L2 interactional competence in asynchronous multiparty text-based communication: study of online collaborative writing

Abstract

Web-based writing tools, which allow multiple writers to share and edit the same document, have attracted significant attention as computer-assisted language learning tools in the past decade. However, how L2 writers contribute to the shared document as a social action for interacting with other cowriters remains underexplored in L2 research. Inspired by conversation analysis, in this study, I conducted a moment-by-moment analysis of online, text-based (nonspeaking) asynchronous multiparty interactions consisting of two interactional modes: chat-based discussions and writing records displayed on the screen, with the aim of determining the methods employed by L2 learners to contribute writing changes over time. The data were taken from the online interactions of a group of nine or ten English as a foreign language university learners, who were asked to collaboratively write an essay in English, with the focus being on three learners to elucidate the changes in the methods used. The data analysis indicated that, over the course of the task, the participants used a greater number of methods to make their writing contribution to the entire essay more recognizable; these efforts included announcing the theme of the writing contribution, requesting corrections, and displaying alignment with an essay-in-progress by using a cohesive device in their writing, along with a variety of linguistic and semiotic repertoires. I also discuss the effects of the interlocutors on the online interactional competence of the individual learners.