Cover not available

In:Languaging in Language Learning and Teaching: A collection of empirical studies
Edited by Wataru Suzuki and Neomy Storch
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 55] 2020
► pp. 19–40

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Chapter 1
Child EFL grammar learning through a collaborative writing task

 | Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
 | Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Published online: 14 August 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.55.01cal
Abstract
The present study analyzed the effects of completing a dictogloss task on the development of English grammar (3rd person singular -s and articles) in a foreign language primary school context. Fifty 11–12 year-old elementary EFL Spanish learners worked on a dictogloss task individually, and in teacher-assigned dyads and small groups. Their grammar gains were measured by means of a pre- and post-dictogloss grammaticality judgment test. The analysis of the children’s languaging showed that the task encouraged learners in pairs and groups to equally focus on form, although not only on the target features, which did not improve. There was, however, a slight advantage of pairs over small groups and individuals. A number of research implications, drawn from these results, are discussed.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Theoretical background
    • Writing-to-learn
    • Collaborative writing
    • Learner group size
  • The study
    • Participants
    • Design and procedures
    • Data coding and analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Appendix
References (50)
References
Alegría de la Colina, A., & García Mayo, M. P. (2007). Attention to form across collaborative tasks by low-proficiency learners in an EFL setting. In M. P. García Mayo (Ed.), Investigating tasks in formal language learning (pp. 91–116). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Basterrechea, M., & García Mayo, M. P. (2013). Language-related episodes during collaborative tasks: A comparison of CLIL and EFL learners. In K. McDonough & A. Mackey (Eds.), Second language interaction in diverse educational contexts (pp. 25–43). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brooks, L., & Swain, M. (2009). Languaging in collaborative writing: Creation and response to expertise. In A. Mackey & C. Polio (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on interaction in SLA (pp. 58–89). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cambridge English Language Assessment. (2014). Cambridge English Movers (YLE Movers), Vol. 1. Available at <[URL]> (22 July, 2019).
Dulay, H. C., & Burt, M. K. (1973). Should we teach children syntax? Language Learning, 23(2), 245–258. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eckerth, J. (2008). Investigating consciousness-raising tasks: Pedagogically target and non-target learning gains. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 18(2), 119–145. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2016). Focus on form: A critical review. Language Teaching Research, 20(3), 405–428. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Enever, J. (Ed.). (2018). Policy and politics in global primary English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernández-Dobao, A. (2014). Vocabulary learning in collaborative tasks: A comparison of pair and small group work. Language Teaching Research, 18(4), 497–520. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Peer interaction and learning: A focus on the silent learner. In M. Sato & S. Ballinger (Eds.), Peer interaction and second language learning: Pedagogical potential and research agenda (pp. 33–62). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García Mayo, M. P. (2002). The effectiveness of two form-focused tasks in advanced EFL pedagogy. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 156–175. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). Dictogloss technique. In J. I. Liontas, T. International Association, & M. DelliCarpini (Eds.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–5). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García Mayo, M. P., & Imaz Agirre, A. (2019). Task modality and pair formation method: Their impact on patterns of interaction and LREs among EFL primary school children. System, 80, 165–175. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García Mayo, M. P., & Azkarai, A. (2016). EFL task-based interaction: Does task modality impact on language-related episodes? In M. Sato & S. Ballinger (Eds.), Peer interaction and second language learning: Pedagogical potential and research agenda (pp. 241–266). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goldshneider, J., & DeKeyser, R. (2005). Explaining the ‘natural order of L2 morpheme acquisition’ in English: A meta-analysis of multiple determinants. Language Learning, 55(1), 27–77. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
