Abrioux, D. (1991). Computer-assisted language learning at a distance: an international survey. The American Journal of Distance Education, 5, 3-23.
Subject: CMC; Education.
Abrioux claims that CALL has become "fully entrenched" in campus-based L2 programs, and that there is an apparent "paucity" of CALL use in distance programs; hence the current survey which Abrioux undertakes to "quantify the current and anticipated use of CALL in distance education settings".
Initially 72 institutions were contacted in the U.S., Canada and other countries, to participate in the survey: as of the survey date, only 7 were using CALL in their distance L2 programs. Of those 7, there is only 1 (Waterloo University) which employs Computer Conferencing in its program, and while Abrioux indicates this fact in the table entitled "Use of CAI in Language Courses", there is no further mention of Waterloo's use of conferencing in its program.
Only 9% of distance L2 programs use CALL at all (as opposed to 50% of on-campus programs).
Abrioux gives the following explanations for lack of CALL in distance L2 programs:
1. Cost;
2. Mindset (CALL viewed as "enhancement" rather than "key component" of program);
3. Pedagogical tradition of the discipline (vehicles for distance education for the past 20 years--print, TV radio, audio cassettes) leave out the possibility for human interaction).
Abrioux points out that some do not see teleconferencing, computer conferencing, e-mail etc. as true human interaction. Abrioux disagrees but states that even if we do disagree with this view: "one should not expect much more from computer applications in distance education than the provision, via electronic mail and computer conferencing, for non-contiguous, written interaction".
Adkins, M., & Brashers, D. E. (1995). The power of language in computer-mediated groups. Management Communication Quarterly, 8, 289-322.
Subject: CMC; Discourse Analysis.
Adkins and Brashers examine powerful and powerless language in computer-mediated group interactions. They indicate that past research has shown a relationship between language style and "attributions of social power". "Powerless" language is that which is typically "operationalized as overuse of polite forms...hedges...hesitations...deictic phrases...intensifiers...and tag questions". Powerful language is that which lacks these indicators. Adkins and Brashers point out that powerless language users do not necessarily have low status-
they simply create that impression by way of the style they employ. These impressions are important, since they have an impact on group interaction. This impact may be in the form of how much opportunity certain group members are given to talk, as well as how much attention is paid to certain group members' ideas. The results of their own study show that "language style has a significant impact on impression formation in computer-mediated groups. The user of a powerful language style in a computer-mediated group is generally perceived as more credible, attractive, and persuasive than the user of a powerless language style".
Adrianson, L., & Hjelmquist, E. (1993). Communication and memory of texts in face-to face and computer-mediated communication. Computers in Human Behavior, 9, 121-135.
Subject: CMC; Discourse Analysis.
Adrianson and Hjelmquist look at CMC from a social and cognitive perspective. Their focus is on how much information is retained when transferred from person to person in a given medium. The fundamental question which they address is: "What, and how much of the information is left after it has been handled face-to-face and with computer-mediated systems, respectively?" They predict that the outcome to their study will be experience-dependent. In other words, their prediction is that "people who are 'laymen' in relation to computer-mediated systems will perform better face-to-face than in the computer-mediated system, whereas fewer differences are predicted for experienced users of computer-mediated communication.
Their experiment involved the retelling and recalling of newpaper texts, with the retelling occuring both through FTF interaction and CMC. The results of their study confirm their predictions, with the inexperienced group being "relatively unproductive" in CMC, while the experienced group showed fewer differences.
Ahern, T. (1994). The effect of interface on the structure of interaction in computer mediated small-group discussion. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 11, 235-250.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC.
Ahern opens his article by noting that "in the traditional classroom, talk is usually considered noise that must be controlled". He points out that "implementing a change from the traditional classroom to one that values talk is not a simple matter". Teachers have difficulty moving away from the "initiation-reply-evaluation" model of classroom discourse. However, Ahern believes that the computer may be the answer to this dilemma, providing teachers with a mechanism that will allow them to break away from this discourse model. Unfortunately, the temporal lag of most CMC systems prevents an adequate interaction. Ahearn cites previous research which has shown that "our talk exchanges do not normally consist of a succession of disconnected remarks (and) are characteristically, to some degree at least, co-operative efforts; and each participant recognizes in them, to some extent, a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted direction". This is where CMC systems fail, since it is "structurally difficult to relate previous messages". To remedy this problem, Ahern undertakes an examination of IdeaWeb, a hypercard graphic organizer. The IdeaWeb software "has three levels: a topic map, a discussion map and the individual comment cards". These organizing features allow all members of a discussion to keep track of who is responding to whom, when, on what topic, etc. According to Ahern:
...this study indicates that it is possible to design CMC systems that encourage members to participate and maintain sustained reciprocal interaction in a laissez-faire discussion. The graphic-based interface appears to have provided a normative structure necessary for sustained group interaction. The graphic-based visual display combined with the actual linking of messages provided group members with an opportunity to establish a visual reference for the indexing of persons, time and discourse.
