Contributions of online tutoring for written production in a telecollaborative system
Résumé
As they have brought about a transformation in the relation-
ship to the written word, digital tools cannot be ignored in the
teaching of written work. Information and communication
technologies (ICT) promote an authenticity of communicative
practices. Written production tasks based on digital tools lead
the learners to write for addressees other than the teacher.
What can the role of the teacher or tutor be when the written
productions are based on digital tools? Various studies show
that scaffolding plays a fundamental role.
This chapter deals with the role of the tutor in a written
production task based on digital tools. We propose to study
a telecollaborative project between 25 tutors enrolled in a
Master’s degree in Paris to become French language teachers
and 13 undergraduate students learning French in Hong Kong.
Each group includes two tutors for one learner. The exchanges
are built around a writing project using new technologies, a
blog dedicated to student life in Paris and in Hong Kong. The
learners first read an account written by one of their tutors
on a theme about student life in France; then they write an
account on the same theme about student life in Hong Kong.
The texts, in which the participants talk about their experi-
ences, are published on the blog, thus highlighting the social
dimension of the project. They are also aimed at serving as
models for the learners’ productions.
Our research question deals with the tutors’ scaffolding. To
what extent does the tutoring help in the learners’ written
production? To answer this question, we study the accounts
written by the learners and tutors, the instructions given by the
tutors, as well as the questionnaires filled in by the learners and
the reflective assessments written by the tutors at the end of
the project. The analysis of the corpus shows that the leaners’
reading of accounts written by the tutors provides support for
the production of their own accounts. By writing articles and
revealing things about themselves, the tutors encourage the
learners to produce autobiographical texts. The tutors personal
-
ize the tasks, guide the learners’ written production, adapt to fit
their interest, and introduce a suitable progression. The learners
use in their productions ideas, themes, and expressions similar
to those that appear in the tutors’ accounts. Thus, the study
highlights how the tutors’ commitment to their productions
can encourage the learners’ involvement in their own produc-
tions.
Parce qu’elles ont provoqué une transformation de notre
approche de l’écriture, les technologies multimédia ne peuvent
être ignorées quant il s’agit de l’enseignement de la produc-
tion d’écrit. En effet, les technologies de l’information et de la
production peuvent encourager des pratiques authentiques de
communication. Grâce au recours à des outils numériques, les
apprenants peuvent être incités à écrire pour un autre lecteur
que leur enseignant. Quel est alors le rôle du formateur ou du
tuteur lorsque la production écrite se fonde sur la technologie
numérique ? Diverses études montrent que dans ce cas, le rôle
de l’étayage est capital.
Dans cette contribution, nous nous intéressons à l’étayage des
tuteurs dans un projet de télécollaboration entre 25 tuteurs
inscrits en Master de didactique du français langue étrangère
à Paris et 13 apprenants de français inscrits en Licence à Hong
Kong. Les échanges s’articulent autour d’un projet d’écriture
mobilisant les nouvelles technologies : un blog consacré à la vie
étudiante à Paris et à Hong Kong. Les tâches sont personnal-
isées par les tuteurs qui guident la production des apprenants,
s’adaptent à leur intérêt et élaborent une progression adaptée.
En rédigeant eux-mêmes des témoignages et en acceptant
de se dévoiler, les tuteurs encouragent les apprenants au récit
autobiographique. On peut ainsi observer dans les produc-
tions des apprenants les effets du tutorat à travers la reprise de
thématiques et d’expressions.