A Study Of The Effects Of Collaborative Writing In Pairs On Senior High School Students’ English Writing: A Perspective From The ZPD

English writing is not only an important skill in language learning but also an important indicator for testing language proficiency.The new National English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School(2017 edition revised in 2020)requires students to be able to effectively use spoken and written English to express meanings and conduct interpersonal communication.The writing part of the National Matriculation English Test is also required to examine students’ English writing proficiency,including the fluency,accuracy and appropriateness of the written text(Ministry of Education,2020).Facing the challenges of the new era,new curriculum reform and College Entrance Examination,how to effectively carry out English writing teaching to improve students’ English writing proficiency is also an important issue that needs to be solved.In recent years,collaborative writing has become popular and attracted widespread attention.Related empirical studies abroad have discussed that collaborative writing is an effective way to promote the development of learners’ English writing proficiency and overall language ability.However,studies exploring whether collaborative writing practice is productive for secondary school learners at home are still insufficient.This study attempts to explore the effects of ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs on the English writing development of senior high school students.The study takes the students from two parallel classes in a high school of Panzhou city as the participants and tries to explore the following questions:1.What effects does ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs have on students’ English writing performance in terms of their writing complexity,accuracy,and fluency?2.What effects does ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs have on students’ overall English writing quality?3.What are students’ attitudes and evaluations towards ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs?The study constructed the flow chart of ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs.Firstly,a pre-test of English writing was conducted in the two parallel classes and then one of the classes was selected as the experimental class and the other as the control class.In the writing class,two students as a pair for collaborative writing in the experimental class,whereas participants in the control class were given the same assignments by following the traditional individual writing.After the experiment,a post-test of English writing was conducted.Finally,the participants were further interviewed.Through the objective evaluation and holistic evaluation of students’ written texts in pre-test and post-test,as well as the analysis of the interview and observation of the students,the findings indicate that: ZPD-based collaborative writing in pairs has a positive impact on senior high school students’ English writing development.Comparatively speaking,students’ writing accuracy and fluency in the experimental class have improved a lot after the practice of collaborative writing in pairs,while their writing complexity has not changed obviously.While improving the writing language performance,the practice of collaborative writing in pairs also helps to improve students’ overall English writing quality.Besides,according to the interview and observation,it is also found that students hold a positive attitude and evaluation towards the practice of collaborative writing in pairs.The students believe that the practice of collaborative writing in pairs helps to improve their English writing skills and their English writing quality,as well as to enhance their teamwork awareness.Finally,the pedagogical implications were further discussed and the limitations of the current study and suggestions for further study were also presented.