Text-Shared Collaboration in Second Language Using Groupware for an Idea Generation

• Published in: Advanced Techniques for Knowledge Engineering and Innovative Applications pp. 56 - 69
• Main Authors: Yuizono, Takaya, Yu, Zeying
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2013
• Series: Communications in Computer and Information Science
• Subjects: Chinese Participants; Creative Task; Groupware; Japanese Language; Second Language; the KJ method
• ISBN: 9783642420160; 3642420168
• ISSN: 1865-0929; 1865-0937
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-42017-7_5

In the age of globalization, a second language can play an important role in collaboration between different countries. Text-based communication is slower than verbal communication, although its speed allows sufficient time to think which leads to an increased collaboration. Some effects of a second language using a groupware on the distributed and cooperative KJ method (the DC-KJ method) were investigated. The DC-KJ method is an arranged creative task referring to the KJ method developed by Jiro Kawakita well known in Japan. Post-it notes are used for writing and sharing ideas in the KJ method. The DC-KJ method consists of three steps: generating ideas by brainstorming, grouping ideas by concept formation, and framing a concluding statement from the previous steps. Thirty Chinese students took part in the experiments to investigate the effects. A group of three students carried out the collaboration task twice; one case used the Japanese language as a second language and the other case used the Chinese language as a native language. Those results were compared in terms of quantity and quality by means of a log data analysis, a questionnaire survey, and a writing satisfaction valuation as the final result. The results showed that (1) Chinese people using the Japanese language produced similar Chinese language usage result quantities and quality and (2) the ability to think 84 percent of opinions in the Japanese language were utilized to obtain those results. These results show a potential of text-shared collaboration with the groupware by using a second language.