Arias, A., & Bellman, B. (1990). Computer-mediated classrooms for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. In C. Faltis & R. DeVillar (Eds.) Language minority students and computers. (pp. 227-241). New York: Haworth Press.
Subject: CMC; Culture Issues; Equality Issues; Videoconferencing.
Arias and Bellman "discuss an experimental project using computer communications" in order to resolve "many of the problems for effectively reaching and educating culturally and linguistically diverse students and other nontraditional learners in post secondary education". The project they discuss is called BESTNET--Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network. Arias and Bellman point out that "the most significant variables affecting the underrepresentation of linguistic and cultural minorities in higher education...are inaccessibility to educational institutions and viable tutorial programs to offset attrition factors, especially for those who have English as their second language". This was the purpose of developing BESTNET. BESTNET uses video lectures coupled with computer conferencing to "offer prerequisite courses for entering into one of several science and math-related majors". In addition the computer conferences offer "a direct bilingual tutoring component". Due to factors of self paced instruction, anonymity, and immediate feedback, CMC seems to Arias and Bellman to be quite effective in accomplishing BESTNET's objectives.
Austin, R., & Mendlik, F. (1994). Electronic mail in modern language development. Neusprachliche Mitteilungen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis, 47, 254-257.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC; Culture Issues.
Austin and Mendlik discuss the use of e-mail in the secondary school modern language classroom. They focus their discussion on four points, of which three are of particular relevance to second language learning: (1) what effect will e-mail have on vocabulary acquisition and grammatical accuracy? (2) would the speed of interaction compensate for the short time period of exchanges, thus allowing for the development of cultural awareness? and (3) what were the advantages and disadvantages of team work in the e-mail environment?
The participants in the study were two classes of foreign language students, one in the UK and the other in Germany. The study results were based on test scores for point number 1, and on qualitative information given by participants for numbers 1,2 and 3. The results indicate that students' vocabulary and grammatical accuracy did in fact increase through the use of e-mail communication. In addition, students felt that they developed a deeper understanding of the target culture. With respect to point 3, "the length and detail of their [student] replies alone indicated a strong affirmation that communication technology has the power to open up what nearly all the students felt was a genuine discourse between peers".
Avots, J. (1994). Exploring countries through telecommunications and hypercard. The Computing Teacher, 22, 23-26.
Subject: Computer Tutoring; Culture Issues; Online Resources.
Avots describes a project for helping L2 (French) students to learn about third-world, French-speaking countries. The project involves three stages.
1. Students work in groups using telecommunications, internet, minitel, etc. to access data on a country which they have chosen to study; this data is used in an oral presentation before a "UN forum" to request aid for the country in question;
2. Students use their data to create a HyperCard stack;
3. Students "visit" each others' country (i.e. view the HyperCard stacks) and answer questions on them.
The article basically focuses on practical use of hypercard stacks.
Barnard, J. (1992). Multimedia and the future of distance learning technology. Educational Media International, 29, 139-144.
Subject: CMC; Computer Tutoring; Education; Videoconferencing.
Barnard describes the basic types of technology available for use in distance education. The types of technology he describes are video, personal computers, multimedia systems and videoconferencing. He gives "equal time" to each medium in his descriptions. As far as personal computers are concerned, approximately one half of the column devoted to them deals with CMC. He lists Mason and Kayes' (1990) ramifications of CMC:
(1) Breaking down the distinctions between distance education and place based education because of the opportunities that CMC affords distance learners for discussion, collaborative work, and the development of autonomy in learning, and also because of the potential for building a sense of community among participants in large-scale distance education institutions;
(2) changing of traditional roles of teaching, administrative, and support staff;
(3) provision of an opportunity, which never existed before, to create a network of scholars, 'space' for collective thinking, and access to peers for socializing and serendipitous exchange.