IBM Corp. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ionin, T., & Montrul, S. (2010). The role of L1 transfer in the interpretation of articles with definite plurals in L2 English. Language Learning, 60(4), 877–925. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y. (2008). The contribution of collaborative and individual tasks to the acquisition of L2 vocabulary. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 114–130. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kowal, M., & Swain, M. (1994). Using collaborative language production tasks to promote students’ language awareness. Language Awareness, 3(2), 73–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1982). Acquiring a second language. World Englishes, 1(3), 97–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2002). The effect of interaction in acquiring the grammar of a second language. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(3–4), 343–358. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leeser, M. (2004). Learner proficiency and focus on form during collaborative dialogue. Language Teaching Research, 8(1), 55–81. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Manchón, R. M. (2011). Writing to learn the language: Issues in theory and research. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language (pp. 61–82). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Manchón, R. M., & Williams, J. (2016). L2 writing and SLA studies. In R. M. Manchón & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.). Handbook of second and foreign language writing. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Master, P. (1997). The English article system: Acquisition, function and pedagogy. System, 25(2), 215–232. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Masuda, K., & Iwasaki, N. (2018). Pair-work dynamics: Stronger learners’ languaging engagement and learning outcomes of the Japanese polysemous particles ni/de. Language and Sociocultural Theory, 5(1), 46–71. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nassaji, H., & Tian, J. (2010). Collaborative and individual output tasks and their effects on learning English phrasal verbs. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 397–419. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ohta, A. (2001). Second language acquisition processes in the classroom: Learning Japanese. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ormerod, M., & Reas, C. (2014). Tiger 6th Primary pupil’s book. Madrid: Heinemann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sato, M. (2016). Interaction mindsets, interactional behaviors, and L2 development: An affective-social-cognitive model. Language Learning, 67(2), 249–283. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sato, M., & Viveros, P. (2016). Interaction or collaboration? Group dynamics in the foreign language classroom. In M. Sato & S. Ballinger (Eds.), Peer interaction and second language learning. Pedagogical potential and research agenda (pp. 91–112). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129–158. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10(3), 209–241.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shak, J. (2006). Children using dictogloss to focus on form. Reflections on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 47–62.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los Diputados). (2013). Organic law for the improvement of the quality of Education, (Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa, LOMCE). Available at <[URL]> (22 July 2019).
Storch, N. (2001). How collaborative is pair work? ESL tertiary students composing in pairs. Language Teaching Research, 5(1), 29–53. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Metatalk in a pair work activity: Level of engagement and implications for language development. Language Awareness, 17(2), 95–114. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). Collaborative writing in L2 classrooms. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2016). Collaborative writing. In R. M. Manchón & P. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 387–406). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principles and practice in applied linguistics (pp. 125–144). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2006). Languaging, agency and collaboration in advanced language proficiency. In H. Byrnes (Ed.), Advanced language learning: The contribution of Halliday and Vygotsky (pp. 95–108). New York, NY: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2001). Focus on form through collaborative dialogue: Exploring task effects. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan, & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks. Second language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 99–117). London: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2002). Talking it through: Two French immersion learners’ response to reformulation. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(3–4), 85–304.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wajnryb, R. (1990). Grammar dictation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Watanabe, Y., & Swain, M. (2007). Effects of proficiency differences and patterns of pair interaction on second language learning: Collaborative dialogue between adult ESL learners. Language Teaching Research, 11(2), 121–142. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Williams, J. (2012). The potential role(s) of writing in second language development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(4), 321–331. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem-solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 17(2), 89–100. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yu, S., & Lee, I. (2016). Peer feedback in second language writing (2005–2014). Language Teaching, 49(4), 461–493. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (22)

