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Long V Nguyen

Theoretical foundations

Research statements and research

questions

Participants

Results analysis

◦ Participation level

◦ Interaction level

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learning as a social process

rather than restrained within

an individual (Vygotsky, 1978).

the teacher as a facilitator and

the learners as active

participants (Lamy &

Hampel, 2007).

social interaction as a

means of knowledge

construction (McInnerney

& Roberts, 2004).

Collaborative learning

Socioculturally, “CMC is not just a

tool. It is at once technology,

medium, and engine of social

interactions. It not only structures

social relations, it is the space within

which the relations occur and the tool

that individuals use to enter that

space” (Jones, 1995, p. 16).

Chapelle (2001); Kern & Warschauer (2000);

Thorne (2008).

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Websites Email Blogs Wikis Chat SMS

============================================

Product-oriented Process-oriented

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CMC

Aural Textual Visual

Asynchronous Synchronous

Collaborativelearning

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Computer mediated

communication

Computer mediated

collaborative learning

Three critical attributes have been identified in collaborative learning (Ingram and Hathorn, 2004):

- Interdependence … of individuals in the group as they work towards the common goal.

- Synthesis of information …. among individuals in the group.

- Independence …. of the teacher.

Challenge: how can we measure the amount of collaboration based on the three elements?

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Participation

Interaction

Synthesis

The three central components of collaborative learning (Ingram & Hathorn, 2004)

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CMCL

Collaborative practice training

Online communicative competence

English language development

How can CMCL be integrated into an EFL environment

in the particular Vietnamese sociocultural context?

Computer Mediated Collaborative Learning in an EFL Environment: Process, Product,

and Students’ Perceptions

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1. What is the nature of online synchronous discussion and how

effective is it in comparison with the traditional face-to-face

discussion in collaborative learning in the EFL classroom?

2. What is the nature of online asynchronous peer review and how

effective is it in comparison with the traditional pen-and-paper peer

review in collaborative learning in the EFL classroom?

3. Does the use of a combination of online synchronous and

asynchronous exchanges result in a significant improvement of

English language achievement through collaboration?

4. What are students’ reflections on and perceptions of the application

of CMC collaboration into the EFL classroom?

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Participants

Control class(10 groups of 3 students)- Face-to-face discussion- Pen-and-paper peer review

CMC class (10 groups of 3 students)- Chat discussion (Yahoo!)- Wiki peer review (PBWiki)

N = 60Age: 20-22

Program: TESOLCourse: American Culture

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2.25

2.783.12

2.78

3.83

3.12

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0Strongest

Strong

Average

Weak

Weakest

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0.88 0.88

1.671.20 1.25

0.65

2.97

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0> 21 hours

16-20 hours

11-15 hours

6-10 hours

1-5 hours

Never

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Student’s chat window

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Teacher’s observation

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Control Class (n=10) CMC Class (n=10)

Mean S.D. Mean S.D. t p*

Discussion time 24:23 09:37 59:04 13:21 -6.66 .000

Total words 2035.20 776.11 896.30 308.21 4.31 .001

Total turns 121.00 58.05 143.20 53.71 -.89 .386

Words/turns 18.50 5.88 6.54 1.12 6.32 .000

Gini coefficient .24 .03 .16 .09 2.42 .033

*Significant at p < .05

Participation: FTF vs Chat Discussion

text-only method of exchanges: priorities were to quickly get ideas across and to smoothly maintain the conversation: fewer words in each turn.

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learners’ deficient

computer and typing skills

first time of applying SCMC in the academic

environment.

“I’m not surprised because normally the time used to type one sentence can produce up to three sentences in speech”.

Longer to type: eye switch

Periods of silences (Stickler, et al, 2007): more frequent and generally longer

lack of facial expressions: more time to think to ensure the understandability of messages

“if I’m stuck I can use my hands and face. When I move my body while talking, I feel my speech more fluent. I don’t know what to do if I’m stuck on chat.”

