Group Participation and Interaction in ESL Wiki Collaborative Writing among Malaysian Gifted Students

Abstract

In the Malaysian Education Ministry's Education Transformation 2013-2025, there is an emphasis on English language proficiency, collaborative practices and ICT, and concern for the educational needs of gifted students. The study aimed to align with the Ministry's initiatives by exploring the use of wikis in ESL collaborative writing among gifted students, particularly group participation and interaction. The mixed-method case study employed questionnaires, online interviews and observations to collect data from 74 Form 4 gifted students from PERMATApintar National Gifted Centre, UKM. The study found that group participation and collaboration was not ideal, but students gained from interactions with others on the wiki. These findings were discussed in detail with regards to the literature and arising issues. Hence, wikis proved to be an interesting alternative for ESL collaborative writing that is capable of motivating and fostering collaborative language learning efforts among gifted students.

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