L2 collaborative writing via instructional technology in Serbian tertiary education

Abstract

Contemporary ELT classroom demonstrates significant changes under the influence of the digital era and instructional technology. According to Becker (Becker 2000, in Ahmadi Reza 2018: 116), computers are regarded as an important instructional instrument in language classes, and teachers rely on technology as a medium to deliver courses, either fully online or as a complementary resource used with the aim of adapting learning to the needs of the new generation, the e-generation (Gonzalez-Vera, 2016) The exponential growth of the Internet since 1994 is causing a revolution in learning (Blyth 1999) (Reid in Carter & Nunan, 2001) and the issues in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) have also evlolved from an early emphasis on how to use the new technology to research on technology’s effects on learning (Hanson-Smith in Carter & Nunan, 2001). At the same time the EFL classroom has experienced great changes and the use of technology in English L2 writing courses may be the foremost curricular change today (Reid in Carter & Nunan, 2001). The advancement of technology and its pedagogical implications have allowed teaching writing in an ELT classroom to develop beyond the isolated practice of writing, towards a more social experience. Collaborative writing is a recent pedagogical practice in ELT classroom relying on theoretical basis of Vygotskian notion of cooperating with others by contributing ideas with the goal of quality learning and growth to take place (Heidar, 2016).