The Immediate Effects of Collaborative Writing on Omani University Students

Abstract

Collaborative writing is considered to be one of the most important approaches in the second language classroom. This paper explored the effects of practicing collaborative writing in Omani classrooms for eight teaching hours, analyzed six pairs’ dialogues and, interviewed four students and their teacher. Significant immediate effects were established and an insight into students’ attitudes and problems was identified. From the research, two main findings emerge; first, the immediate effects included signs of noticing and transfer of knowledge; an increase in motivation; critical reading and sharing knowledge through discussion; and second, positive attitudes of students towards collaborative writing were found. Therefore, this research recommends that Omani students require collaborative writing in the classroom and they need to be trained in it.