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A measure of statistical dispersion, commonly used as a measure of inequality. It presents values from 0 to 1, in which the smaller Gini coefficients correspond to greater equality. For example:

Group Member Words Gini

No. %

0101 Quy 568 16

Trang 863 24

Phuong* 2124 60 .29

0208 Nhung 198 28

Thang* 243 35

Hang 262 37 .06

n

iix

ni

xnG

121 2

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Gini coefficients by groups

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

010

1

010

2

010

3

010

4

010

5

010

6

010

7

010

8

010

9

011

2

020

1

020

2

020

3

020

4

020

5

020

6

020

7

020

8

020

9

021

0

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Member participation on

SCMC was significantly more

equal than that of the FTF

discussion. (Fitze, 2006;

Warschauer, 1996)

SCMC interaction can foster

greater participation in terms of

more time involvement, but not

in quantity. (Kern, 1995; Lee,

2002; Smith, 2003)

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Unit of analysis:Episodes

Discussions

Episodes

Independent Interactive

Off-task Language related Task related

(Storch, 2005 and Ganem-Gutierrez, 2006)

(Expanded from Mangenot & Nissen, 2006)

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Binh: just talk about the organization 1st

Binh: the content later

Ngan: yup

Ngan: thats what i mean

Yen: we can say anything we like,

Yen: pls dont focus on content

Ngan: but we have to write

Ngan: no

Ngan: we have to focus on content if we want to have a good essay

Yen: we can chat to topic we choose.plsw say sth about it

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Thom: …uh in my opinion, I think economy in is a very hot topic because of some reasons. The first reason is the economic system of the is very plentiful and can be called as a capitalist mixed economy. The second one is economy activity varies greatly across the country. Each area has each potential in each different field. So, that reason makes economy of the so pleasant characteristic.

Th. Anh: Yeah Thom: and the third one is US is a colonialism; it has a lots of colonies, right?Th. Anh: YeahThom: And US can buy products with low price and sell with high price.

Moreover, US invest money all over the country and we see a high benefit.

Th. Anh YeahYes

...

Thom: The fifth …

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Ngan: ok , lets stert with the topicNgan: what will we focus on?Yen: we choose blue,all right?Ngan: ??Binh: i 'd like sports and entertainmentNgan: OhBinh: how about u?Ngan: i choose the topic what's pop? dont know is it ok?Ngan: how about hoangyen?Yen: i like musicBinh: it seems to be 1 part in entertainmentYen: come on.what do you like to talk aboutNgan: but the teacher told that we can focus on whatever part we likeBinh: i don't know wether we have to focus on big topic or just a small oneNgan: so.. ask the teacher ok?

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Phuong: flexibility…

Phuong: do you think this kind of character similar or different between VNese and Ame

…Phuong: hey guys, are you listening to meM. Hang: yes, for ex.Phuong: I am talking about flexibilityPhuong: contribute your ideas plzChuyen: okPhuong: I think it's a similarityPhuong: but i'm not sureM. Hang: i think it's a differenceChuyen: yesPhuong: why kiko?M. Hang: vnese is less flexibleM. Hang: they like sth stableChuyen: vn want to keep its traditionM. Hang: for instance, jobPhuong: flexibility here means that it's easy for them to accept new thingsChuyen: but vn is notChuyen: i think M. Hang is right

…Phuong: so, we remove this idea and go on with others or what?

While there was a smooth flow of topics after topics in the control groups, CMC group discussions appeared in a chaotic manner.

Findings contradicted conclusion made by Mangenot and Nissen (2006) that the online “groups rarely engage in discussions on the sociocognitive level” (p. 615).

The socioaffective and organisational episodes have their significant role in creating, constructing, and maintaining the online collaborative community of learning.

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FTF Discussion

Presenting

Directing

Pouring info.

Decision easily and quickly achieved

Rely on prior knowledge

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CMC Chat

Requesting

Suggesting/Counter-suggesting

Challenging

Justifying

Ideas continuously negotiated

Product-oriented groups Learning-oriented groups

Yen (in the interview):◦ “… everyone had opportunities to talk; everyone

shared equal amount of talk; everyone feels that they must talk.”

Ngan (in the interview): ◦ Researcher: Can you clarify this point that you did

not agree with the equal contribution among the group members?

◦ Ngan: As you required that everyone should argue for the selection of the essay topic, I felt that only me and Binh discuss, not Yen.

◦ Researcher: Why do you think this happen?◦ Ngan: Uhm, maybe she was easy-going, just let it go;

or maybe she was not confident enough to share hers.

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Group Member Length Turns Words Gini Average words

/turnNo. % No. %

0203 Binh* 26 26 165 23 6.3

Yen 25 25 215 30 8.6

Ngan 48 49 337 47 7.1

Total 66’55” 99 718 .16 7.3

Thank you.

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Unit of analysis:Episodes

(Expanded from Mangenot & Nissen, 2006)