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Cynthia White
Massey University, New Zealand
Research into spoken online learning events has entered its second decade, and we now have a clearer sense of the affordances and constraints of different online mediums for developing spoken interaction. How we now think about language teaching and learning, and the activities, experiences and processes which support the development of interactive competence have also been transformed by virtual learning opportunities. In this paper I identify predominant research paradigms and directions in online spoken interaction and critically evaluate what we have gained and what we may have overlooked in using such approaches. Key challenges include reducing the distance between research and pedagogical practice, identifying ways of enhancing the research-practice nexus, and developing a research agenda based on such ongoing interrelationships. I then propose a number of questions, methodologies and research tools aligned with that agenda. In the latter part of the paper I also explore three diverse ‘problems’ in spoken online learning - curricular congruence and articulation, intercultural competence, and assessment - to illustrate how new approaches to research and teacher development can bring together the worlds of theory, research and practice. To conclude I argue that while a number of factors work against the development of links between research and practice, closing the gap between them is valuable for all participants in spoken online learning events - researchers, teachers and learners - as a means of developing an informed understanding of what we think we may know, what we may need to know and what we do.
Dorothy M. Chun
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
As noted in a recent special issue of Language Learning & Technology on "Oral Language Development" in 2005, research on the uses and effects of technology for developing and improving oral proficiency is in its infancy. Earlier studies have shown, for example, that synchronous written chat sessions were more effective in preparing learners for whole-class oral discussion than asynchronous discussion or small-group and pair-work activities in a F2F classroom (Abrams, 2003). Payne and Whitney (2002) found that the spontaneous production of text in a chatroom seemed to develop the same cognitive mechanisms underlying L2 speech. With the rapid advances and widespread availability of asynchronous online voice boards, as well as synchronous audio conferencing (e.g., (Hampel & Hauck, 2004; Hauck & Hampel, 2005) and videoconferencing (Wang, 2004), the new research questions revolve around whether virtual F2F interactions have beneficial effects on developing L2 oral proficiency. In this presentation, I will first revisit the underlying principles of interactionist SLA and then discuss how the interaction that takes place in audio or video conferencing is similar to, yet different from, F2F encounters. As Barr et al. (2005) and Volle (2005) suggested, of interest are which aspects of L2 oral skills, ranging from articulation and pronunciation to pragmatic and discourse levels of engaging in meaningful communication, can best be addressed by spoken online learning tools and programs. Time permitting, I hope also to examine the possible role that virtual F2F conversations might play in developing L2 learners’ intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997), while also questioning the assumption that they would automatically lead to cross-cultural understanding (Kramsch & Thorne, 2002).
Glenn Stockwell
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
The widening accessibility of online communication technologies has resulted in a diversification of ways in which language learners engage in technology-based oral tasks. As is often the case when new technologies emerge, preliminary work tends to place more emphasis on the features of the technology itself, as opposed to the development of sound pedagogies where the most appropriate technologies for achieving specified learning goals are selected (Stockwell, 2007). This phenomena is also evident in recent SOLE research, and in order to make sound judgements as to how technologies for speaking can best be used teachers need to be aware of the specific features of the available technologies and the learning environment, such as the synchronicity of the communication, the nature of the participants, the learning goals, and the place of the online learning event within the overall environment. An event may be synchronous, as in audio- or video-conferencing (e.g., Wang, 2004), or it may be asynchronous, as in studies described by Volle (2005) and Felix (2003). Participants may all be learners within a single class, or learners may be paired with native speakers who may or may not be aware of the language learner status of the participants (see Colpaert, 2006). Alternatively, the participants may be communicating with partners who are not human at all, such as a pronunciation tutor (e.g., Carey, 2004) or a chatbot (e.g., Fryer & Carpenter, 2006). The role assigned to technology will also differ depending on the nature of the language learning environment. In a predominantly face-to-face environment, technology may take on a more peripheral role where it is used as a support for in-class activities (e.g., Levy & Kennedy, 2004), while in a distance learning environment, technology may become the main forum for oral interaction (e.g., Hampel & Hauck, 2004). Each of the factors described here is important in defining how technologies are used in oral language development, and in this paper, I will explore some of the considerations that need to be kept in mind when designing pedagogies in spoken online learning events which reflect the many complexities involved.
