Developing L2 Oral Proficiency through Synchronous CMC: Output, Working Memory, and Interlanguage Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v20i1.7-32Keywords:
Computer-mediated Communication (CMC), Working Memory, Oral Proficiency, Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL), Language Production, Synchronous CommunicationAbstract
A naturalistic experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) can indirectly improve L2 oral proficiency by developing the same cognitive mechanisms underlying spontaneous conversational speech. The theoretical framework guiding this inquiry consists of Levelt's (1989) model of language production augmented by concepts from Working Memory theory. The findings show a significant difference between the experimental and control groups oral proficiency development with participants in the experimental condition (two of four contact hours per week were in a chatroom) scoring higher than participants in the control condition. Implications for language instruction and the second language oral proficiency development for different types of learners are discussed.References
Adams, A. M., & Gathercole, S. E. (1995). Phonological working memory and speech production in preschool children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 403-414.
Adams, A. M., & Gathercole, S. E. (1996). Phonological working memory and spoken language development in young children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A (1), 216-233.
Anderson, J. R. (1982). Acquisition of cognitive skill. Psychological Review, 89, 369406.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D., Thomson, N., & Buchanan, M. (1975). Word length and the structure of short-term memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 9, 176189.
Blake, R. J. (2000). Computer mediated communication: A window on L2 Spanish interlanguage. Language Learning and Technology [Online], 4 (1), 120-136. Available: llt.msu.edu
Brooks, L. R. (1967). The suppression of visualisation by reading. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 289-299.
Chun, D. M. (1994). Using computer networking to facilitate the acquisition of interactive competence. System, 22 (1), 17-31.
Daneman, M. (1991). Working memory as a predictor of verbal fluency. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 20 (6), 445-464.
Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. A. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 19 (4), 450-466.
Daneman, M., & Green, I. (1986). Individual differences in comprehending and producing words in context. Journal of Memory and Language, 25, 1-18.
De Bot, K. (1992). A bilingual production model: Levelt’s ‘Speaking’ model adapted. Applied Linguistics, 13 (1), 1-24.
De Bot, K., & Schreuder, R. (1993). Word production and the bilingual lexicon. In R. Schreuder & B. Weltens (Eds.), The bilingual lexicon (pp. 191-214). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Dechert, H. W. (1980). Pauses and intonation as indicators of verbal planning in secondlanguage speech productions: Two examples from a case study. In H. W. Dechert & M. Raupach (Eds.), Temporal variables in speech (pp. 271-285). The Hague: Mouton.
Dechert, H. W. (1983). How a story is done in a second language. In C. Faerch & G. Kaspar (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication. London: Longman.
Dechert, H. W., Möhle, D., & Raupach, M. (Eds.). (1984). Second language productions. Tübingen: Narr.
Dechert, H. W., Raupach, M. (Eds.). (1980a). Temporal variables in speech: Studies in honour of Frieda Goldman-Eisler. The Hague: Mouton.
Dechert, H. W., & Raupach, M. (Eds.). (1980b). Towards a cross-linguistic assessment of speech production. Frankfurt a.M.: Lang.
Dechert, H. W., & Raupach, M. (Eds.). (1987). Psycholinguistic models of production. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Donahue, S. (2000). Teaching pronunciation online. ALN Magazine [Online], 4 (1). Available: www.aln.org/alnweb/magazine
Engle, R., Kane, M., & Tuholski, S. (1999). Individual differences in working memory capacity and what they tell us about controlled attention, general fluid intelligence, and functions of the prefrontal cortex. In A. Miyake & P. Shah (Eds.), Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control (pp. 102-134). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1989a). Evaluation of the role of phonological STM in the development of vocabulary in children: A longitudinal study. Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 200-213.
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1989b). The role of phonological memory in vocabulary acquisition: A study of young children learning new names. British Journal of Psychology, 81 (4), 439-454.
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory and language. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Geva, E., & Ryan, E. B. (1993). Linguistic and cognitive correlates of academic skills in first and second languages. Language Learning, 43, 5-42.
Harley, B. (1993). Instructional strategies and SLA in early French immersion. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 245-260.
Healy-Beauvois, M. (1992). Computer assisted classroom discussion in the foreign language classroom: Conversation in slow motion. Foreign Language Annals, 25 (5), 455-464.
Izumi, I., Bigelow, M., Fujiwara, M., & Fearnow, S. (1999). Testing the output hypothesis: Effects of output on noticing and second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 421-452.
