This study adds to the literature on computer-mediated communication (CMC) by examining the impact of online voice recording (VR) activities and peer-to-peer videoconferencing (VC) conversations on the development of beginning Spanish learners’ speaking performance. Specifically, this paper explores (1) whether VR and VC activities promote oral proficiency, and if so, whether those gains can be seen both in presentational and interpersonal modes of communication; and (2) whether VR and VC activities foster oral proficiency in similar ways to face-to-face (F2F) communication. A quasi-experimental, pre-/post-test design was used in the study. Three sections of a first semester Spanish course were assigned to one of the following conditions: F2F, VR, and VC. Complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures were used to analyze learners’ speaking performance in the two tasks. A mixed effects model analysis was used to investigate differences across time as well as among groups. Results show that both F2F communication and VR activities promote complexity and fluency in presentational tasks and fluency in interpersonal tasks, although F2F produces superior results regarding complexity in presentational tasks. VC activities promote complexity and fluency in presentational tasks and complexity, accuracy, and fluency in interpersonal tasks. Overall, this study shows that medium is not merely a delivery device but has important implications for learning outcomes. In this sense, these findings contribute to answering the wider question of how the use of technology in second language instruction plays a decisive role in current teaching practices.
The Challenge Service-provider virtual exchanges in which native speakers are trained and supervised by a third-party to speak with paying L2 learners are becoming increasingly popular. Without instruction, learners may misunderstand aspects of the target culture. How can instructors guide students while also ensuring they develop intercultural communicative competence?
This study examined the development of interactional competence (Hall, 1993; He & Young, 1998) by beginning learners of Spanish as indexed by their use of alignment moves. Discourse analysis techniques and quantitative data analysis were used to explore how 52 learners expressed alignment and changes in participation patterns in two sets of instructional peer‐to‐peer conversations. The results of the analyses show that, although subject to great individual variability and not always following native‐like standards, English native speakers in the early stages of learning Spanish are able to express varying degrees of alignment in conversations with a peer of a similar proficiency level. As they strive to create a sphere of mutual understanding, they test different options from their linguistic repertoire and learn not only from their own attempts but also from those of their interlocutor. These results suggest that repeated engagement in interactional practice does provide the linguistic, social, and pedagogical affordances learners need to develop the interactional skills that will serve them well not only to build confidence and competence in the classroom learning context, but also hopefully in the world outside the classroom.
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