Abstract:

Language production of Spanish students using synchronous CMC (chat) during class time was compared with that of students meeting outside of class. The study included about 100 participants enrolled in 10 sections of a first-quarter Spanish course at a US university. Students in the control group spent 30 minutes of their weekly class time in computer labs completing a chat room assignment. Students in the experimental group planned their own schedules for meeting 30 minutes each week, outside of class time, in chat rooms. Transcripts of the chat sessions were analyzed for duration, turns, words, vocabulary, socially appropriate comments, and comments off task. Production was greater when students met with their own work groups outside of class. The implication of the study is that greater student collaboration and responsibility result in greater production while conserving class time and technology resources.

Author: Robert Sanders