Exploring the Writing and Editing Patterns of the Different Language Proficiency Groups on a Wiki

This article explores the differences in students' writing and editing patterns on the wiki across three different English proficiency groups. For more rigorous research, multiple sources of data were collected, including the students' final texts on the wiki, the changes that appeared in the texts, and the students' questionnaires. The accuracy, fluency, and complexity of the final version of each group's text were measured to evaluate the quality of the texts. Next, in order to compare the editing patterns among the groups, multidimensional analyses of level, type, and function were conducted. The final step involved analyzing the students' questionnaires, which revealed the reasons underlying the writing and editing patterns that were distinctive to each group. This study reveals that the levels of accuracy, fluency, and complexity differed between groups and that differing levels of language proficiency exhibit different writing and editing patterns. This study concludes that not just one but several interrelated factors, such as the students' sense of audience, anxiety regarding errors, sensitivity toward the community, and sensibility regarding their peers as co-authors, determined their writing and editing behaviors on the wiki. Finally, this study suggests that language teachers should intervene actively in students' learning on the web.