Observations in the computer room: L2 output and learner behaviour

Abstract

This article draws on second language theory, particularly output theory as defined by Swain (1995), in order to conceptualise observations made in a computer-assisted language learning setting. It investigates second language output and learner behaviour within an electronic role-play setting, based on a subject-specific problem solving task and the Internet as source of primary information. Students were given a task which includes the collaborative development of a marketing strategy for a chosen product. Data collected consists of the following corpora: emails exchanged between groups, the recorded discussions between each group’s members while engaged in the problem solving activity, oral presentation of the groups’ results as well as the individually written summaries. One area of particular interest is the analysis of the oral L2 output while solving a computer-assisted language learning task. How can the oral interaction be characterised? What kind of conclusions regarding the use of CALL can be drawn from the comparison of the oral interaction and the written output? Another area of interest is the analysis of the written L2 output. Is there evidence of second language acquisition and/or acquisition of content? Can such a CALL setting promote second language acquisition (SLA) and/or acquisition of content? Finally, the study aims to identify whether student-initiated focus on language form can be found. The article answers the questions posed above. Furthermore, the results of this study show that a very high percentage of all communication took place in L2 and occurrences of acquisition of content and language can be demonstrated.

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“…When uncertain about specific structures or forms, they were able to employ strategies to overcome their perceived weaknesses, for example by using an electronic dictionary or consulting a peer. Difficulties were solved collaboratively (Leahy, 2004). Proof-reading in a team was effective, and led to a higher degree of accuracy than individually produced output.…”

“…Even though such holistic and content-based tasks increase the cognitive demand on the learner, the associated problems with L2 accuracy can be addressed in various ways. Working with peers can lead to improved accuracy (Leahy, 2004;Storch, 1999). External incentives to produce higher accuracy could be introduced by, for instance, linking the task to a graded assessment or widening the audience beyond the boundaries, for example through the publication on a web page.…”

“…The spoken communication would be meaningless here, unless the computer screen is part of the communication model. This phenomenon in which the computer screen is a constituent 3 rd part of the communication between 2 interlocutors has previously been referred to as triadic interaction (van Lier, 2004) or triangular communication (Leahy, 2004). Since both interlocutors can see the spelling on the screen, their shorthand communication makes sense and Fred successfully corrects the noun in turn 11.…”

Private Turns: A Student’s Off-screen Behaviors during Synchronous Online Japanese Instruction

“…Similarly, Smith and Gorsuch (2004) documented learners' vocalizing their speech in their off-screen environments while engaging in text-based CMC. Furthermore, other researchers (Jeon-Ellis, Debski & Wigglesworth, 2005;Kitade, 2008;Leahy, 2004) examined off-screen collaborative talk by L2 learners as they engaged in technology-based tasks. For instance, Kitade (2008) studied the role of collaborative metalinguistic talk by pairs of Japanese learners in their physical environments while they composed asynchronous text.…”

Collaborative interaction as the process of task completion

“…O ver the past decade, a variety of research in the networked second and foreign language classroom has been conducted, especially in the area of computer-mediated communication. The diverse research fields include tandem learning (Appel & Mullen, 2000;Cziko & Park, 2003;Kötter, 2003;Schwienhorst, 2002), collaborative learning (Roskams, 1997), task-based learning (Gonzalez-Lloret, 2003;Smith, 2003;Leahy, 2004), project-oriented learning (Barson, Frommer & Schwartz, 1993;Kubota, 1999;Debski, 2000;Davey, 2001). Along with the research trend in applied linguistics (AL), more researchers are employing sociocultural theory to explore these research fields in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) (Belz, 2002;Lee, 2004).…”