Examining the mediational means in collaborative writing: Case studies of undergraduate ESL students in business courses

• L1 mediated the process of group writing of the three groups to varying degrees.
• Each individual member's particular education experiences had shaped his or her unique capacity in the L2, which in turn shaped his or her performance in their group work as well as the performance of the whole group.
• A number of rules emerged, evolving in response to the immediate demands of collaborative writing.

This study examined the process of collaborative writing of three groups of ESL students at two Canadian business schools over one semester. Multiple sources of data were collected, including interviews, class observations, group discussions, e-mails, field notes, and written materials. Data analyses showed that L1 background, L2 proficiency, and group rules appeared to either facilitate or constrain the process of collaborative writing across the three groups. L1, as an important component of every ESL student's personal history, mediated the process of collaborative writing of the three groups to varying degrees. Each individual member's particular education experiences shaped his or her unique capacity in the L2, which in turn shaped individual performance in the collaborative work as well as the performance of the whole group. A number of rules for group activity in this context emerged, evolving in response to the immediate demands of collaborative writing such as task division, mutual dependency, keeping group harmony, and taking leadership. The findings of this study may help educators better understand what might facilitate and/or constrain collaborative writing of ESL students and thus provide effective guidance for students to maximize the benefit of group work.