Computers in the L2 Writing Classroom

CALL & WRITING

RESEARCH

The early studies of computer use in composition focused almost exclusively on word processing

Some of the outcomes of the studies were that students who use word processors have been said:

to spend more time writing

to alter revision behaviour

to make more and different types of revisions

to show less of a tendency towards writer’s block

to improve their attitudes toward writing

RESEARCH

But for many positive claims, there are negative counter claims:

The word processor does make it easier to revise.

However, the revision process is more complex, in that it involves more steps and more different types of manipulation.

Due to the mixed results in studies that compare computer-assisted texts to traditionally produced texts + the general emphasis on interactive CALL, the focus in research has moved away from the question of whether using a computer helps students produce better texts.

A Different View of Computer Assisted Writing

More interesting to researchers now is the nature of the human-machine interface. Important research questions are:

How has the computer changed the way students approach the writing process?

How have new computer software products changed the way teachers approach the writing process?

Recent studies have begun to identify profiles of computer writers that may be different from those of pen and paper composers.

A Different View of Computer Assisted Writing

Some studies showed that:

Writers change their focus when writing on the computer.

some revised earlier in the process than they did when writing by hand

others revised and reviewed their text less on screen than they did on paper

A Different View of Computer Assisted Writing

Computer experience affected the amount and type of revision more than language proficiency did.

The novice computer users wrote by hand and copied the text onto the computer, or drafted a text into the computer and revised very little

they did not take advantage of the spelling checker or the thesaurus

The intermediate users made some revisions and used the spelling checker

they made revisions at the micro-level but not at the macro-level

Expert users, those with two or more years of computer writing experience, revised and reviewed their texts extensively and made little distinction between first and final draft

Shift in Emphasis from Word Processing to Collaborative Writing

As researchers have become more interested in the nature of interaction in the computer environment, the computer-assisted composition community has moved from a focus on the word-processor as a tool to an examination of the interactions among teachers, learners, and technology.

Shift in Emphasis from Word Processing to Collaborative Writing

Although the word processor is still the primary tool used in computer writing classrooms, the environment of these classrooms has changed:

in the old lab, students came in, sat down, and wrote

to talk with the teacher or with other classmate about their papers, they had to get up or wait until the teachers threaded their way to them

in the new lab, teachers have complete freedom of movement

students can cluster around one single machine or a group of machines to work on collaborative projects

teachers are free to move in order to speak with any student in the class, even to sit at the computer to work with that person

with a network in the lab – they can leave messages for their partners, have a class discussion using Aspects (Daedalus), search the Internet, etc.

Shift in Emphasis from Word Processing to Collaborative Writing

The non-traditional spaces force teachers to develop a variety of new strategies in a computer writing class. Instructors can

model the writing process as it occurs

can help students adapt their individual writing strategies to a computer environment

can communicate with their students verbally or on-line (developing different on-line personas)

The Shifting Paradigm of Computer Assisted Writing

The ideology that writing is both a social and personal process (writers should be encouraged to interact with other writers about their texts as well as to discover their own authorial voice) has led to the development of software sometimes called “groupware”.

Such software allow writers:

to use the computer as a tool for collaborative communication

to share drafts

to critique written work

to revise texts electronically

Aspects, Daedalus, etc. are examples of such software.

The Shifting Paradigm of Computer Assisted Writing

In many classes, the traditional essay is no longer the primary aim or the sole product.

Students may produce a range of documents, from brief electronic mail notes to longer postings on a bulletin board, from hypertext documents with links and graphics to hypermedia packages including video and sound.

The computer is seen as a gateway for information, or a way to link teachers and learners.

The Computer as Tool, Doorway & Linkages: Electronic Commenting

Electronic Commenting

An important part of a process-oriented writing class involves getting the reader’s comments on a text in progress.

This aspect of the process writing, known variously as peer feedback, peer response, or peer review, involves

one or more students making comments on the content and organisation of a draft.

comments are often generated using question heuristics and this technique has been incorporated into some writing software.

a useful feature of such program is that the number of commenter is unlimited.

The Computer as Tool, Doorway & Linkages: Electronic Commenting

Manipulation of Information

The use of electronic tools for writing and information gathering has also changed the tasks that students undertake in the classroom…

The research paper/essay is no longer simply a product of the resources available in the local library.

CD-ROM databases, knowledge bases - encyclopaedias can provide reading material, videos, audio clips, etc.

Resources of the Internet. Google, Pro-Quest

Electronic mail to connect with experts.

Conference systems.

Manipulation of Information

Students are ready to put together the information they have gathered into their own synthesis, either

in paper form

on the Internet (websites, wikis, blogs)

on-line project of any kind

as a group project, it fosters cooperative efforts, as students pool their energies and talents into a product or project that interests them

students are made aware of audience needs (i.e. ESL learners)

or they produce an electronic product (such as Flash)

students need to work in groups to split up the tasks

a project on the Internet or an electronic product can include sounds, video clips, etc.

Electronic Mail

Most common use of electronic mail in the SL classroom may be for pen pals.

Classes which share only the target language may be matched, or a second language class may be paired with a class of native speakers of the target language

In a basic pen pal activity, students write electronic messages to their pen pals much as they might write traditional letters.

Electronic mail is delivered almost immediately, so students can write many more letters than they might be possible otherwise.

E-mail has a different rhetoric, including header information, emoticons, and a style that lies somewhat between that of speech and writing.

E-mail can make collaboration easier and may lead to more cross-disciplinary collaboration than face-to-face interaction.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN ASSIST WRITING

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