Although he mentions the possibility of CMC in Multimedia systems, he gives no examples of systems currently being used involving CMC.
Overall, most of the emphasis in technology use seems to be on mentoring systems, using video, hypercard, etc. as a supplement/replacement for a teacher. Only in one brief paragraph dealing with the research implications of multimedia does Barnard mention the advantages of CMC, indicating that:
Studies have also demonstrated that distance education students are more likely to continue their course work when they have some sort of interactive communication capabilites with instructors or tutors (Cookson, 1989). The desktop teleconferencing capabilities of multimedia workstations can help to increase interactive communication between students and educators.
Baron, N. (1984). Computer-mediated communication as a force in language change. Visible Language, 18, 118-141.
Subject: CMC; Discourse Analysis.
Baron's paper "develops a formalized linguistic perspective from which to explore how the medium of communication influences both what ideas can be expressed and how these ideas are expressed". She studies the use of computers as "conduits" for natural language. The article highlights the characteristics of CMC (as opposed to face-to-face) communication, as generally accepted by much of the research which had been done up to the time of writing. The characteristics of CMC which she outlines are physical, linguistic and social in nature. The physical aspects include increased decision-making time. Linguistic aspects include high frequency of "arguments and swearing (flaming)", "reduction of register shifts", "efficient transmission of 'hard data'", and inefficient transmission of 'soft' (subjective) data". The social aspects include the more democratic nature of CMC discourse, "more shifting in position from initial position", and a "focus on message[s] not people".
Baron also considers the potential advantages and disadvantages due to spatial and temporal distancing in CMC. The advantages include "anonymity", "social equalization", "reduced distractions", "increased importance of logical argument", "opportunity to contemplate message [and] response", and "physical convenience". Among the disadvantages are "reduced feedback", "social distancing", and "reduction of language as a means of phatic communication (social bonding)".
After discussing these considerations, Baron undertakes to predict what types of changes we can expect to see in spoken and written interaction, due to the influence of CMC. She believes that speech and writing will both have an "improved vertical dimension" and a "diminished horizontal dimension", by which she means that speech will see "more logical arguments" with a "decline in rhetoric", while writing will see "clearer essays" with a "more homogenous writing style".
Barson, J., Frommer, J., & Schwartz, M. (1993). Foreign language learning using e mail in a task-oriented perspective: interuniversity experiments in communication and collaboration. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2, 565-584.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC; Second Language Acquisition.
This article examines several interuniversity experiments involving collaborative projects between language classes. These projects include the collaborative writing of a newspaper or video script. Such projects generally "unfold" in the following manner:
1. Introduction to computers and NetWorks
2. Organization of the collaborative project
3. Designing or writing the newspaper or video script
4. Revision of artical or script
5. Final formatting
6. Recognition of effort
The collaborations studied by Barson, Frommer and Schwartz "afforded repeated opportunities to observe the classroom dynamics of students, using computers toward communicative ends". These dynamics are student-centered, with the involved students determining the course content. The central element of these collaborations is the negotiation of meaning. The students have "recourse to a wide range of discourse as they communicate with each other in varied contexts, discovering first-hand the many ways in which linguistic and sociolinguistic factors come into play in human communication". The focus is on developing in students crucial "linguistic and strategic competencies within some functional dynamic".
The "principal aspects of the task-oriented approach" include the following: a "focus on authentic issues", a "student-shaped curriculum", the "redefinition of [the] teaching role"--in which the teacher becomes an "initiator" and facilitator, and the "realignment of grammar study"--shifting the focus from memorization and application of abstract grammar rules to the development of an "overall language competence through internalization of grammatical concepts", which is achieved by "using language for a mutually selected, shared purpose" in "natural settings".
Batson, T. (1988). The ENFI project: a networked classroom approach to writing instruction. Academic Computing, 2, 32-33, 55-56.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC.
