Teacher Bytes - Real time communication

Emirati students love to chat…online. Chat and messaging seem to be the favorite computer-based activity of many of our students. There are growing opportunities for them to communicate with English language learners and native speakers around the world. Cultural factors are clearly a restraining factor. However, the possibilities for interaction will only increase in time.

The term 'synchronous interaction' is used to describe live or real-time computer-mediated communication. It includes the use of chat rooms, online messaging and the more complex multi-user domains (MUDS) that create virtual worlds for user communication and experimentation. Synchronous communication contrasts with Asynchronous communication which is used to describe email and bulletin board systems.

There is patchy but growing research into the use of synchronous text-based interaction in education. A number of advantages and disadvantages are beginning to emerge. Some of the benefits are as follows.

1. In computer-mediated communication, interaction is student-driven and takes place mostly among peers. Although the instructor may initiate such interaction, the framework promotes student control. It further serves to include rather than exclude less confident learners.

2. Authenticity is also promoted in synchronous communication. The idea of the networked classroom expanding the learning environment was put forward as early as the 1980's. Increasingly, learners are offered the possibility to interact naturally with native speakers. The target language thus becomes an instrument to achieve goals rather than the focus of an activity in itself. Taking things one step further and becoming a full part of an online community allows learners the opportunity to socialize in the target language, an advanced and important activity in the language learning process.

3. Two studies in 1998 study indicated that online communication in the language learning classroom promoted more enthusiastic, more confident and more frequent linguistic interaction among students. Students engaged in online communities reported self-rated improvements in proficiency and confidence.

Live text-based communication also has inherent weaknesses.

1. Computer networking lacks the paralinguistic clues of normal discourse.

2. Dealing with multiple threads of conversation is a feature not common to normal discourse but frequent in online communication.

3. The speed of the interaction may overwhelm the participants when fast data connections are available. Conversely, boredom may set-in when slow modems are in use. Consequently, conversations can be fragmented and confused with many conversations happening in concurrence and long delays between responses.

4. A 1995 study into the effect of a computer-mediated environment on the learning of English language had disappointing results. It was found that that the technology affected the language in use to the extent that fluent communication became extremely difficult with the use of jargon and clipped vocabulary increasing.

In a future issue of Teacher Bytes, we will take a look at practical applications of synchronous communication in the learning process.

Hotlinks: Synchronous Communications

http://www.lerc.ritsumei.ac.jp/callej/3-1/kkitao.html

http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/98/feb/davies.html

Swaffer, J. (1998). Language learning online: Theory and practice in the Esl and L2 computer classroom. Austin, Texas: Dedalus Group.

Issue 5		Real Time Communication Emirati students love to chat…online. Chat and messaging seem to be the favorite computer-based activity of many of our students. There are growing opportunities for them to communicate with English language learners and native speakers around the world. Cultural factors are clearly a restraining factor. However, the possibilities for interaction will only increase in time. The term 'synchronous interaction' is used to describe live or real-time computer-mediated communication. It includes the use of chat rooms, online messaging and the more complex multi-user domains (MUDS) that create virtual worlds for user communication and experimentation. Synchronous communication contrasts with Asynchronous communication which is used to describe email and bulletin board systems. There is patchy but growing research into the use of synchronous text-based interaction in education. A number of advantages and disadvantages are beginning to emerge. Some of the benefits are as follows. 1. In computer-mediated communication, interaction is student-driven and takes place mostly among peers. Although the instructor may initiate such interaction, the framework promotes student control. It further serves to include rather than exclude less confident learners. 2. Authenticity is also promoted in synchronous communication. The idea of the networked classroom expanding the learning environment was put forward as early as the 1980's. Increasingly, learners are offered the possibility to interact naturally with native speakers. The target language thus becomes an instrument to achieve goals rather than the focus of an activity in itself. Taking things one step further and becoming a full part of an online community allows learners the opportunity to socialize in the target language, an advanced and important activity in the language learning process. 3. Two studies in 1998 study indicated that online communication in the language learning classroom promoted more enthusiastic, more confident and more frequent linguistic interaction among students. Students engaged in online communities reported self-rated improvements in proficiency and confidence. Live text-based communication also has inherent weaknesses. 1. Computer networking lacks the paralinguistic clues of normal discourse. 2. Dealing with multiple threads of conversation is a feature not common to normal discourse but frequent in online communication. 3. The speed of the interaction may overwhelm the participants when fast data connections are available. Conversely, boredom may set-in when slow modems are in use. Consequently, conversations can be fragmented and confused with many conversations happening in concurrence and long delays between responses. 4. A 1995 study into the effect of a computer-mediated environment on the learning of English language had disappointing results. It was found that that the technology affected the language in use to the extent that fluent communication became extremely difficult with the use of jargon and clipped vocabulary increasing. In a future issue of Teacher Bytes, we will take a look at practical applications of synchronous communication in the learning process. Hotlinks: Synchronous Communications http://www.lerc.ritsumei.ac.jp/callej/3-1/kkitao.html http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/98/feb/davies.html Swaffer, J. (1998). Language learning online: Theory and practice in the Esl and L2 computer classroom. Austin, Texas: Dedalus Group.
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