Exploring collaborative digital multimodal composition: Interaction patterns and texts in the French as a Foreign Language context

Abstract

Informed by sociocultural theory, this study investigates the interaction patterns of three small groups of French as a Foreign Language (FL) students engaged in a collaborative digital multimodal writing task, and how these patterns relate to the final products. The task involved students creating digital postcards using Google Docs. Triangulated data sources included screencast recordings, Google Docs history records, and the students’ multimodal texts. Interactional patterns were examined based on the constructs of equality and mutuality, through the analyses of language functions (reflected in content and task negotiation, language-related episodes, and genre-related episodes) and writing change functions. Data analysis revealed three main patterns: collectively contributing/mutually supportive, dominant/withdrawn/cooperative, and active/passive. The overall quality of the postcards was assessed according to a grading rubric that evaluated content, language, and multimodal design, supplemented with the evaluation of accuracy and fluency. Results indicated that the small group displaying balanced, mutually supportive interaction produced a high-quality postcard, characterized by high accuracy and creative use of multimodal elements. In contrast, the group with low equality and mutuality produced a low-quality product. This paper ends with pedagogical insights and research directions.