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

Abstract

Although distance language education has been widely adopted in university learning, very few researchers to date have looked at off-screen behaviors of second/foreign language learners in their physical environments while they engage in synchronous (real-time) online courses. This study examined one focal student's off-screen behaviors while she worked in front of the computer in her physical environment during a university-level synchronous Japanese class. The class was mediated by audio-based conferencing software (Wimba) where class participants' behaviors in their physical environments were not observable to others. The primary data consist of two types of video recordings that were synchronized in a picture-in-picture format: the focal student's off-screen behaviors in her private environment and archived online classes with instructor and seven classmates (~20 hours). Drawing on conversation analysis, the study showed unique characteristics of interactional norms developed by the student in her physical environment in contrast to those observed in a controlled online environment. The focal student's off-screen behavior suggested that she gained significant affordances from the course format; namely, opportunities to freely take her private turns by vocalizing the language off-screen without being heard. The study illustrates the potential of computer-based learning to promote increased learner agency and autonomy.

When no one can go to school: does online learning meet students’ basic learning needs?

“…For the basic learning need of "competence", studies found that online learning could help learner achieving learning goals by offering efficient and convenient ways to learn at their own pace (Wilson et al, 2017); enhancing academic attainment (Gilbert, 2015) and developing higher-order thinking through self-regulated learning while integrative learning can increase content knowledge as well as enhance cognitive processing (Ormrod, 2011;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Students were also to become more autonomous (Fotiadou et al, 2017;Suzuki, 2013). With a supportive environment (Baird, 2005) and the benefits of self-paced and selfdirected learning mode (Fotiadou et al, 2017), learners might be positively "aroused" to engage in online learning.…”

The trends and developments of L2 Japanese research in the 2010s

“…Aside from these reports that looked at the development and the use of new instructional tools, some studies investigated the actual learning process observed in non-traditional instructional modes. For example, Suzuki (2013) took up a unique approach and examined how off-screen behaviors of a student in an online course would reveal the micro process of learning in this environment. The author discussed a case where a focal learner, Mei, frequently engaged in verbal rehearsal of words, phrases, and sentences in parallel with the ongoing teacher-student sequence when other students were nominated to speak.…”

Language–Learner Computer Interactions: Theory, Methodology, and CALL Applications

“…"Beyond mere visual observation, initial methods for tracking the location of eye fixation were quite invasive -involving direct mechanical contact with the cornea" (Jacob & Karn, 2003, p. 574). The first non-invasive eyetracking technique was developed by Dodge and Cline around 1901, which could record the light reflected from the cornea (Wade & Tatler, 2011). The main eyetracking techniques were various combinations of corneal reflection and motion pictures before the first head-mounted eye tracker was invented in the late 1940s (Hartridge & Thompson, 1948).…”

“…For example, by studying only output data of chat logs, any information on self-corrections, hesitations, and other learner actions prior to sending off their chat contributions can be lost . By focusing on just the screen, the mouse and the keyboard, we can miss out on all the different scaffolds and support tools that learners use, even if their main focus is interaction via a computer (Suzuki, 2013). Eye-tracking is a useful method to gather data on users engaged in learning with a computer, adding another dimension to the picture that cannot be easily provided by alternative methods, such as video screen capture.…”