Group interactive network and behavioral patterns in online English-to-Chinese cooperative translation activity

This study investigated the group interactive network of students and the behavioral patterns of knowledge construction in online cooperative translation activities without teacher intervention. Participants in this study consisted of 48 EFL learners from a Chinese university who major in educational technology. The following are determined by combining the methods of social network analysis and lag sequence analysis: (1) The group interactive network generated in this activity was reciprocal and balanced, and high cohesiveness and tight interaction relationship exist among groups. (2) In different cooperation phases, the behavioral sequences of knowledge construction of students presented different characteristics. (3) The behavioral sequences between the high-score groups and low-score groups also showed distinct differences. In addition, this study also revealed certain problems in cooperative translation, such as uneven contribution and unrelated chats. Finally, some implications for specialized English translation instruction, the limitations, and future research plan were presented.