Computer mediated communication and informalization of discourse: The influence of culture and subject matter (original) (raw)
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Forum Qualitative Social Research, 2009
This paper works through the methodological issues involved in treating "culture" and "interculturality" as interactionally demonstrable and observable phenomena in written online asynchronous discourse. In particular, the paper explores the ways that conversation analysis (CA) and its focus on sequentiality and membership categorization analysis might aid the analysis of culture as a textural interactional achievement. The paper argues that, while there are some clear differences between sequential talk and written asynchronous discourse, there are still interesting ways in which CA's analytic foci may be worked through in relation to online discourse. Both the concern with sequentiality and with membership categories may well help us to see how the construction of visible and recognizable intercultural discourse practices are accomplished through written modes in online forums.
Computer mediated discourse across languages
Stockholm Studies in Modern Philology, 2013
At the end of the last century the web was conceived of as a library where information could be posted and retrieved, so that there was a fairly clear distinction between the roles of producers and consumers of information. Since then what is called Web 2.0 has emerged as a highly interactive space where all participants are both producers and consumers. Intensive users of the virtual space find that it has changed the nature of their existence in the ‘non-virtual’ world. In this volume we look at the linguistic and discoursal complexities of interaction in the virtual space in relation to events and discourses outside it.
2015
Mira Bekar. Ph.D., Purdue University, May 2015. Language, Writing, and Social (Inter)action: An Analysis of Text-based Chats in Macedonian and English. Major Professor: Tony Silva. The purpose of this study is to investigate the text-based chatting practices of a particular community of native Macedonian speakers who chat both in Macedonian and in English (as their foreign language). Much research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) over the last decade has been done in English as L1. Some of the few studies which explored CMC cross-linguistically include the comparison of French vs. English (Werry, 1996), Japanese vs. English (Nishimura, 2003b), Spanish vs. English (del-Teso-Craviotto, 2006), Serbian vs. English (Radic, 2007) and Turkish vs. English (Savas, 2010). In these studies, a number of different language features (e.g., orthography, code switching) and functions (e.g., representation of gender) common to TBC have been analyzed, but none has explored in-depth the use of...
Journal of Pragmatics, 2011
Because it fails to provide nonverbal clues (Tudini, 2003), immediate feedback, and intonation, synchronous text-based computer-mediated communication (SCMC) is not as common as oral interaction in a real life context. Online chat rooms have also many potential benefits. For example, the results of several studies of online chat imply that nonnative speakers of English (NNSs) can benefit from participating in online chat in several ways. Research suggests that chat room activity can help NNSs learn about the culture of native speakers (NSs) of the target language (Hanna and de Nooy, 2003), practice vocabulary or grammar in speaking and writing (Warschauer, 1996), and collaborate with peers to generate meaning (Sotillo, 2000). Beauvois (1998) also found that computer-mediated communication (CMC) helped to ''slow down the communicative process in bridging the gap between oral and written communication for a number of students and allowed them to benefit more fully from the language process'' (p. 213). In light of these potential benefits, it is important to learn more about the nature of conversations that take place between NNSs and NSs in chat rooms. Unrestricted by time and distance, online chat rooms have enabled NNSs to communicate with NSs, creating opportunities for both groups to develop ongoing and genuine communication. In addition to the benefits cited
Debating in an online world: A comparative analysis of speaking, writing, and online chat
Text and Talk, 2011
Because the world has become increasingly dependent upon CMC (computer-mediated communication) to interact, the very fibers of political discourse have undergone changes. Chatting online using interactive channels has be-come one mode out of many that interlocutors employ to pore over political issues. In this light, using the influential study of Chafe and Danielewicz (1987)as a model, we examine the linguistic choices made by political adversaries engaged in online chat and compare their choices with those made by opponents using spoken language and written language. The evidence uncovered clearly distinguished political chat from editorial writing and face-to-face de-bating, and even when frequency counts were similar to either the editorials or the spoken discussion, subtle differences were observed. The basis for these differences is discussed, revealing that political chat is different on many levels.
Discussion forum interactions: Text and context
System, 2007
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is currently used in language teaching as a bridge for the development of written and spoken skills . Restructuring classroom interaction with networked computers: effects on quantity and characteristics of language production. The Modern Language Journal 79, 457-476]. Within CMC technologies, one of the applications in language learning involves student participation in online discussion forums (DFs), which can be conductive to enhanced learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze modal verbs, a characteristic of the language produced in asynchronous DFs and to confirm whether the conversational elements present in the written communication mode reflect the oral traits attributed to synchronous interactions. Our research is based on the analysis of a corpus of international forum interactions built up over several years. We compare the results of our analysis with those found in two other studies: Yates' examination [Yates, S.J., 1996. Oral and written linguistic aspects of computer conferencing: a corpus-based study. In: Herring, S. (Ed.), CMC: Linguistics, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. John Benjamin, Amsterdam, pp. 29-46] of modal auxiliary use in a corpus containing CMC, speech and formal writing, and Piqué et al.'s study [Piqué, J., Posteguillo, S., Andreu, J.V., 2002. Epistemic and deontic modality: a linguistic indicator of disciplinary variation in academic English. LSP and Professional Communication 2 (2), 49-65] of research articles as samples of written scientific discourse. Our analysis highlights the differences in the way that modal auxiliaries are used in text-based CMC. From our study, we can infer and understand some of the potential offered by computer-mediated learning tools which, in turn, will contribute to the knowledge required in the design and production of technology-mediated educational activities.