Batson describes the Electronic NetWorks for Interaction (ENFI) project and its effects on classroom dynamics. For Batson "one of the most important [pedagogical dynamics] is the creation of a written social context, an online discourse community, which presents totally new opportunities for effective instruction in writing". This means, for Batson, changing the traditional roles of the student and, especially, the teacher. With computer NetWorks the teacher's role changes from that of the authority figure to one of "participant-leader". Batson lists the following reasons for which a computer is a necessary component in making this transformation:
1. "Because the teacher's contribution to classroom conversation is just a line on the screen like everyone else's, ENFI blurs social distinctions in the class...";
2. "ENFI allows for simultaneous responses to a question or comments on a topic because everyone can write at the same time". This results in increased participation;
3. "ENFI provides a verbatim printout of each classroom discussion, available for the class to work from immediately after the discussion ends";
4. "ENFI discussions are written rather than spoken, giving students a chance to work out ideas...";
5. "ENFI allows the class to become a discourse community in writing...they share special words, conventions, stylistic features, and a...purpose for writing";
In addition to describing these benefits of ENFI, Batson also explains technical requirements and gives advice on how to start an ENFI program.
Beals, D. E. (1992). Computer NetWorks as a new data base. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 8, 327-345.
Subject: CMC; Discourse Analysis.
Beals examines the use of CMC as a data base for linguistic analysis. According to Beals, CMC:
is organized differently, having its own grammar, its own patterns, norms, and routines for managing the temporal, spatial, and social aspects of interaction. It is these differences in communicative style that make computer NetWorks a rich new source of data for studying interaction and thought.
She exposes three principal differences in CMC vs. face-to-face communication--temporal factors (asynchronous vs. synchronous), spatial factors (geographical context and distance) and social factors (participants, their relationships and their purposes). Most interesting are the social factors--egalitarianism vs. status differentiation, impersonal ("purely textual") vs. personal communication, the goals of a particular computer network and their impact on the style of interaction. "Transcripts obtained from computer network discussions then," writes Beals, "can yield a rich portrait of network members, the purposes for their discussions, the roles they play in discussions, and their thoughts and feelings about a given topic".
As an example Beals provides an analysis of the Beginning Teacher Computer Network (BTCN) of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She reports her findings on "responses to personal event narratives" (more detailed and personal narratives receive greater response than general descriptions), "social roles in the NetWorks" (experienced faculty members and beginning teachers take on different roles, make different types of statements, ask different kinds of questions), and the "concerns of beginning teachers" (by studying what they say to faculty and to each other one finds that their principal concerns are not necessarily those that they themselves claim in traditional surveys).
Beals does acknowledge that "conclusions drawn from computer-mediated conversation may not necessarily generalize to all other forms of interaction". However she still sees the analysis of CMC texts as providing interesting new possibilities for researchers.
Beauvois, M. H. (1992). Computer-assisted classroom discussion in the foreign language classroom: conversation in slow motion. Foreign Language Annals, 25, 455-64.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC; Second Language Acquisition.
Beauvois' article looks at the concept of Local Area NetWorks (LAN) in the foreign language classroom. A LAN is essentially a synchronous e-mail network contained in a classroom (i.e. only the students and teacher can communicate with each other). In discussing previous research, Beauvois indicates that participation by "typically reticent students" (females, minorities, anxious/shy learners) is facilitated and that synchronous CMC encourages student thinking, reading and writing skills.
Beauvois examines LAN as a communicative tool: "Communicative CALL will aim at acquisition practice rather than learning practice...There will be no drill". Also, within this framework, grammar is to be implicit rather than explicit. This means that the instructor must be creative in structuring activities (i.e. presenting a conversation/discussion topic which will necessitate the use of particular grammar items).
She examines both a Portuguese class at the University of Texas, and looks at her own experiences tutoring a "weak" high school French student. Of interest is her description of how the Portuguese professor dealt with error correction--transcripts of students' conversations were handed back to them with errors marked in inoffensive blue or green ink. Students were not penalized for incorrectness, but could earn extra credit by correcting their mistakes and returning the transcript to their professor.
Beauvois also poses questions for future research. The two most interesting are:
1) In using the LAN to facilitate class discussion in a foreign language, what are we really practicing? Speaking? Writing?
2) Will there be some transfer of skills from one domain to another: from this reading-writing-thinking exercise to improved oral language?
Beazley, M. R. (1989). Reading for a real reason: computer pals across the world. Journal of Reading, 32, 598-605.
Subject: CMC; Culture Issues; Second Language Acquisition.
Beazley describes the use of Computers as Tools (CAT) as opposed to Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) for enhancing reading and writing skills. In particular he writes about the Computer Pals Across the World project, a sort of electronic pen pal system in which students from Australia use e-mail to communicate with students from other cultures. The projects main aims include:
*to provide students with a real context in which they can improve their written communication skills;
* to provide an opportunity for cultural exchange through reading and writing;
* to motivate the linguistically less interested student.
The Program uses a "whole language" approach. It includes the following types of activities: writing letters, reports, poetry, dialog on social issues, scripts on myths and legends belonging to their culture. Students are required to read as well as write when they receive letters from their computer pals. Students engage in tele-editing, requesting clarification of idiomatic expressions used and expressions unique to a particular culture. Although this program is used primarily for English, foreign language classes are also beginning to employ it.
The only significant benefits of the use of computers (as opposed to traditional letter writing) examined are the speed of transmission and the motivational factor (students "read with more interest and enjoyment").
Boston, R. L. (1992). Remote delivery of instruction via the PC and modem: what have we learned? The American Journal of Distance Education, 6, 45-56.
Subject: Classroom Dynamics; CMC; Education.
This article deals with the basics of modem technology and explains how to use a modem in distance education to send lectures to students at a rate which is faster than that of regular mail. Boston also mentions that e-mail discussions are richer than in a traditional classroom:
In classrooms certain students have a tendancy to hold back and not participate in the discussion. This hesitancy is especially apparent in students for whom English is their second language. Yet, shyness and timidity seem to be absent from working in print on a screen, and we have found that most students feel free to ask for clarification and to make their points known to the group.
He also mentions that the students involved in an e-mail class develop a real sense of "group identity and community".
Beyond this, Boston also describes "simulation" projects in which students participate on their computers (making decisions of state in a history simulation, or business decisions in an economics simulation) as well as pointing out that he can use the material from his e-mail lectures in his classroom lectures as well.
Brown, J. E. & Jahn, G. R. (1990). The role of computer-assisted learning in a proficiency-based language curriculum. Computers and the Humanities, 24, 93-103.
Subject: Computer Tutoring; Second Language Acquisition.
Brown and Jahn describe two Russian tutorial programs--one from IBM and one from Macintosh. Their description focuses on how these tutorial programs can be used in proficiency
based Russian language (the two computer programs deal with problems unique to Russian) instruction.
They focus on the advantage of the computer as a tutor, which allows each student a greater amount of individualized instruction, enabling students to receive tutoring and drills (along with error correction), primarily as a pre-class preparatory activity, preparing students (especially weaker students) for more advanced drilling in class by the teacher. The importance of this is that students have noun and verb forms engraved in their minds before they come to class.
The bulk of the article lists and describes the specific features of each of the two computer programs.
Burton, P. F. (1994). Electronic mail as an academic discussion forum. Journal of Documentation, 50, 99-110.
Subject: CMC; Discourse Analysis.
Burton's article, while very general, addresses certain important issues related to e-mail as a medium for communication beyond the mere description of systems and what one can do with them. Some of the key points he makes in his article are the following:
1. E-mail is not simply a forum for "short, factual, numerical communications" but can be used for extensive, in-depth discussion;
2. E-mail, as any other medium, carries with it a certain set of rules concerning its use (although these rules may change over time), and among these rules seem to be the following:
A. Informality of language--rendering CMC akin to verbal discussion;
B. E-mail has an equalizing quality--relative anonymity hides the rank of people involved; as well as physical appearance--so ideas are taken on their own merit;
C. All participants can contribute to discussion; no one person can dominate the conversation as in face-to-face communication by talking faster/louder than others (although Burton does make mention of "flaming" without going into it too deeply- he simply states that in his list group, when one person got out of hand the others told him or her to settle down).
The article does raise interesting questions, but unfortunately does not offer potential anwers. For example Burton asks about the ethical concerns involved in using E-mail messages for research. Does the e-mail message (floating somewhere between written "publication" and personal conversation among list members) fall into the public or the private domain? On this subject he offers a reference to Palme ("Legal and ethical aspects of computer-mediated communication". Arachnet Journal on Virtual Culture, 1 (4), 1993 (available from listserve@kentvm.kent.edu as PALMEVIN4) who "has a discussion on the legal and ethical control of CMC" (108)--a possible source for future study.