ABSTRACT
The focus of this study is on the interactions five pairs of students had in order to carry out a collaborative writing activity. The research was conducted in a language school of Goiânia, in Goiás, Brazil, with ten EFL/ESL students, in 2015. The objectives of this investigation are: a) to observe and discuss the elements that stand out during the students' interactions; and b) to investigate these learners' perceptions of the experience. This study is grounded on sociocultural theory (DONATO, 1994DONATO, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In: LANTOLF, J. P.; APPEL, G. (Ed.). Vygotskian Approaches to Second Language Learning. Norwood, N. J.: Ablex Publishing Company, pp. 33-56.; HALL, 2001HALL, J. K. (2001). Classroom interaction and language learning. Ilha do Desterro, Florianópolis, n. 41, pp. 17-39.; VYGOTSKY, 1978VYGOTSKY, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: the Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.) and collaborative language learning (FIGUEIREDO, 2005FIGUEIREDO, F. J. Q. (2005). Semeando a interação: A revisão dialógica de textos escritos em língua estrangeira. Goiânia: Ed. da UFG., 2006FIGUEIREDO, F. J. Q. (2006). A aprendizagem colaborativa de línguas: algumas considerações conceituais e terminológicas. In: FIGUEIREDO, F. J. Q. (Org.). A aprendizagem colaborativa de línguas. Goiânia: Ed. da UFG, pp. 11-45., 2008FIGUEIREDO, F. J. Q. (2008). The influences of collaboration on the learning of a foreign language. MOARA, n. 30, pp. 117-134., 2015FIGUEIREDO, F. J. Q. (2015). Aprendendo com os erros: uma perspectiva comunicativa de ensino de línguas. 3. ed. Goiânia: Editora UFG.; OXFORD, 1997OXFORD. R. L. (1997). Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: Three communicative strands in the language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, v. 81, n. 4, pp. 443-456.). The theoretical assumptions that guide this research consider interaction and collaboration as essential elements for language learning development. This is a qualitative case study (GODOY, 2006GODOY, A. (2006). Estudo de caso qualitativo. In: GODOI, C.; BANDEIRA-DE-MELLO, R.; BARBOSA DA SILVA; A. (Org.). Pesquisa Qualitativa em Estudos Organizacionais: Paradigmas, Estratégias e Métodos. São Paulo: Saraiva, pp. 115-146.; TELLES, 2002TELLES, J. A. (2002). "É pesquisa, é? Ah, não quero, não bem!" Sobre a pesquisa acadêmica e a sua relação com a prática do professor de línguas. Linguagem e Ensino, v. 5, n. 2, pp. 91-116.), and the sources used to generate the data are questionnaires, audio recordings of the students' interactions and semi-structured interviews. The elements that stand out in this investigation are related to the potentialities of dialogic interactions, which foster scaffolding, mutual support, and the promotion of learners' autonomy. In addition, the learners highlight some positive aspects they could perceive from the experience, such as each other's help and the possibility to access more ideas; as negative aspects, they point out disagreements and conflicts they had to handle during the interactions.
Keywords:
Sociocultural theory; collaborative language learning; interactions between pairs
