CMC Journal Summary: Nur Ira Fathihah

Introduction

The title of the journal is Synchronous CMC, Working Memory, and L2 Oral Proficiency Development from the journal Language Learning & Technology volume 9, number 3, September 2005 issue, page 35-54, which is done by J. Scott Payne and Brenda M. Ross from the Pennsylvania State University. The objective of this journal is to examine the patterns of the language used in chat transcripts with the goal of better understanding the interaction between individual differences in working memory capacity, Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC), and cross-modality transfer of skill from chatting to oral proficiency development.

Method

Research Question

The research question of the study deals with whether the frequency of repetition and relexicalization in Second Language (L2) SCMC would change over the course of the semester. Other than that, this study analyzes whether individual differences in working memory capacity (phonological and executive function) play a role in the frequency of repetition and relexicalization in L2 SCMC and does it modulate language output as measured by the average number of words, utterances, and turns generated per chat session. Finally, the study looks at the relationship between individual differences in working memory and oral proficiency development.

Sample

In this study, the participants consist of 24 volunteers (2 males and 22 females) ranging in the age from 18-26, from two sections of third-semester Spanish at a medium-sized university in the western United.

Duration

The study needs the two sections of third-semester Spanish to engage in 20 different 50-minute chat sessions over the course of the 15-week semester with 3-4 separate chatrooms per course for a total of 150 chatroom transcripts. There will be involving 4 hours of hybrid or blended instruction per week (2 days online in the chatroom, 2 days in the classroom).

Method

For the methodology, this study uses a qualitative method. The participants have to attend to a chatroom discussion on a given question by their instructor which is conducive to good discussion for 50 minutes. Each class will be given the same set of questions to be discussed and they have to interact only in Spanish. Another method is through measuring oral proficiency where participants have to select one of four envelopes containing instructions for a speaking task written in English. Then they have to read the instruction and speak in Spanish for approximately 5 minutes in front of the class. This is to analyze the two working memory from the participants which are; (a) nonword repetition task, as a measure of phonological working memory and (b) reading span.

Data Analysis

To analyze the data, a median split was performed to divide participants into high- and low-span groups for both the reading span and the nonword repetition tests, making working memory span an independent variable. The changes in oral proficiency based on working memory span group for both working memory measures were calculated with an ANCOVA. Then the chatroom data were divided into two periods representing the first and second halves of the semester in order to measure potential developmental changes in language use. Frequencies were tabulated for average number of words, utterances, and turns generated per chat session per participant, as well as repetition and relexicalization. The Wilcox Signed Ranks and Mann-Whitney U tests, the non-parametric equivalents to the t test and the Kruskal-Wallis, the non-parametric equivalent to the one-way ANOVA are used to analyze the more elaborate data.

Findings

After the study has been done, the received data is analyzed using the data analysis and resulted to several findings. First finding is that the use of repetition and relexicalization by third-semester Spanish learners as a strategy for them to improve communication in L2 chatroom discourse actually declined in frequency over time, it is an effect that was unrelated to working memory capacity. However, one possible interpretation for this outcome is that the frequency of repetition and relexicalization has nothing to do with proficiency. In other words, as learners expand their lexicon and become more proficient in producing language spontaneously as required for conversational exchange, they reduce their reliance on repetition as a strategy for maintaining continuity in discourse. The second finding is the obvious differences in the chatting style of the low phonological working memory students. The low-span students produce a greater number of words per utterance on average than was exhibited by the high-span students. The low-span students were taking advantage of the reduced cognitive burden introduced by the chatroom to produce more elaborate constructions of word something they may have found difficult in a face-to-face setting. The third finding result from this analysis revealed an interaction between executive function and phonological working memory that makes the interpretation of the role of working memory in L2 SCMC potentially more complex. These findings suggest a potentially interesting interaction between the reading span and nonword repetition as measures of working memory capacity and their impact on performance in non-laboratory settings.

The Context of Language Learning in Malaysia

The finding from the journal indicates that synchronous CMC (SCMC) could help the students greatly in learning second language (L2) through the use of online interaction. The study might prove that online chatting could only improve a little in the working memory of oral proficiency but undeniably, students can create an elaborate construction of words from the online interaction. From this research, it has proven that language learning does not have to be limited to a classroom discourse but could also be learn through SCMC.

In Malaysia, the learning of L2 is still confined to the classroom discourse where the teachers do all the teaching and the students just listen and learn. The lack of interaction between teachers and students can give a negative impact to the second language acquisition (SLA) of the students as learning L2 is all about live interaction. Looking at the amount of the students in one class could not help in learning L2 either as it is very hard to achieve SLA when only one teacher is assigned to teach 40 students all at the same time. This is the problem Malaysia is facing even in this modern era where this kind of environment can hold back students’ attempt to SLA. Malaysia should try to come up with a new approach that could not only encourage students to learn L2 interactively, but also could make it more fun for them in acquiring it. The perfect example is through SCMC where students can engaged in an online chatting with a native speaker of the L2 where they can practice authentic use of language. Through this, students can experience the live interaction personally and gradually could also improve their SLA. The only problem would be the insufficient amount of computers in schools for the students to use. Computers are very scarce and internet connection is also mostly unavailable especially in government schools in Malaysia. Therefore, online interaction for students in language learning in Malaysia is a hard one to achieve. Hopefully the government will make changes for the betterment of the future generation.


Journal Synchronous CMC, Working Memory, and L2 Oral Proficiency Development
by Payne & Ross -Link