The Open University (UK)
Podcasting to facilitate language learning
The popularization of portable media players such as the iPod, and the delivery of audio and video content through content management software like iTunes mean that there is a wealth of language learning resources freely available to users who may download them and use them anywhere at any time. These resources vary greatly in quality and follow different approaches to learning. Podcasting can provide access to a large amount of authentic input, as well as to teaching materials of varying quality that have different approaches to language learning behind them (depending on the content provider): from behaviourist to cognitive constructivist and communicative approaches, situated learning, and lifelong learning. The impact of podcasting on learning in general and language learning in particular could be similar to the impact of the arrival of the internet in terms of giving access to language learning materials (mostly free of charge) as well as the possibilities for the creation of audio and video contributions by both teachers and students. The issues its availability presents are in many ways similar to those that arose in the early days of the internet, when the pioneers were enthusiastic individuals rather than institutions and the quality of the content varied enormously before a pedagogy of learning, task design, interaction and other issues was developed. This paper will present a review of the potential of podcasting for language learning in the light of SLA theories, provide a taxonomy of current trends in podcasting, argue for better design, outline directions for future research and discuss what the next steps are to arrive at a "podagogy" for language learning.
University of Manchester
Analysing virtual language classrooms
Online learning has grown in very recent times from being a mainly text-based activity to one where real-time spoken communication has become a real possibility. In the recent past synchronous meetings implied text-based chat, but now we have tools like VOIP, Instant Messenger systems and virtual meeting space and classrooms, which allow real-time spoken communication, sometimes augmented by video. Text-based chat only reveals a partial picture of the interaction that is taking place and has generally in the past been analysed using discourse analysis.
In a complex real-time virtual meeting space like Breeze, which we have been exploring at the University of Manchester, there are a series of channels available at the same time, including text, voice and video. In addition, we can keep notes on screen as well has having the ability to show different digital media and annotate it. We can also record these events in real-time and look at them later. How do we then go about analysing what is going on in these environments? How do we build a picture of an event? What do we focus on and how? How do we present such data?
This talk will first present and examine examples of language education occurring in the Breeze virtual meeting space and consider what needs to be taken into account when we observe and write about these events as researchers. It will also consider what types of discourse and interaction is available for analysis and what impact the interplay between the different channels of communication has both on how practice is played out, how it is represented and whether it challenges our current understanding of discourse and interaction.
Université de Franche-Comté (France)
L2 proficiency in audio-synchronous online environments: rethinking communicative competence in the framework of multimodal interactions.
Since the last decade, most studies in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) have shown a special interest in language teaching and learning in audio-synchronous online systems (also called conferencing systems). This kind of multimodal environment, with its written, spoken and even graphic modes, offers great potential for language learning, and challenges designers and tutors in distance learning, as well as researchers in discourse analysis. Several works have already highlighted the affordances of such a variety of modes and their impact on interaction and communication in L2 (Chanier & Vetter, 06; Hampel, 06). Still further research is needed on how learning can be supported in multimodal distance settings. Our approach focuses on analysing the organisation of the multimodal discourse. We intend to define the rules of interaction in an audio-graphic synchronous system, questioning anew the models proposed by those using ethnographic and sociological approaches.
This study deals with false-beginners on an English For Specific Purposes (ESP) course, presenting a high degree of heterogeneity in their proficiency levels. An original coding scheme was developed in order to transcribe the video data (screen capture) into a set of users’ actions embedded into the different modalities of the system. Two levels of relationships are described: the first between spoken and other verbal events, and the second between verbal and non-verbal events (task oriented). The methodology adopted combines both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of learners’ use of multimodality to delineate what may be considered as action schemes.
As an illustration of multimodal communication structures, we consider sessions where learners accomplish, within the audio-synchronous online environment, collaborative writing tasks in L2, supported by a joint production tool and a set of spoken/written communication tools. Particular attention will be paid to events in the course of which learners negotiate their perception of the ongoing multimodal online interaction.
Nese Cabaroglu, Cukurova University (Turkey) and Jon Roberts, Reading University (UK)
‘Turkiye calling!’: Structured and independent language learning activities enabled by Skype-based exchanges with a native speaker: focus on student motivation
The use of the internet as a medium for communication and as an educational resource for language learners and educators has become increasingly widespread in recent years. This study reports on the use of web-based synchronous communication between 3 cohorts of English Language Teaching students at a Turkish university, and a native English speaker. It has complemented in class work on communication skills and intercultural awareness, with positive effects on motivation, classroom performance and independent study behaviour. The paper elaborates the activities used in conjunction with the net-based exchanges. The context, learning activities and evaluation data will be outlined.