Kelm, O. R. (1992). The use of synchronous computer networks in second language instruction: A preliminary study. Foreign Language Annals, 25 (5), 441-454.
Kern, R. (1995). Restructuring classroom interaction with networked computers: Effects on quality and characteristics of language production. Modern Language Journal, 79 (4), 457-476.
Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. New York: Longman.
Lennon, P. (1990). Investigating fluency in EFL: A quantitative approach. Language Learning, 40, 387-417.
Levelt, W. J. M. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Levelt, W. J. M. (1993). Language use in normal speakers and its disorders. In G. Blanken, J. Dittmann, H. Grimm, J. Marshall, & C. Wallesch (Eds.), Linguistic disorders and pathologies: An international handbook (pp. 1-15). Berlin: de Gruyter.
Levelt, W. J. M. (1995). The ability to speak: from intentions to spoken words. European Review, 3 (1), 13-23.
Linnell, J. (1995). Can negotiation provide a context for learning syntax in a second language? Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 11 (2), 83-103. (ERIC Documentation Reproduction Service No. ED 393 305)
Miyake, A., & Friedman, N. (1998). Individual differences in second language proficiency: Working memory as language aptitude. In A. Healy & L. Bourne (Eds.), Foreign language learning: Psycholinguistic studies on training and retention (pp. 139-164). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Möhle, D. (1984). A comparison of the second language speech production of different native speakers. In H. W. Dechert, D. Möhle, & M. Raupach (Eds.), Second language production (pp. 26-49). Tübingen: Narr.
Ortega, L. (1999). Planning and focus on form in L2 oral performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 109-148.
Papagno, C., Valentine, T., & Baddeley, A. D. (1991). Phonological short-term memory and foreign-language vocabulary learning. Journal of Memory and Language, 30, 331-347.
Payne, J. S. (1999, November). The psycholinguistic and pedagogical implications of integrating technology into the second language curriculum. Paper presented at the Second Language Acquisition Institute, University of California, Davis, CA.
Pellettieri, J. (2000). Negotiation in cyberspace: The role of chatting in the development of grammatical competence. In M. Warschauer & R. Kern (Eds.), NetworkBased Language Teaching: Concepts and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Pica, T., Holliday, L., Lewis, N., & Morgenthaler, L. (1989). Comprehensible output as an outcome of linguistic demands on the learner. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 11, 63-90.
Poulisse, N. (1997). Language production in bilinguals. In A. M. B. de Groot & J. F. Kroll (Eds.), Tutorials in bilingualism. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Poulisse, N., & Bongaerts, T. (1994). First language use in second language production. Applied Linguistics, 15, 36-57.
Raupach, M. (1980). Temporal variables in first and second language speech production. In H. W. Dechert & M. Raupach (Eds.), Temporal variables in speech (pp. 271-285). The Hague: Mouton.
Raupach, M. (1984). Formulae in second language production. In H. W. Dechert, D. Möhle, & M. Raupach (Eds.), Second language productions. Tübingen: Narr.
Rehbein, J. (1987). On fluency in second language speech. In H. W. Dechert and M. Raupach (Eds.), Psycholinguistic models of production (pp. 97-105). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Schmidt, R. (1992). Psychological mechanisms underlying second language fluency. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14, 357-385.
Service, E. (1992). Phonology, working memory, and foreign-language learning. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45A (1), 21-50.
Service, E., & Kohonen, V. (1995). Is the relation between phonological memory and foreign language learning accounted for by vocabulary acquisition? Applied Psycholinguistics, 16, 155-172.
Speidel, G. E. (1989). A biological basis for individual differences in learning to speak. In G. E. Speidel and K. E. Nelson (Eds.), The many faces of imitation in language learning (pp. 199-229). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Speidel, G. E. (1993). Phonological short-term memory and individual differences in learning to speak: A bilingual case study. First Language, 13, 69-91.
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass and C. Madden (Eds.), Input and second language aquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Swain, M. (1993). The output hypothesis: Just speaking and writing aren’t enough. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 50, 158-164.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16 (3), 371-391.
Warschauer, M. (1996). Comparing face-to-face and electronic discussion in the second language classroom. CALICO Journal, 13 (2), 7-26.
Weise, R. (1984). Language production in foreign and native languages: Same or different. In H. W. Dechert, D. Möhle, & M. Raupach (Eds.), Second language production (pp. 11-25). Tübingen: Narr.
Whitney, P., & Budd, D. (1999). A separate language interpretation resource: Premature fractionation? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 113.
