Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of peer interaction between a pair in synchronous online reading classes consisting of twenty-four 6th graders and to examine the effects on patterns with respect to two different pairing conditions; proficiency level and gender. Interaction dynamics among them were identified and evaluated with three elements: equality, contribution, and participation. Seven distinct patterns characterized by the degree of three elements emerged from each pairing condition: 1) For pairs organized by proficiency, expert/expert and novice/novice patterns were seen in homogeneity conditions, while an expert/novice pattern was observed in heterogeneity conditions, 2) For pairs organized by gender, a collaborative pattern and a dominant/passive pattern appeared in homogeneity and heterogeneity condition respectively. Analysis of the patterns suggests high participation and equality from the homogeneity pairs grouped by proficiency and gender. For high affective contribution, homogeneous pairs were effective, while heterogeneous pairs resulted in high academic contribution. With a dearth of studies that explore the nature of students’ interaction in online EFL context, this study hopes to offer an insight into the aspects of pair learning dynamics in an actual online classroom environment.

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