Computer mediated communication: A window on L2 Spanish interlanguage

Abstract

The Interaction Hypothesis states that the conditions for SLA are crucially enhanced by having L2 learners negotiate meaning (i.e., resolve their miscommunications) with other speakers, native or otherwise (Long & Robinson, 1998, p. 22).This study demonstrates that incidental negotiations commonly occurred in networked learner/learner discussions as well, especially with respect to their lexical confusions.Fifty intermediate L2 Spanish learners were asked to carry out networked discussions in pairs during their lab time using a synchronous chat program, Remote Technical Assistance (RTA), which records all textual entries.Each dyad carried out a series of online tasks that can be described as jigsaw, information-gap, or decision-making.The results show that jigsaw tasks appear to lead the way in promoting negotiations, as Pica, Kanagy, and Falodun (1993) had previously predicated, but that information-gap tasks were not nearly as productive as a stimulus.The findings suggest that computer mediated communication (CMC) can provide many of the alleged benefits ascribed to the Interaction Hypothesis, but with greatly increased possibilities for access outside of the classroom environment.Nevertheless, the predominance of incidental lexical negotiations, in contrast to the paucity of syntactic negotiations, leaves unanswered or unsatisfactorily addressed the issue of grammatical development.The study demonstrates, however, the value of synchronous chat records as a window for investigating interlanguage.