Bimodal CMC

The Glue of Language Learning at a Distance

Authors

  • Robert J. Blake University of California, Davis

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v22i3.497-511

Keywords:

Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication, Oral and Written Communication, Interactionist Second Language Acquisition, Virtual Language Learning

Abstract

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) forms an integral part of the first-year Spanish course, Spanish Without Walls (SWW), designed for distance education. The CMC component of SWW supports bimodal (i.e., oral and written) interactions among students and the instructor and provides the same kinds of benefits as those in face-to-face interactions well documented in the literature on second language acquisition (SLA). The study described here illustrates the progress of a typical first-year language student as she interacts with the course instructor. Analysis of the transcripts of this student's interactions shows that she remained engaged in the language-learning process, actively participated in negotiation of meaning, repaired her language errors, and was able to satisfy her own language-learning needs.

Author Biography

  • Robert J. Blake, University of California, Davis

    Robert J. Blake (Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin) is Professor of Spanish at the University of California, Davis and founding Director of the UC Consortium for Language Learning & Teaching. He has published widely in the fields of Spanish linguistics, second language acquisition, and computer-assisted language learning. He was the academic consultant for Nuevos Destinos (Annenberg/CPB Project, WGBH, and McGraw-Hill Companies) and co-author of Tesoros (BeM, McGraw-Hill Companies), a 5-disc multimedia CD-ROM program for introductory Spanish. He has co-authored with María Victoria González Pagani both Al corriente: Curso intermedio de español (4th ed.) (McGraw-Hill Companies) and Spanish without Walls, a distance-learning course offered through UC Davis Extension. In May 2004, Professor Blake was inducted into the North American Academy for the Spanish Language, making him a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy as well.

References

Blake, R. (2000). Computer mediated communication: A window on L2 Spanish interlanguage. Language Learning & Technology, 4 (1), 120-136. Retrieved March 19, 2005, from http://llt.msu.edu

Blake, R. (in press). Two heads better than one: C[omputer] M[ediated] C[communication] for the L2 curriculum. In R. Donaldson & M. A. Haggstrom (Eds.), Changing language education through CALL. London: Routledge Press.

Blake, R., Blasco, J., & Hernández, C. (2001). Tesoros CD-ROM: A multimedia-based course. Valladolid: Boecillo Editorial Multimedia (BeM) and New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, Inc.

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Published

2013-01-14

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 3 (2005)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Blake, R. (2013). Bimodal CMC: The Glue of Language Learning at a Distance. CALICO Journal, 22(3), 497-511. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v22i3.497-511

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