Language Learning in Computer-Mediated Collaborative Writing

This dissertation investigated the impact of computer-mediated collaborative writing on Chinese EFL learners' language learning and writing skills through examining both writing products and processes. The potential influence of dyadic type and language proficiency was also explored through quantitative and qualitative analyses. The study adapted a quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design and involved 135 non-native English speakers (NNES) and 45 native English speakers (NES). Participants completed two writing tasks online either with a partner or individually over six weeks. The pre- and post-tests were designed to examine whether the language and writing skill developments from computer-mediated collaboration transferred into individual writing. Through analyses of the gain scores on language complexity, accuracy, fluency and overall performance, the findings revealed that intermediate proficiency learners had higher improvements than advanced proficiency learners over time. Although statistically significant differences were observed on fluency and overall performance across groups, the results did not show influence of writing modes, language proficiency and dyadic types on accuracy and complexity. Language-related episodes (LRE), non-language-related episodes (NLRE), and uptakes in the text-chat logs and the collaborative writing texts were used to measure potential noticing and language learning. The analysis showed that the advanced NNES-NES dyads had a higher frequency of LREs, NLREs, and correct immediate and delayed uptakes. The in-depth qualitative analysis of nine selected dyads revealed that advanced learners were more engaged in interactions in both NNES-NES and NNES-NNES dyads. However, intermediate learners showed more learning incidents, higher motivation and more confidence in NNES-NNES dyads than in NES-NNES dyads. The perception survey indicated that the NNES participants had a positive attitude to computer-mediated collaborative writing. The advanced learners in the NNES-NES dyads had the highest percentage of reporting self-perceived improvements and confidence in English writing. The findings of this dissertation research indicate that computer-mediated collaborative writing is beneficial to Chinese EFL learners when they are actively engaged in interactions during the writing process. The study also confirmed that dyadic type and language proficiency affect learner's performance, with intermediate learners more likely to benefit from collaboration with NNESs and advanced learners more likely to benefit from collaboration with NESs

Development of English as a Second Language in the Context of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games

This dissertation examined the affordances of commercially developed massively multiplayer online (role-playing) games (MMOGs) for second language (L2) development. It comprises three self-contained but related studies. The first study, as a scoping review, synthesized 32 empirical papers, which investigated different aspects of L2 development in the context of these games. It sought to find out what aspects of L2 learning have been examined and how, and what the findings suggest regarding L2 learning opportunities and outcomes. This study highlighted that empirical research in this area is mainly qualitative and that L2-related affective factors, vocabulary, and communicative competence have been the most widely investigated topics. It concluded that MMOGs afford socially supportive and emotionally safe environments, which encourage L2 learners to use multiple opportunities for enriching their L2 vocabulary and enhancing their communicative competence in the target language. The second study was an exploratory research. It adopted an interactionist approach to characterize the nature of the negotiations of meaning that occurred in the conversational exchanges between native (NES) and non-native English speakers (NNESs) playing World of Warcraft. The data consisted of 63 hours of audio-recorded, in-game conversations over a 5-month period. The participants consisted of an NES and 6 NNESs who were divided into two groups (low and high intermediate) according to their English language proficiency. This study identified and characterized the most frequently occurred triggers, indicators, responses and reaction to the responses in three types of dyadic conversational exchanges. The third study examined L2 development through ―usage-based‖ theories of language learning. It was a time-series (longitudinal) research that examined the trend of changes in the linguistic complexity of the NNESs‘ spoken discourse during a 5-month period of gameplay. This examination involved repeated (in three equally-distributed time intervals) calculations of fourteen syntactic complexity indices and the indices associated with three components of lexical complexity (diversity, sophistication, and density). Overall, the results turned out to be more promising for the low intermediate than the high intermediate group of the NNESs. More detailed findings are presented and discussed in light of the current literature

Development of English as a Second Language in the Context of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games

This dissertation examined the affordances of commercially developed massively multiplayer online (role-playing) games (MMOGs) for second language (L2) development. It comprises three self-contained but related studies. The first study, as a scoping review, synthesized 32 empirical papers, which investigated different aspects of L2 development in the context of these games. It sought to find out what aspects of L2 learning have been examined and how, and what the findings suggest regarding L2 learning opportunities and outcomes. This study highlighted that empirical research in this area is mainly qualitative and that L2-related affective factors, vocabulary, and communicative competence have been the most widely investigated topics. It concluded that MMOGs afford socially supportive and emotionally safe environments, which encourage L2 learners to use multiple opportunities for enriching their L2 vocabulary and enhancing their communicative competence in the target language. The second study was an exploratory research. It adopted an interactionist approach to characterize the nature of the negotiations of meaning that occurred in the conversational exchanges between native (NES) and non-native English speakers (NNESs) playing World of Warcraft. The data consisted of 63 hours of audio-recorded, in-game conversations over a 5-month period. The participants consisted of an NES and 6 NNESs who were divided into two groups (low and high intermediate) according to their English language proficiency. This study identified and characterized the most frequently occurred triggers, indicators, responses and reaction to the responses in three types of dyadic conversational exchanges. The third study examined L2 development through ―usage-based‖ theories of language learning. It was a time-series (longitudinal) research that examined the trend of changes in the linguistic complexity of the NNESs‘ spoken discourse during a 5-month period of gameplay. This examination involved repeated (in three equally-distributed time intervals) calculations of fourteen syntactic complexity indices and the indices associated with three components of lexical complexity (diversity, sophistication, and density). Overall, the results turned out to be more promising for the low intermediate than the high intermediate group of the NNESs. More detailed findings are presented and discussed in light of the current literature

