Designing L2 reading to write tasks in online higher education contexts

• The trialogical approach facilitates the design of L2 online academic reading tasks.
• Graphic organisers on Wikis automate and explicate reading and thinking processes.
• Design patterns guide curriculum planning.

This paper explores the experience of designing constructed Wiki1 tasks to coordinate and formalise the concepts and processes involved in the act of reading to write in a foundation English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program. It has emerged in response to growing interest in the development of online English language courses and the need to design online learning experiences to assist English as a second language (L2) tertiary students to manage the processes involved in reading when preparing to write. It is also an attempt to design a learning experience that is more conducive to the needs of learners in contemporary society by using a ‘trialogical’ approach to learning. Results indicate that the trialogical approach to learning can assist EAP educators to design online reading to write learning experiences that enable novice L2 reader writers to begin managing and automating the reading and thinking acts involved in using readings to write. It also suggests that the principles of the trialogical approach to learning can assist higher education practitioners to design learning experiences that prepare learners for participation in 21st century contexts.