The Effect of Collaborative Writing on Iranian EFL Learners' Task Achievement in Writing and Their Perception

Abstract

Collaborative writing has gained interest in the last decade; however, as stated by Shin, Lidster and Sabraw (2016) more research is required to delve into various aspects of this multifarious class activity. This true experimental research examined the effect of writing collaboratively on task achievement of Iranian EFL learners in writing. Oxford Placement Test was given to 60 language learners in the city of Kashmar, Iran, as the test of homogeneity. Considering +/-1 standard deviation of the mean score, 40 learners were chosen to pursue the purpose of the study. These learners formed an experimental group and a control group with 20 participants in each. Collaborative writing was implemented in the experimental group and individual writing was used in the comparison group. The participants in the experimental group were later interviewed and their perception toward collaborative writing was investigated. The findings of the study through t-test revealed that the experimental group participants outperformed the ones in the control group in terms of task achievement. In addition, the results of the semi-structured interview through thematic analysis revealed that most participants found collaborative writing effective in terms of motivation, peer feedback, comprehensive view over the topic, changing ineffective writing habits, and vocabulary learning; though peer authority and teacher authority were considered as inhibiting factors. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Collaborative Writing Strategies: The Effects on Malaysia Secondary School Learners’ Writing Fluency

“…As a result, he points out that learners became more committed in completing their writing. In a study conducted by Khodabakhshzadeh and Samadi (2017), most participants found collaborative writing was very effective as it enhanced their motivation. Jalili and Shahrokhi (2017) also found that collaborative groups had significantly lower writing anxiety rates than the individual group.…”

A Sociocultural Perspective on Second Language Writing: The Effect of Symmetrical versus Asymmetrical Scaffolding on Intermediate EFL Learners’ Writing Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity and Their Attitudes

“…Khodabakhshzadeh and Samadi [35] examined the effect of CW on task achievement of Iranian EFL learners. e findings revealed that the collaborative group outperformed the individual group.…”

“…Moreover, no investigation has focused on the elements of writing fluency, accuracy, and complexity for the Iranian EFL learners yet. Reviewing the research on learners' perceptions of CW, several studies have reported students' evaluations of CW as favourable such as [28,30,34,35]. However, the number of studies exploring learners' attitudes toward grouping and collaboration with different patterns of scaffolding is scant.…”

Collaborative Writing in Writing Process: How Effective?

“…It is supported by Bosley (1989), students' responsibility on each steps of collaborative writing process reaches a higher quality of writing. Besides, collaborative writing provides an opportunity to generate ideas and feedback for students error and monitor them in group working (Shehadeh, Khodabakhshzadeh and Samadi, 2017). Those studies found that collaborative writing reach students' improvement on students' critical thinking and helped them in developing their writing by considering some writing aspects include organization and vocabulary, mechanics, content but not in achieving of writings' accuracy.…”