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Description
Research indicates that peer feedback accelerates L2 development in the same way as feedback provided by teachers by triggering noticing of gap in learners’ interlanguage (Sippel & Jackson, 2015). Computer-mediated L2 collaborative writing (CW) provides learners the chances to engage in collaborative dialogue where they give and receive peer feedback. Peer feedback thus serves as a mediational tool for learners to co-construct knowledge (Storch, 2017) and develop their writing skills (Storch, 2005). However, studies (e.g., Hsu, 2019; Rouhshad & Storch, 2016) have shown that learners may not always heed peer feedback in computer-mediated contexts. This may affect their learning. Therefore, it is necessary to identify a technique to encourage L2 learners to process peer feedback so that they can benefit from the knowledge co-construction process afforded in computer-mediated CW. This study explores how written languaging influences computer-mediated L2 CW, focusing particularly on the extent to which it engages learners in processing peer feedback and its effect on the improvement of individual L2 writing.
Participants were 52 EFL learners in two writing classes in a Taiwanese university. The two classes were randomly assigned to the written languaging (WL) and no written languaging (NWL) groups. Both groups completed an individual pretest and posttest expository writing, along with two computer-mediated expository CW tasks using Google Docs across seven weeks. The WL group engaged in written languaging after the CW tasks, whereas the NWL did not engage in such a languaging activity. Learners' written production on the pretest and posttest was analyzed for the quality of content and organization, and linguistic complexity and accuracy. Learner’s written languaging was coded for written languaging episodes and analyzed for levels of feedback processing. The findings aimed to shed light on how written languaging affects peer feedback processing and individual L2 writing development in computer-mediated CW contexts.
| Keywords | Computer-mediated collaborative second language writing, written languaging, peer feedback, second language writing development |
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