The Impact of Collaborative Writing on Young Learners’ Writing Performance

As we know, writing is one of the most difficult skills for EFL learners. This skill emerges with challenges with vocabulary, grammar, and structural coherence. This study investigates the impact of collaborative writing on the writing performance of fifth-grade elementary students compared to individual writing. A quantitative method with a quasi-experimental design is conducted by using collaborative activities such as chain story, word construction, and comic strips. The writing performance was assessed using Jacob’s ESL Composition Profile across five key aspects. The result of the research showed that collaborative writing significantly improved students’ organization area (p = 0.003) and mechanics (p = 0.046). However, statistical analysis also showed no significant difference in content (p = 0.058), vocabulary (p = 0.059), and grammar (p = 0.414). The findings show that even though collaborative strategies effectively help young learners in structuring texts and improving punctuation usage, these strategies may not immediately enhance linguistic accuracy or enrich vocabulary without further treatment. This study also offers empirical evidence distinguishing which specific writing skills are most responsive to collaborative activity in elementary settings.