University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)
Skypecasts
Technology has always had a major impact on the way we communicate with people. The Internet and its many applications have been perhaps the most influential. One particular application that has received much attention, and has indeed changed the way in which we communicate, is Skype. Skype is an online application that supports Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. New software developments have seen this influence increase as Skype users can now host multi-participant conversations of up to one-hundred people. This communicative medium is called Skypecasts. Skypecasts function in the same way as conference calls, where interlocutors from all over the world converse in real time. This paper will discuss the interaction that results from using Skypecasts as a medium to facilitate synchronous online spoken communication. Despite the possibility of experiencing the same type of disorganized communication that is sometimes characteristic of other online mediums (e.g., chat rooms), Skypecast participation is methodical and its progression is conterminous. This would suggest an orientation to participation structures that are in fact characteristic of casual, face-to-face interaction. The paper will be divided into two parts. The first part will explain how interlocutors use interactional mechanisms, such as turn-taking, repair, and floor management, to establish and maintain their position in conversations. The second part will discuss the possibilities of using Skypecasts as a teaching and/or learning tool.
Open University (UK)
‘Effective online communication?’ Spoken interaction in a virtual learning environment
How to practise speaking is one of the major challenges not only in distance language education but also in mainstream institutions which increasingly turn to online learning. While the use of video and audio conferencing tools in language learning was slow to take off, the development of systems such as Elluminate, Skype or MSN Messenger is opening up increasing possibilities. Yet questions such as how to make the most of these multimodal tools in educational settings and how to deal with their challenges are still woefully under-researched. Our approach to spoken interaction is informed by sociocultural theories which see learning as situated in a particular context and mediated by tools such as language or technology (Wertsch 1991).
The new Moodle-based virtual learning environment (VLE) at the Open University offers a range of online tools. Particularly interesting for language teaching and learning are tools that allow for communication and interaction with peers and tutors, especially in the spoken mode. To investigate the potential of such online tools, an experimental pilot study was carried out at the Department of Languages. 25 students participated in a fully online five-week German course which was facilitated by two tutors and involved activities using a number of synchronous and asynchronous tools.
Through pre- and post-questionnaires we investigated students’ attitudes towards computer-mediated communication and their practical experiences with the tools. In this paper we will present our initial findings, focusing on FlashMeeting, a videoconferencing system that was used for weekly tutorials. From previous research on synchronous spoken computer-mediated tutorials (Stickler et al 2005, Duensing et al 2006) we concluded that task design and tutor style play as important a role in the distribution of speaking and the pattern of online interactions as the medium itself. Analysis of the interaction in the FlashMeeting sessions, both quantitative and qualitative, will show the effect of the functionalities that the medium has (e.g. the video channel). It will also allow us to find out more about the interplay between different modes of communication as well as the impact of social and affective factors on spoken interaction.
Open University (UK)
Social Presence in face-to-face and online language tutorials
Learners and educators experience each other in different ways in face-to-face classrooms from online learning environments. The richness of non-verbal clues present in a face-to-face environment is difficult, if not impossible, to re-create in an online situation. In online tutorials the dialogue needs to perform the task of integration within the group (Gunawardena 1995). Immediacy, the communication and behaviour which enhance closeness and non-verbal interaction, is less visible within online environments. Here too dialogue becomes the central means for communication in the online classroom (Gustafson, Hodgson & Tickner 2004). Garrison et al (2000) believe that learning occurs at the intersection of social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence. Ongoing research (for example: Stickler et al 2006) shows that, regardless of the medium, spoken synchronous tutorials provide students with target language input and opportunities for spoken output. Hence, teaching presence and cognitive presence are less problematic in online tuition, focussing the researcher’s attention on the third aspect: social presence.
This paper focuses on social presence in synchronous audio-graphic conferences. By applying Rourke’s (2001) model (designed to assess social presence in asynchronous CMC interaction) to both face-to-face and spoken online tutorials we can start to assess its applicability and efficacy for synchronous conferences. Using transcription data of spoken face-to-face and online beginners’ German languages tutorials, we will investigate whether other instances of social presence become visible and how the immediacy, provided by synchronicity combines together with the sparsity of non-verbal clues of the online environment.
