Nghiên cứu hiệu quả của hoạt động giao tiếp cùng thời điểm qua trung gian máy tính đối với việc phát triển kỹ năng ngôn ngữ cho sinh viên đại học Việt Nam

Introduction 1.1. Introduction Research on computer mediated communication (CMC) has shown an outstanding development on foreign/second language teaching and learning methodology using technology of which countless benefits have been proved through numerous world-wide research studies (Abdorreza, Jaleh, & Azadeh, 2015; Abrams, 2003; Bui, 2006; Chou, 2004; Dang, 2011). Gonzalez-Lloret (2011) assumed that CMC was one of the fastest growing communicative media in the world and produced large quantities of authentic materials for instructors and learners around the world. Generally, CMC which refers to discussions via computer as a medium of communication has two modes. The first, asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ASCMC), takes place in time and place independence. Typically, the instructor and students discuss, give and get information or deliver materials through course web pages, posting of forum messages or email messages. In contrast, synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) represents realtime interactions. Usually, this means that the instructor and students meet in a chat room, simultaneously, at a particular location in cyberspace or from any location that has Internet access and interact through typed statements or questions (Lavooy & Newlin, 2003). The advantages of using SCMC have been so far touched on a variety of research publications, the aim of this study is to explore experimental insights into applicability of SCMC mode for Vietnamese EFL students’ language skills development. The present study investigates the effects of SCMC on the development of oral and written proficiency of EFL university students of Vietnam over the course of a fifteen-week semester. The research also explores students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards SCMC mode as well as their progress on language skills through SCMC activities. 1.2. Research setting This section describes an overview of the institution, the students, the use of technology in language teaching and learning of the present study. 1.2.1. Institution The research was implemented at the Danang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy (DUMTP) under Vietnam Ministry of Health. The first campus is located at 99 Hung Vuong street in Hai Chau district and the second oneat Nam Ky Khoi Nghia street in Ngu Hanh Son district of Danang city. The totalarea is 62,093 m 2 . The total number of students at the time of the research being done in the academic year 2017-2018 was 4,402 students. DUMTP is a public school belonging to the Vietnamese educational system. Its mission is to train healthstaff at undergraduate and post graduate levels in order to meet the requirements ofhealth human resources and people’s health care and protection. Major training programs of DUMTP in the academic year of 2017-2018 were6-year-curriculum General Practitioner, 5-year-curriculum Pharmacist and 4-yearcurriculum Bachelors of Public Health, Medical Imaging, Medical Laboratory, Rehabilitation, General Nursing, Dental Nursing and Anesthesia Resuscitation Nursing. While General Practitioner program was lately introduced in DUMTP in2015, the other ones have been offered over a long history of establishment since1963. They shared many common subjects, except for some specialized onesparticular to the individual discipline. The participants involved in this researchwere General Practitioner students. The investigation was conducted in their first semester of the first academic year out of twelve semesters within six years theystudied at DUMTP.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

PHẠM ĐẶNG TRÂM ANH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF

SYNCHRONOUS COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

ON LANGUAGE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR EFL

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN VIETNAM

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

HUE, 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

PHẠM ĐẶNG TRÂM ANH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF

SYNCHRONOUS COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

ON LANGUAGE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR EFL

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN VIETNAM

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 9 14 01 11

SUPERVISORS:

Assoc Professor TRAN VAN PHUOC Assoc Professor NGUYEN VAN LONG

HUE, 2019

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

PHẠM ĐẶNG TRÂM ANH

NGHIÊN CỨU HIỆU QUẢ CỦA GIAO TIẾP CÙNG THỜI ĐIỂM QUA TRUNG GIAN MÁY TÍNH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGÔN NGỮ

CHO SINH VIÊN VIỆT NAM

LUẬN ÁN TIẾN SĨ

LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH

HUẾ, 2019

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

PHẠM ĐẶNG TRÂM ANH

NGHIÊN CỨU HIỆU QUẢ CỦA GIAO TIẾP CÙNG THỜI ĐIỂM QUA TRUNG GIAN MÁY TÍNH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGÔN NGỮ

CHO SINH VIÊN VIỆT NAM

HUẾ, 2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this doctoral dissertation and that I have not used any sources other than those listed in the bibliography and identified as references

I further declare that I have not submitted this dissertation at any other institution in order to obtain a degree

Place: Hue, Vietnam

Date: July 5th, 2019

Signature:

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication on the language development for Vietnamese EFL university students The research objectives aimed at examining the differences in oral and written proficiency levels between the two treatment groups over the course of one semester as well as exploring the students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of the use of synchronous computer-mediated communication in language skills classes

The research employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design Thirty students from Danang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy participated

in the research project One class of English level 3 of CEFR – Vietnamese standard (B1) participated in oral role plays and one class engaged in synchronous online discussions Data were collected from pre- and post- treatment tests at the beginning and at the end of the semester The research participants also filled out the pre- and post- questionnaires to prevail their attitudes towards and perceptions of the use of synchronous computer-mediated communication in language skills classes Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from the SCMC chat group to verify the effects that synchronous online discussions might have on language development for Vietnamese university students

Results showed no statistically significant differences in oral and written proficiency between the two treatment groups at the end of the semester However, there were statistically significant differences in pre- and post- treatment scores of oral and written tests

Other analyses of the oral transcripts and the written papers evolved that the lexical richness had reasonably clear impacts on the oral and written test scores on the basis of the described marking criteria Results of lexical richness analysis indicated a general increase in language although the difference in lexical richness based on the two treatments was not detected

