An investigation into the impact of Google Docs-supported collaborative writing on secondary four students’ writing self-regulation, writing self-efficacy and writing performance in a Band 1 school in Hong Kong: a mixed methods study

Thesis

Technology-mediated collaborative writing (CW) has been advocated to improve students’ second language (L2) proficiency (Li & Chu, 2018; Ma, 2020). However, its impacts on students’ writing proficiency, L2 self-regulation (SR), and self-efficacy (SE) are still underresearched in the context of Hong Kong. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to investigate how Google Docs-mediated CW affects the writing performance, self-regulation, and self-efficacy of Band 1 Secondary Four students in Hong Kong. To this aim, two intact classes with an intermediate English level were selected and assigned to experimental and control groups, each consisting of 15 students. The experimental group received Google Docs-mediated CW instruction and wrote collaboratively, while the control group experienced traditional instruction and wrote individually. Four timed argumentative writing tasks were designed. Both groups were required to write individually in the first and the final writing (the pre-test and post-test); the experimental group worked collaboratively in the second and third writing while the control group did these tasks individually. All essays were scored for complexity, fluency and accuracy. Statistical analyses were conducted on the pre- and post-test essays to explore whether gains were made and whether these differed between the groups. Across the two groups, some areas were found to improve (ratio of clauses per in the ratio of clauses per T-units, morphological complexity (nouns), lexical accuracy, L2 SR, and SE in the WSR test). However there was no evidence that this differed across the experimental and control groups, and thus no evidence of a specific benefit of collaborative writing. Other measures either showed overall no improvement across the groups, or in the case of one measure (morphology errors) a decrease in performance. Moreover, two questionnaires on L2 Writing Self-Regulation Scale (SLWS) and L2 Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (SLWSS) were given to both groups before and after the intervention to measure the changes in their L2 SR and SE. Qualitatively, the collaboratively written assignments of the experimental group, in terms of content, language, and organization, were analyzed using microgenetic methods. Also, semi-structured interviews were also conducted after the intervention and analyzed using thematic analysis. The qualitative data analysis indicated that the students initiated more mediations and showed positive attitudes towards the intervention. Pedagogical suggestions concerning patterns of interaction, the use of the first language (L1), and grouping strategies were offered and discussed.

Authors: Yim, DG

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-2r9zgkmvw
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: ALSLA; ALSLA2024; quantitative; writing regulation; questionnaires; writing self-efficacy; qualitative; Google Docs-mediated; interviews; collaborative writing
• Subjects: Quantitative research; Writing; Applied linguistics; Interviews; Qualitative research