What role for collaboration in writing and writing feedback

Abstract

Writing is generally thought of as an activity which is carried out individually, often with feedback then provided by a teacher or colleague. While the use of pair or small group work in the second language classroom in relation to oral work has been extensively studied, and its benefits well documented, there are only a few studies which have documented the advantages of collaboration in written work, and in dealing with written feedback. Mostly conducted within a sociocultural framework, these studies suggest that collaborative writing provides learners with opportunities to learn through a discussion of the language they are using. In this paper, we explore the findings from the studies ..