Cited by 22 other publications

Delgado-Garza, Paloma & María del Pilar García Mayo
2025. Can we train young EFL learners to ‘notice the gap’? Exploring the relationship between metalinguistic awareness, grammar learning and the use of metalinguistic explanations in a dictogloss task. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 63:3 ► pp. 1573 ff. DOI logo
García-Pastor, María Dolores
2025. Child EFL Learners’ Reflections About the Expression of Obligation in Collaborative Interaction. In Investigating Attention to Form and Individual Differences:Research with EFL Children [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 105 ff. DOI logo
Iglesias-Diéguez, Kevin & María Martínez-Adrián
2025. At the Crossroad Between Form-Focused Instruction (FFI) and Language-Analytic Ability: A Study on Metalinguistic Explanations and the Acquisition of Explicit Knowledge of the L3 English Possessive Determiners His/Her. In Investigating Attention to Form and Individual Differences:Research with EFL Children [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 29 ff. DOI logo
Kopinska, Marta, Janire Guerrero-Gómez & Maria Orcasitas-Vicandi
2025. Exploring the Role of Young Learners’ Individual Differences in Collaborative Writing. In Investigating Attention to Form and Individual Differences:Research with EFL Children [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 215 ff. DOI logo
Kos, Tomáš & Friedrich Zoe Lara
2025. Collaborative Writing and Learning of Reported Speech During Mixed‐Age Peer Interactions in English as a Foreign Language Classroom. International Journal of Applied Linguistics DOI logo
Pladevall-Ballester, Elisabet & Eloi Puig-Mayenco
2025. Focused Task-Based Peer Interaction in the Young EFL Classroom: Enhancing Explicit Knowledge and Production of Present Continuous. In Investigating Attention to Form and Individual Differences:Research with EFL Children [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 57 ff. DOI logo
Roothooft, Hanne, Amparo Lázaro-Ibarrola & Bram Bulté
2025. Task repetition and corrective feedback via models and direct corrections among young EFL writers: Draft quality and task motivation. Language Teaching Research 29:3 ► pp. 1311 ff. DOI logo
Suzuki, Noriko
2025. The effect of task modality on the production of language-related episodes and learning of form. Language Awareness ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Azkarai, Agurtzane & Asier Calzada
2024. A multi-faceted view of engagement with language: a study with young EFL learners working on a collaborative writing task. Classroom Discourse 15:4 ► pp. 353 ff. DOI logo
Lázaro-Ibarrola, Amparo & María Ángeles Hidalgo
2024. Collaborative writing among young EFL learners in a school context: product and process. The Language Learning Journal 52:3 ► pp. 285 ff. DOI logo
Pladevall-Ballester, Elisabet, Eloi Puig-Mayenco & Montserrat Capdevila
2024. The effect of task-based peer interaction and pre-task instruction on young EFL learners’ explicit and implicit knowledge of past tense: An intervention study. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
Azkarai, Agurtzane
2023. L1 use and patterns of interaction of young EFL learners in a collaborative writing task. Language Teaching for Young Learners 5:1 ► pp. 7 ff. DOI logo
Kos, Tomas
2023. Exploring peer support among young learners during regular EFL classroom lessons. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 33:2 ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo
Kos, Tomáš
2023. A teacher-researcher snapshot of task-based peer interactions in EFL secondary school classrooms in Germany. Language Teaching for Young Learners 5:2 ► pp. 170 ff. DOI logo
Olioumtsevits, Konstantina, Despina Papadopoulou & Theodoros Marinis
2023. Second language grammar learning in refugee children. Pedagogical Linguistics 4:1 ► pp. 50 ff. DOI logo
Calzada, Asier & María del Pilar García Mayo
2021. Effects of proficiency and collaborative work on child EFL individual dictogloss writing. Language Teaching for Young Learners 3:2 ► pp. 246 ff. DOI logo
Calzada, Asier & María del Pilar García Mayo
2021. Child learners’ reflections about EFL grammar in a collaborative writing task: when form is not at odds with communication. Language Awareness 30:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Calzada, Asier & María del Pilar García Mayo
2023. Do task repetition and pretask focus on form instruction impact collaborative writing performance?. In L2 Collaborative Writing in Diverse Learning Contexts [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 59], ► pp. 80 ff. DOI logo
Luquin, María & María del Pilar García Mayo
2021. Exploring the use of models as a written corrective feedback technique among EFL children. System 98 ► pp. 102465 ff. DOI logo
Luquin, María & María del Pilar García Mayo
2024. A longitudinal study of the effects of model texts on EFL children's written production. System 120 ► pp. 103190 ff. DOI logo
Luquin, María & María del Pilar García Mayo
2025. Tracking EFL children’s learning: A longitudinal study of noticing and incorporation of features in model-based and self-correction tasks. Language Teaching Research DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2023. Child L2 Writers [Trends in Language Acquisition Research, 32], DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 26 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue