SFSU MATESOL Conference May 8, 2009

Transcription

1 Reflective communication: Using chat to build L2 skills Brittney Staropoli & Atsushi Koizumi What is online chat? - a [real time] online conversation between two or more people by means of a computer (Almeida d Eca, 2002) - Messages are typed, sent, and received instantaneously, and participants are required to communicate in the same session. (Smith, 2004) - Each message appears in the same format. (Jepson, 2005) 2. Benefits of online chat - It provides increased opportunities for interaction outside of class. (Warschauer & Meskill, 2000) - It s quite similar in many ways to the face-to-face interaction. (Smith, 2004) - Students can feel more comfortable and confident in expressing opinions than in face-to-face communication. (Saito & Ishizuka, 2005) - Increased participation among learners and increased quantity of learner output (Smith, 2003) - Re-readability of the messages (Lai & Zao, 2006) - Great potential of increasing noticing (Lai & Zao, 2006) 3. Studies Chat can be used to develop - Communicative competence (Jepson, 2005; Sauro, 2009; Smith, 2003; Sykes, 2005) - The ability to notice and self-correct mistakes (Lai & Zao, 2006) - Vocabulary (Smith, 2004) Different uses for chat (adapted from Gonzales, 2003) Category Purpose Examples Free-topic chat Practice language Build fluency Talk about any topics students like Collaborative Task- oriented chat Practice chat Accomplish real-life tasks Practice a skill or strategy Information gap Jigsaw Brainstorming Role-playing Interviewing Grammar practice

2 4. Our research Question: How can the teacher and students use chat logs to build specific language skills? Setting: American Cultural Perspectives, a pre-academic, beginning advanced level course at ALI Goal: For students to notice and master their use of specific vocabulary and phrases in context Process: Assign online chat activities so students can look at chat logs and reflect on their use of vocabulary. 1. Teach new vocabulary (Facial expression/ Gesture/ Body language/ Communication/ I noticed that/ It appeared that/ I observed) 2. Chat activity: Discuss an observation (focus on use of new vocabulary) 3. Student reflection on use of vocabulary in chat 4. Teacher assesses use of vocabulary in context 5. Follow-up chat: Discuss a scene from a movie (focus on same vocabulary) 6. Students reflect on use of vocabulary in chat again 5. Results First chat revealed that students tended to misuse phrases, I noticed and I observed. e.g.) I observed that Jesus is come back after he died five days. (Student A) I observed that we should do something out the door. (Student B) After a lesson on the difference between I noticed that and I observed that, follow-up chat showed that students use of vocabulary in context seemed to improve e.g.) I observed that the actress looks like the gossip girl Berlair. (Student A) I make on observation that american guy really nice and romantic (Student B) 6. Students reflections on online chat See Appendix Implications - Online chat logs can be used for teacher assessment and student self-assessment - Online chat is useful for practicing vocabulary and phrases in context - Online chatrooms are a good place to practice communication strategies. - Chat can be motivating and exciting for language learners

3 8. Tips - Set a specific goal to achieve during the chat - Consider students skills: literacy, typing skills, L2 skills - Hands off during the chat, and monitor students learning with chat logs - Small group - Do a trial and a practice session Websites for setting up your own chat room for students 1. Mibbit.com: A website for creating chat rooms George M Chinnery: A website that has many online resources on chat Acknowledgements We want to thank Mariela Diaz & Diana Holder, Dr. Casey Keck, and Nadya McCann for their contributions and support.

4 References Almeida d'eça, T. (2003). The use of chat in EFL/ESL. TESL-EJ, 7(1). Retrieved April 1, 2009 from Gonzalez, D. (2003).Teaching and learning through chat: A taxonomy of educational chat for EFL/ESL. Teaching English with Technology: A Journal for Teachers of English, 3(4). Jepson, K. (2005). Conversations and negotiated interaction in text and voice chat rooms. Language learning & technology, 9(3), Lai, C., & Zhao, Y. (2006). Noticing and text-based chat. Language learning & Technology, 10(3), Saito, R., & Ishizuka, N. (2005). Practice of online chat communication between two countries and across different curricula. Journal of Multimedia Aided Education Research, 2(1), Sauro, S. (2009). Computer-mediated corrective feedback and the development of L2 grammar. Language Learning & Technology, 13(1), Smith, B. (2003). The use of communication strategies in computer-mediated communication. System, 31, Smith, B. (2004). Computer-mediated negotiated interaction and lexical acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, Sykes, J. M. (2005). Synchronous CMC and pragmatic development: Effects of oral and written chat. CALICO Journal, 22(3), Warschauer, M. (1996). Motivational aspects of using computers for writing and communication. Second Language Teaching &Curriculum Center. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from Warschauer, M., & Meskill, C. (2000). Technology and second language learning. In J. Rosenthal (Ed.), Handbook of undergraduate second language education (pp ). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

5 Appendix 1 Chat prompt Chat with a Partner This weekend you will discuss your observation for Journal #2 with a partner. Practice using the new vocabulary that you learned in class. Your discussion will help you develop ideas for your journal. Begin by choosing a chat time: My chat time: My chat partner: Step 1: Observe the non-verbal communication of one subject Step 2: Log on to chat website Step 3: Type in your name Step 4: Click on channel 2 Step 5: Say hello and introduce yourself to your partner Step 6: Tell your partner about what you observed. Use the vocabulary from class. Step 7: After you have both chatted about your observation, one person will save the chat log. To save the chat log, highlight all chat with your mouse, Copy it and Paste it onto a Word document. Step 8: After you chat with a partner write your journal. Due Monday, March 16: Journal #2 and chat log

6 Appendix 2 Chat reflections Reflecting on your Chat Log (due Monday, March 16) You have learned that looking back on your chat log can help you improve your English skills. You can learn new vocabulary and learn from your mistakes. This weekend you will study your chat log and find the following things: 1) Highlight instances in which you used new vocabulary and phrases Facial expression Gesture Body language Communication I noticed that It appeared that I observed 2) What new vocabulary words did you learn? 3) Are there instances where you could have communicated more clearly? (example: could have used a different word or said something differently)

7 Appendix 3 Sample student chat logs Chat one: 06:00 <B>: i observed that we should do something out the door 06:00 <A>: i observed that when we are playing game. The game can aprove your iq! 06:00 <A>: lol 06:00 <C>: yes 06:00 <C>: haha.. 06:00 <A>: ok, i can teach you after i am back 06:00 <C>: I want to go out 06:00 <B>: what about the football yestoday? 06:01 <C>: good 06:01 <C>: haha.. 06:01 <C>: so funny 06:01 <B>: who win? 06:01 <C>: then we went to Korean restuarant 06:01 <B>: really? taht s great 06:01 <C>: I don t know the score 06:01 <C>: haha 06:01 <C>: en haha 06:02 <C>: the good is great haha 06:02 <A>: is it appeared that something on the menu in resruarant? 06:02 <B>: i observed that we can do some sports in the future. 06:02 <C>: yes Chat two: 12:08 <B>: i make on observation that american guy really nice and romantic 12:08 <A>: yes. it appeared that in movie. 12:08 <C>: I noticed that the man is very insist on that girl 12:08 <B>: although they individualism and open than my country s people, i like them life style 12:09 <A>: i observed that the actress looks like the gossip girl Berlair 12:09 <C>: the guy did many things in order to get that girl 12:09 <B>: yes, marina 12:09 <C>: haha i like man like this 12:09 <C>: haha 12:09 <B>: persist doing anything 12:09 <A>: sure, i notice that. The man a little crazy. 12:09 <C>: I don t think so she looks like her 12:10 <C>: haha yes 12:10 <A>: do you think the actor s body language is crazy? 12:10 <C>: yes, I think so 12:10 <C>: A little bit 12:11 <A>: do you notice his gesture? 12:11 <C>: haha because this is a movie 12:11 <C>: haha 12:11 <C>: yes 12:11 <B>: i observe that maybe most American guy face live are afraid 12:11 <A>: yeah. that s true

8 Appendix 4 Survey (6 participants) Part 1 Please fill in the blanks. Age Sex 3_Male / 3 Female Country of birth 4_China / 1 Taiwan/ 1 Korea_ Native language 5_Chinese_/_1_Korean Please rate your typing ability: poor fair 1 good 2 very good 1 excellent 2 Please rate your knowledge of computers: poor fair 2 good 3 very good excellent 1 Do you have a computer at home? Yes 6 (for how long? 1/1 year_5/ more than 3 years) No 0 How you ever used a computer to do the following things?: 1. Word processing in English: a lot 4 a little 2 never in your native language: a lot 5 a little 1 never 2. in English : a lot 5 a little 1 never in your native language: a lot 5 a little 1 never 3. Chat in English : a lot 3 a little 3 never in your native language : a lot 6 a little never Part 2 Please answer the following questions. When you write answers, you can use your native language so you can fully express your opinions. 1. I enjoy using Chat to communicate with people. 6 Yes / 0 No 2. I am more afraid to have conversations with people in Chat than face-to-face. Yes / No (1 Yes / 5 No) Why? Reasons for Yes Because I think face to face communication or conversation over the phone will make things easier. It is also more convenient and faster. (student B, translated from Chinese)

9 Reasons for No It depends on how productive the discussion is. Sometimes I want to face to face communication but I feel scared of it. (student A, translated from Chinese) 1. I like to chat with my friend, which makes me learn a lot from them. Especially, when I m going to have tests or interviews. I ll talk with people who have experiences; what should I do? Is there any special thing I have to pay attention to?. Talking with friends really broadens my view. 2. Of course I m not worried because when talking online, I can just easily avoid those questions that I don t want to answer. This makes it easier than face to face communication. (student C, translated from Chinese) I like to talk to people. (student D, translated from Chinese) In chat, the other people don t know my information. And if I use English in chat, I would have enough time to find the difficult words from dictionary. (student E) I think there is something attractive, interesting when we chat with people. There are some advantages and disadvantages between conversation in chat and face-to-face. But I prefer to talk face-to-face. (student F) 3. Using Chat helps me feel more comfortable using English for communication. Yes / No (4 Yes / 1 neither/ 1 no answer) Why? Reasons for Yes Most of the time. You have more time to think about how to communicate. (student A, translated from Chinese) M speaking ability is not very good. Sometimes there is misunderstanding. Written expression is easier for people to understand. (student B, translated from Chinese)

10 I prefer talking in English because I hope I can master this language as soon as possible. Thus, when I talk in English, I will pay special attention to the words/ phrases/ expressions that I don t know. Through this kind of learning, I picked up many words/ phrases/expressions that I didn t know before. when I use English again, I d feel much more comfortable. (student C, translated from Chinese ) Sometimes, I can find some difficult words that I wanna say from my dictionary. (Student F) Reasons for neither Sometimes, I kind of like speaking English (student D) 4. Using Chat helps me to learn and practice English. Yes / No (5 Yes / 1 no answer) Why? Reasons for Yes It gives you more opportunities to practice. However, I have to continue using chat to see the improvement (student A, translated from Chinese) It helps me to learn quite a few words and phrases. At the same time, it trains or forces me to think in English. (student B, translated from Chinese) The same reason as #3 (student C, translated from Chinese) Besides in class, I don t have many opportunities to speak English. so talking online at home somewhat helps. (student D, translated from Chinese) We can know many vocabularies and phrases from people who we chat with (student F) 5. I want to continue using Chat to learn English. Yes / No (3 Yes / 2 No / 1 no answer) If no, please answer the question below. Yes, but depends on when. Because sometime I m busy so I don t have time to talk online. (Student D, translated from Chinese)

11 6. Using Chat to learn English is not worth the time and effort. Yes / No (1 Yes/ 1 No) If yes, why? To improve English, I think, we should talk with native English speakers by listening and speaking. I know sometimes chatting is good but it s more important to listen to their native pronunciation and to share our thinking. (student F) (This survey is adapted from Warschauer,1996)