Yokel Yilmaz & Gisela Granena

Yilmaz: Language Research Center, University of Calgary. Canada. Granena: University of Maryland at College Park. 2

Main Focus of the Study To examine the potential of learner-learner interaction through Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) to focus learners’ attention on form. 3

Language-Related Episodes (1) Language-Related Episode (LRE): an instance where at least one of the learners identifies a need or problem about language and resolves it either explicitly or implicitly. 4

Language-Related Episodes (2) According to Leeser (2004),Learners may Question the meaning of a linguistic item. Question the correctness of the spelling/ pronunciation of a word. Question the correctness of a grammatical form Or implicitly or explicitly correct their own or another’s usage of a word, form or structure. 5

The Theoretical Background This study is based on the theory of input and interaction: Comprehensible input Feedback Output production 6

Research Questions: Do L2 learners of English produce LREs in SCMC? Are there any task effects on the number and/or characteristics of LREs? 7

Research Methods Participants: *Ten adult intermediate ESL learners from an intensive English language program at a university in the US. *Different L1 backgrounds: French, Turkish, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish. 8

Software Programs: Two software programs are used in this study: *MSN Messenger: an instant-message software program. *MoonEdit: a cooperative multi-user text-editing tool. 9

Tasks *Two jigsaw and two dictogloss tasks in the treatment session. *An additional jigsaw and an additional dictogloss were administered in a practice session. *30 minutes for each. 10

Data Collection Background questionnaires F2F practice session for each task. Participants were randomly assigned into dyads, and then dyads were separated into two groups. 11

Data Coding Table 1 Categorization of LREs: 12 LevelsDefinitionCategory Lexical, Grammatical Target Language area Language Focus Explicit, ImplicitDegree of explicitness Verbalization Solved correctly, Solved incorrectly, Unresolved Degree of accuracy Outcome

Results 1 *A total of 25 LREs were identified. *The number of LREs generated by the dictogloss was significantly higher than those generated by the jigsaw. *Lexical LREs were more frequent than grammatical LREs. *In terms of task type, the jigsaw elicited as many lexical as grammatical LREs, whereas the dictogloss elicited more lexical than grammatical LREs. 13

Results 2 Table 2: LREs by degree of verbalization DictoglossJigsawOverallVerbalization 81%25%72%Explicit 19%75%28%Implicit 14

Results 3 Table 3: LREs by outcome DictoglossJigsawOverallOutcome 63.2%75%65.2%Successfully solved episodes 10.5%25%8.7%Unsuccessfully solved episodes 26.3%0%26.3%Unresolved episodes 15

Examples: Correctly solved LRE A: No. he is making barbeqoe B: where is the barbeque? B: I can’t find barbeque ….. A: I got a man that cooking barbeque 16

Example: Incorrectly solved LRE A: what does gum mean? … B: gum is used when you want to kill someone 17

Example: Unresolved LRE A: I agree to you B: with? A: let’s go to the French lunch now because they stop serving at

Conclusion (1) *LREs do occur during task-based SCMC. *SCMC offers potential for learners to attend to linguistic form.. *Focus on form does not necessarily arise as a result of a communication problem. *Task-based SCMC fosters SLA. 19

Conclusion (2) *Task-based SCMC could be integrated into classes that meet online in a distance-learning environment or in F2F classes that want to take advantage of the motivational or focus on form advantages of SCMC environments. 20

Do you think the methodology was appropriate for addressing the questions/problem? No 21

Do you agree with the conclusions? Yes 22

What did you learn from the study? 23

Thank You Shahla Adi 24