University of Isfahan Applied Research on English Language 2252-0198 2 1 2013 02 01 The effect of language complexity and group size on knowledge construction: Implications for online learning 69 76 15465 10.22108/are.2013.15465 EN Inas Khalsi The Higher Institute of Studies Applied to Humanities, Tunisia Journal Article 2012 12 24 This  study  investigated  the  effect  of  language  complexity  and  group  size  on  knowledge <br />construction in two online debates. Knowledge construction was assessed using Gunawardena <br />et al.’s Interaction Analysis Model (1997). Language complexity was determined by dividing <br />the  number  of  unique  words  by  total  words.  It  refers  to  the  lexical  variation.  The  results <br />showed  that  knowledge  construction  and  group  size  are  significantly  and  negatively <br />correlated. Also, the study revealed that knowledge construction and language complexity are <br />significantly  and  positively  correlated.  Furthermore,  the  study  demonstrated  that  language <br />complexity  is  a  significant  predictor  of  knowledge  construction  in  online  debates.  Some <br />actions  should  be  undertaken  to  increase  language  complexity  in  order  to  foster  knowledge <br />construction in online debates. https://are.ui.ac.ir/article_15465_d58bf1da5e6ad9653f2472f772ee706f.pdf