Collaborative Dialogue Mediating L2 Learning across All Proficiency Levels

Collaborative Dialogue Mediating L2 Learning across All Proficiency Levels

Advanced by Swain and Lapkin (1998, 2002), the concept of collaborative dialogue (CD) has yet to take hold in the second language (L2) curriculum. To explore how CD helps L2 learning, I conducted a qualitative study with six adult ESL learners in the greater Toronto area (GTA). Each of these participants was paired with partners of common or diverse first language (L1). They engaged in CD involving oral and written critiques of New York Times editorials. I found that CD pushed the participants to broaden the scope of their actual and/or potential language use. The broadening of this scope occurred whether the participants perceived themselves as more proficient or less proficient in English than their partners and whether they addressed explicit or implicit problems. From a sociocultural perspective, I discuss how and why CD as a means of L2 learning can be more effective than the traditional, teacher-fronted L2 curriculum.