writing in this context. They also suggest that collaboration at the revision stage may be more important than at the drafting stage in terms of raising student awareness of feedback.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

Notes

embargoed

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