The Role of Computer-Supported Discussion for Language Teacher Education: What Do the Students Say?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v20i1.59-79Keywords:
Web-based Conferencing, Task Design, Language Teacher EducationAbstract
This paper will report on findings from the author's on-going study of the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support postgraduate second-language teacher education. Students enrolled in a distance education CALL course used web-based conferencing to support both required and optional computer-based assignments. Transcripts of their online communication were analyzed to determine what they discussed and whether social cohesion was enhanced through use of CMC. Findings from the study are reported according to organizing categories of social interaction and different tasks that can affect online communicative exchanges. More broadly, the article discusses curriculum design features and their implications for technology-enhanced instructional practice.References
Adair-Hauck, B., Willingham-McLain, L., & Youngs, B. (2000). Evaluating the integration of technology and second language learning. CALICO Journal, 17 (2), 269-306.
Ashton, S., Roberts, T., & Teles, L. (2000). Investigating the role of the instructor in online collaborative environments. Telelearning NCE – Project 5.25 report. Vancouver: Simon Fraser University. Available: www.telelearn.ca/g_access/ research_projects/index_th5.html
Brandon, D. P., & Hollingshead, A. B. (1999). Collaborative learning and computer-supported groups. Communication Education, 48, 109-126.
Brine, J., & Johnson, E. M. (2001). Cultural considerations in the use of web conferencing for academic writing. The TESOLANZ Journal, 9, 71-83.
Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Byrnes, H. (Ed.). (1998). Learning foreign and second languages: Perspectives in research and scholarship. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.
Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (1994). Research methods in education. London: Routledge.
Crandall, J. (1999). Cooperative language learning and affective factors. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language teaching (pp. 226-245). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Malderez, A. (1999). The role of group dynamics in foreign language learning and teaching. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language teaching (pp. 155-169). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1997). SLA research and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fidelman, C. (1998). Growth of Internet use by language professionals. CALICO Journal, 15 (4), 39-57.
Freeman, D., & Richards, J. C. (1996). Teacher learning in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R. B. (1996). Theory and practice of writing. London and New York: Longman.
Hall, C. (2000, 5 May). Experiences teaching German online. Invited presentation to the Department of General & Applied Linguistics, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Hara, N., & Kling, R. (2000). Students’ distress with a web-based distance education course. CSI Working Paper. Available: www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp00-01.html
Haythornthwaite, C., Kazmer, M. M., Robins, J., & Shoemaker, S. (2000). Community development among distance learners: Temporal and technological dimensions. JCMC [Online], 6 (1). Available: www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol6/issue1/haythornth waite.html
Johnson, E. M. (September, 1999). CALL and teacher education: Issues in course design. CALL-EJ Online, 1 (2). Available: www.lerc.ritsumei.ac.jp/callej/4-2/contents12.html
Johnson, E. M., & Brine, J. W. (2000). Design and development of CALL courses in Japan. CALICO Journal, 17 (1), 251-268.
Johnson, E. M., Holt, A., Stirling, J., & Zane, J. (2001). Reflections in cyberspace: Webconferencing for language teacher education. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 17 (2), 169-186. Available: cleo.murdoch.edu.au/ajet17/res/ johnson.html
Knobel, M., Lankshear, C., Honan, E., & Crawford, J. (1998). The wired world of second-language education. In I. Snyder (Ed.), Page to screen: Taking literacy into the electronic era (pp. 20-50). London: Routledge.
Lankshear, C., & Snyder, I. (2000). Teachers and techno-literacy. St Leonards, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Lantolf, J. (1999). Second culture acquisition: Cognitive considerations. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning (pp. 28-46). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned (Rev. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McWilliams, E., & Taylor, P. G. (1998). Teacher im/material: Challenging the new pedagogies of instructional design. Educational Researcher, 27 (8), 29-34.
Mitchell, R., & Myles, F. (1998). Second language learning theories. London: Arnold.
Oxford, R. L. (1997). Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: Three communicative strands in the language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 81 (4), 443-456.
Ragsdale, R. G. (1988). Permissible computing in education. New York: Praeger Press.
Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 17-46.
Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wildner, S. (2000). Technology integration into preservice foreign language teacher education programs. CALICO Journal, 17 (2), 223-250.
