Second language writing research and pedagogy: a role for computer logging?

Abstract This paper considers the use of keystroke logging software to investigate how writers interact with the task of writing on the computer. The research focuses on second and foreign language writing, drawing on studies from a variety of contexts from school to university, involving both academic and communicative tasks. The observation of writing through this means of data capture allows access to a mass of detailed information about a range of aspects of the planning, formulating, and revising processes of individual writers. It prompts investigation, at one level, of the writer's interaction with the computer itself during the writing event. The interaction may be further investigated in terms of both social and discoursal dimensions as the writer grapples with topic, audience, genre, social and cultural constraints, as well as language. The interactivity of the logging tool offers researchers the opportunity to explore not only the actions that writers take but also the conscious strategies they employ as they compose. Replaying the writing session with writers, that is, using stimulated recall, reveals insights into the writers’ perceived attention and strategies to address such issues as content, discourse organization, language and metacognitive concerns. There is considerable overlap between the use of this software from a research perspective and its potential as a pedagogic tool. The application of computer logging and stimulated recall in the classroom is presented as a means of promoting self-assessment, metacognitive awareness, and learner autonomy among second language writers.

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