Development of English as a Second Language in the Context of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games

This dissertation examined the affordances of commercially developed massively multiplayer online (role-playing) games (MMOGs) for second language (L2) development. It comprises three self-contained but related studies. The first study, as a scoping review, synthesized 32 empirical papers, which investigated different aspects of L2 development in the context of these games. It sought to find out what aspects of L2 learning have been examined and how, and what the findings suggest regarding L2 learning opportunities and outcomes. This study highlighted that empirical research in this area is mainly qualitative and that L2-related affective factors, vocabulary, and communicative competence have been the most widely investigated topics. It concluded that MMOGs afford socially supportive and emotionally safe environments, which encourage L2 learners to use multiple opportunities for enriching their L2 vocabulary and enhancing their communicative competence in the target language. The second study was an exploratory research. It adopted an interactionist approach to characterize the nature of the negotiations of meaning that occurred in the conversational exchanges between native (NES) and non-native English speakers (NNESs) playing World of Warcraft. The data consisted of 63 hours of audio-recorded, in-game conversations over a 5-month period. The participants consisted of an NES and 6 NNESs who were divided into two groups (low and high intermediate) according to their English language proficiency. This study identified and characterized the most frequently occurred triggers, indicators, responses and reaction to the responses in three types of dyadic conversational exchanges. The third study examined L2 development through ―usage-based‖ theories of language learning. It was a time-series (longitudinal) research that examined the trend of changes in the linguistic complexity of the NNESs‘ spoken discourse during a 5-month period of gameplay. This examination involved repeated (in three equally-distributed time intervals) calculations of fourteen syntactic complexity indices and the indices associated with three components of lexical complexity (diversity, sophistication, and density). Overall, the results turned out to be more promising for the low intermediate than the high intermediate group of the NNESs. More detailed findings are presented and discussed in light of the current literature

Face-to-face Versus Computer-Mediated Adult Learner Interactions and Second Language Acquisition

This dissertation investigated face-to-face (FTF) interactions and computer-mediated communication (CMC) in second language acquisition (SLA) through a systematic literature review and two mixed-methods empirical studies. The systematic literature review analyzed 35 studies’ findings that have investigated SLA through task-based interaction in FTF versus CMC. The review’s findings support previous review studies indicating a positive connection between CMC and FTF interactions and SLA. The first empirical study investigated the effectiveness of corrective feedback (CF) in FTF and text-synchronous-computer-mediated communication (SCMC) modes. The participants included six native speakers (NSs) and six intermediate L2 learners. Three NSs were trained to provide implicit CF and three NSs were trained to provide explicit CF. The participants formed six NS-learner dyads, which were divided into two groups: implicit and explicit CF. All dyads performed one task in each mode. The interactions were coded for CF episodes and types. Results of chi-square analysis indicated statistically significant difference in the frequency and effect of CF types on L2 development in FTF versus text-SCMC. This study’s findings indicated that the CF nature, the communication mode’s features, and the interlocutor impacted L2 development through interactions. Text-SCMC was more conducive in providing explicit CF, whereas FTF was more conducive in providing implicit CF. The second empirical study investigated dyadic types in FTF versus text-SCMC. The participants included four NSs, four low proficiency learners (LPLs), and four high proficiency learners (HPLs). The participants were paired up to form two of each of the following dyadic types: NS-LPL, NS-HPL, and HPL-LPL. All dyads performed one task in each mode. The interactions were coded for negotiation episodes and strategies. Results of chi-square analysis found no statistically significant difference in the frequency of negotiation episodes among the three dyadic types or the LPLs’ and HPLs’ language learning outcome in FTF versus SCMC. Results revealed that learners benefited more from interactions with NSs than with peers. When interacting with NSs, LPLs benefited more from FTF, whereas HPLs benefited more from text-SCMC in terms of generating negotiation episodes. Overall, this dissertation’s findings showed that FTF and text-SCMC complement each other in creating opportunities for L2 development