The CATESOL Journal

This action research investigated the effects of the Social-Interactive Writing for English Language Learners (SWELL) method on the social interaction and cognitive writing processes of a pair of elementary school Mandarin-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in California. In the study, the researcher modified Topping’s paired-writing method, a highly structured process-writing approach, and designed a new model called the SWELL method to teach the pair of ELLs. Complex social and cognitive behaviors of participants were found in the study. The teacher’s constant modeling of strategies to promote a positive attitude in the SWELL method played a crucial role. Use of L1 between partners was also found to be important, since it helped promote more in-depth discussions during the interaction. Furthermore, contrary to Vygotsky ’s (1934/2000) idea of pairing an expert with a novice to promote effective learning, this study indicated that pairing intermediate-level novice ELLs also led to constructive social collaboration and high-level cognitive thinking skills.