The advantage of ‘prewriting and drafting’ (p.48) is that group members can discuss over their topic of writing and search resources online. With the immediate access to the Internet, brainstormed ideas can be further analysed or developed without delaying. Also, the group members are able to evaluate their peers’ idea lists, as well as the outlines of their issue paper. This activity is effective in the way that peer feedback and evaluation provide an opportunity for each student to think more deeply about their issue paper.
A phenomenon with synchronic computer mediated communication (SCMC) is that the students went off the topic of their task when talking online, as the three tables in Liang’s study (2010, p.51-53) show that the amount of exchanges on social talk and technical action is high across all groups of students. This means that a significant proportion of online communication is used for non-task purposes. For the purpose of revision teaching, the teacher should pull the students back onto the tasks by observing their communication, setting specific objectives for the discussion, and imposing time limits on their tasks. Another useful method for facilitating efficient communication is provided in the check list of questions (p.49-50). But the teacher should present different questions for checking at different stages. For example, questions on paper topic, titling, keywords, etc. can be given for prewriting checking, while questions about the content and language of the paper should be provided later.
The course in Liang’s study can also be simplified as a group project for advanced students. The target of the project is basically to strengthen the students’ writing ability through online collaboration. While the communicative tool can be chosen by different groups, the students’ revision-related and non-revision related discourse should be kept as records by the teacher. The teacher can evaluate the extent to which the students internalised the peers’ good use of language into their writing. Also, the peer students can share with each other their paper proposals or outlines so as to exchange ideas.
Reference
Liang,(2010),USING SYNCHRONOUS ONLINE PEER RESPONSE GROUPS IN EFL WRITING: REVISION-RELATED DISCOURSE. in Language Learning and Technology, 14(1), p45-64.
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Er, where is the article from? I have not seen this article in the reading list.
ReplyDeleteI agree that setting task objectives and time limit is effective for solving the problem of students' mind-absentedness when they use computer. I think in the process of CALL,it is not necessary for techers and students to stay in front of the computers all the time since computers are not always used during the whole class. Preparatory instruction carried out in classroom without computers can prevent students from distraction. Then teachers and students can move to computer room when it is time for CALL tasks. Assigning a relatively short time to students can place moderate pressure on students to focus on the task.