The present study aimed to compare the nature of peer-peer dialog among two Iranian (EFL) and two Malaysian-Chinese (ESL) dyads during eleven collaborative writing sessions. Pair talks were video-recorded, transcribed verbatim and subsequently were analyzed at three levels: type of talk, type of activity and type of episode. The types of talk were…

Despite the preponderance of theoretical and empirical evidence that suggests the use of pair/group work to promote second language learning, it is still unclear who can best form high performance groups. Should students be allowed to choose their working partners, or should teachers themselves assign students to pairs? This study set out to…