(2011) Conversation Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication. CALICO Journal, 28, 308-325.
"The potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) for language learning resides mainly in the possibility that learners have to engage with other speakers of the language, including L1 speakers. The inclusion of CMC in the L2 classroom provides an opportunity for students to utilize authentic language in real interaction, rather than the more traditional institutionally asymmetric, nonnegotiable, and teacher controlled classroom discourse. However, still much research is needed addressing what happens during CMC interaction and the effectiveness of this tool for language learning. This article explores the potential of conversation analysis (CA) to contribute to the understanding of L2 CMC. It presents previous CA research on synchronous CMC (SCMC) and L2 interaction, and, as an illustration of how CA can be employed for the study of CMC, a longitudinal case study of a Spanish L2 learner engaged in interaction with a L1 Spanish speaker is microanalyzed using CA. Finally, the article outlines the strengths of CA for the analysis of CMC and identifies the limitations of the method both for the study of CMC as well as for language learning in general and provides future possible lines of research."
Interactional competence (henceforth IC) in an L2 has been a research interest for conversation analysts. A number of researchers have documented the emergence and the development of the construct in contexts such as classroom interaction and technology-mediated environments (Hellermann, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011; Markee, 2008; Seedhouse & Walsh, 2010; Pekarek Doehler, 2010, 2013; Pekarek Doehler & Pochon Berger, 2011, 2015; Balaman, 2016; Balaman & Sert, 2017a, b, Sert & Balaman, in press). They have focused on socio-interactional constructs such as repair sequences (Kitade, 2000; Hellermann, 2011), expanded responses (Lee, Park & Sohn, 2011), engagement and disengagement (Hellermann, 2008; Pekarek Doehler & Pochon Berger, 2011), intersubjectivity (Gonzales Lloret, 2011), and topical organization (Hall, 1995; Ducasse & Brown, 2009; Melander & Sahlström, 2009). However, topic development has been explored to lesser extent by conversation analysts compared to other constructs of interaction such as turn-taking and repair organization. With this in mind, this study aims to document topic development and its relation to IC in geographically dispersed participants’ spoken interaction in an English as a Lingua Franca (henceforth ELF) environment. As the first study to investigate topic maintenance in computer-mediated interactions in an ELF context and using conversation analysis as the research methodology, this study sets out to unpack the emergent orientations to topic maintenance by the tertiary level L2 learners from two different countries (Turkey and Kazakhstan). The situated accomplishments of the geographically dispersed participants are examined to document IC in computer mediated interactions (Jenks, 2014; Balaman, 2016; Balaman & Sert 2017a, b; Sert & Balaman, in press). The data-driven participant-oriented analyses of a hundred and one episodes in the data set provide a micro-analytic account of topical progressivity with reference to the multitude of semiotic resources such as body posture, gestures and facial expressions that the participants utilise during the interaction. The close look into the data explicated that the participants deploy a topic maintenance resource, Rolling the Ball Back (RBB). The analyses show that an RBB sequence is one of ix the interactional resources that a participant can employ to ensure topical maintenance at an action boundary by inviting contributions relevant to an ongoing topic from a co-participant. The study describes the sequential unfolding of RBB sequences, different RBB resources used during interactions, and how RBB sequences shape the rest of the interaction. The computer mediated dyadic interactional data was collected over a three-month period between the fall term of 2015/2016 and spring term of 2016/2017. 20 participants (10 from each country) interacted through Skype. The dataset for the study comprises of 9 hours of video recorded spoken interactions and their transcriptions. The findings also suggest that RBB sequences unfold in three temporally sequenced steps: closers, RBB, and elaboration. Moreover, the findings reveal that RBB performs various actions including managing turn allocation, initiating reciprocation of speakership and perspectives on an ongoing topic, thus, promotes intersubjectivity at topical level. The analyses also document how topic extension was achieved following RBB sequences when one of the participants had troubles in contributing to an ongoing topic. The study provides evidence to the participants’ co-constructed ICs based on the deployment of RBBs as explicated in and through turn taking strategies (Markee, 2008; Hall & Pekarek Doehler, 2011; Wong & Waring, 2010; Jenks, 2014), sequence organization, and topic management practices (Hall, 1992; Galaczi, 2008, 2014; Young, 2000; Hall & Pekarek Doehler, 2011; Nguyen, 2011; Walsh, 2012; Seedhouse & Supakorn, 2015). The findings of this study also have some implications for dyadic computer mediated L2 interaction as the medium creates pedagogical opportunities through meaningful interactions that eventually develop ICs. Finally, the study contributes to research on topic development and interactional competence of L2 speakers as the first study to investigate topic maintenance as an indicator of IC in online ELF interactions.
Intercultural computer-mediated discourse. Evidence from the "EIL in Poland and Spain" blog
It is now quite widely held that language, rather than accurately reflect an outside reality, largely 'constructs and constitutes' it (Barker and Galasinski 2001: 1). Such an assumption is all the more interesting in foreign language contexts. Taking the increasing relevance of the concept of 'English as an International Language' (EIL) as our starting point (Llurda 2004), this paper focuses on discourse produced within the progressively common context of online communication between non-native English speakers. More specifically, it analyses contributions to the 'EIL in Poland and Spain' blog. This online tool has been set up to enable 'third-space' intercultural computer-mediated communication (Bretag 2006; Fayard and DeSanctis 2010) between two groups of secondary school students of English, in Bendinat (Majorca, Spain) and Opole (Poland), benefiting from largely parallel intercultural foreign language teaching methodologies at their respective edu...