Abstract
A growing body of research has shown that students’ L1 performs various functions that facilitate L2 collaborative writing, and these findings lead to an assumption that adequate employment of L1 helps students produce better-quality texts. This study aims to test this assumption and find any relationship between L1 use and text quality. It also investigates the impact of L1 use on the process of collaborative writing. University EFL students in Japan wrote a narrative text in pairs. Their interactions were audio-recorded and transcribed, and turns containing any utterance in L1 (Japanese) were identified. Their compositions were assessed for fluency, accuracy, complexity, content, and organization. The quantitative analysis found no significant relationships between the proportion of L1 turns and the ratings of compositions. However, qualitative examinations of interactions revealed notable differences in the writing process between frequent users and infrequent users of L1. The former tended to suspend formulating to revise their plans or engage in long language-related episodes. The latter tended to complete the formulating stage quickly and spend ample time on review. Pedagogical implications are discussed regarding the benefits and drawbacks of allowing EFL students to use their shared L1 for L2 collaborative writing.
https://ror.org/01zwcys39 
