Collaborative skills in language courses: how to support pupils?

The aim of this study is to examine how collaborative skills can be developed among secondary school pupils using digital tools (Word online, Adobe Spark Video) in the language classroom. Several types of data were collected: semi-structured interviews with teachers and learners, and observation of collaborative activities in the language classroom (video recordings, research log, observation notes, etc.). The case studies show different collaborative activities, which fall into three categories: coordination, articulation, and production. The analysis suggests that many factors can have an impact on collaboration between students, and this paper focuses on one in particular: digital tools. The findings revealed that digital tools can support collaboration if they meet the specific needs of the task (synchronous collaboration, asynchronous collaboration, or no collaboration) and its accessibility for the pupils (one tool for the group, one tool per student). Moreover, the analysis highlights the need to provide techno-pedagogical training (Stockwell & Hubbard, 2013) to the pupils so that they are able to use the tool efficiently in collaborative activities.