Collaborative writing: product, process and students' perceptions in secondary school EFL writing

Abstract

Although pair and group work are widely used in language classrooms, research investigating the benefits of collaborative writing (CW) is very limited. This study sets out to integrate CW in secondary school EFL writing. Two parallel intact classes were used. After a pre-teaching and an individual pre-test in both classes, students in the control group (N=16) produced an argumentative essay individually whereas students in the experimental group (N=16) produced it in pairs and recorded their interactions. They also completed a questionnaire to elicit their perceptions. The study analysed the product, process and students‟ perceptions on CW. The findings revealed that pairs produced shorter but more grammatically accurate and linguistically complex texts. They also obtained higher scores in content, structure, organization and register. Collaboration afforded students the opportunity to pool ideas, deliberate over language use and provide each other with feedback. Despite some reservations, most students were supportive of the experience.