Analysis of the questionnaires and semi-structured interviews exposed that the one-semester English course enhanced learners’ language development The

students engaging in online discussions perceived them as beneficial for both their oral and written language skills

The fact that students perceived the online discussions as beneficial for their oral speech, and the fact that there was no significant difference between the post-treatment oral and written proficiency of the two groups, corroborates the notion that online discussions support the development of the same processes that underlie oral speech SCMC discussions are thus shown to be a valuable addition to the foreign language classrooms

Based on the findings, pedagogical implications on synchronous mediated communication were put forward to English language skills classes

computer-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my very great appreciation to all who have helped and accompanied me along this arduous but worthwhile journey All professors, lecturers and supporters I have met during my coursework studies and the process

of writing this dissertation earn you my eternal gratitude

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Assoc Professor Dr Tran Van Phuoc, my research supervisor, for his patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work He has always been by my side to share his experience, professional development and challenges emerging from this long journey

I am particularly grateful for the assistance and professional guidance given by Assoc Professor Dr Nguyen Van Long, my co-supervisor, during my process of writing this dissertation He has contributed significantly to my completion of the PhD degree

My special thanks are extended to Assoc Professor Dr Pham Thi Hong Nhung, my lecturer and administrative supervisor, for her strong support from the very beginning to the end of my PhD course Her bright personality and integrity impressed me profoundly

Constructive comments and recommendations given by the panel members of Hue University of Foreign Languages have been of great help to me in diving deeper into the issues of computer-assisted English teaching and learning and shaping the person I am today My grateful thanks are also extended to Dr Ton Nu Nhu Huong, Dr Tran Quang Ngoc Thuy and Assoc Professor Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong for their advice and assistance in revising the research title, scope of the study and research questions

My gratitude also goes to the lecturers of Hue University of Foreign Languages: Dr Bao Kham, Assoc Prof Dr Truong Vien, and Dr Pham Hoa Hiep who have given me interesting lectures in TESOL and guided me through the fulfillment of this thesis

I wish to acknowledge the help provided by Assoc Professor Dr Nguyen Khac Minh, Rector, for his granting me study leave and implementation of my research project at the Danang University of Technology and Pharmacy I would also like to thank the librarians of my University for assisting me in teaching at the computer labs and collecting the research data as well as my colleagues for taking

up my workload while I was doing my PhD degree

My big thanks go to Ms Dang Thi Le Thu who never stopped believing that I could do this and who gave me her unwavering emotional and technical support

Ms Tran Thi Hoai Vi was a great help with technical questions regarding SPSS software

Finally, I wish to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout my study

Without them, I would not be able to reach the finishing line of this meaningful journey

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Subjects of semester one 3

Table 3.1 Selected background information 46

Table 3.2 Perceived English language proficiency between the two groups 47

Table 3.3 Self-rating of computer experience: Descriptive statistics 49

Table 3.4 Students’ attitude towards computers 50

Table 3.5 Perceived benefits of internet-connected computers 51

Table 3.6 Mean scores of pre-treatment oral and written proficiency tests 52

Table 3.7 Schedule for the fieldwork study (15 weeks) 58

Table 3.8 Overview of the research procedures 61

Table 3.9 Data types and collection methods 66

Table 4.1 Mean and Standard deviation for oral and written proficiency tests 74

Table 4.2 Mean and Standard deviation for pre- and post- oral and written tests 76

Table 4.3 ANOVA: T-test: Paired samples test 77

Table 4.4 Quantity of language: Oral test 79

Table 4.5 Quantity of language: Written test 82

Table 4.6 Lexical diversity: Oral test 85

Table 4.7 Lexical diversity: Written test 88

Table 4.8 Lexical density: Oral test 90

Table 4.9 Lexical density: Written test 92

Table 4.10 Mean and Standard deviation for post-treatment lexical features 95

Table 4.11 Perceived effects of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat on language development 96

Table 4.12 Perceived effects of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat on the four language skills 98

Table 4.13 Perceived effects of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat on language areas 102

Table 4.14 Perceived effects of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat on future impact 104

Table 4.15 Students’ experience with oral role play and written chat 106

Table 4.16 Perceptions of anxiety during non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat 109 Table 4.17 Monitoring mistakes of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat 111 Table 4.18 Requirements of oral role play and written chat 112 Table 4.19 Perceptions of online discussions by SCMC chat group 114

LIST OF PICTURES AND FIGURES

Picture 3.1 Non-SCMC role play group in the computer lab 57

Picture 3.2 Instructor’s desktop during the chat discussion 58

Graph 4.1 Lexical diversity and transcript length in post-treatment: Oral test 87

Graph 4.2 Lexical diversity and text length in pre-treatment: Written test 89

Figure 4.1 Suggested model of language skills development using SCMC 116

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Consent form 151

Appendix 2 Pre-treatment questionnaire 152

Appendix 3 Cronbach’s alpha – Pre-treatment questionnaire 157

Appendix 4 Post-treatment questionnaire – Non-SCMC Role play group 159

Appendix 5 Cronbach alpha – Post- questionnaire – Non-SCMC Role play group162 Appendix 6 Post-treatment questionnaire – SCMC chat group 163

Appendix 7 Cronbach’s alpha – Post- questionnaire – SCMC chat group 166

Appendix 8 Post-treatment interview – SCMC chat group 168

Appendix 9 Post-treatment interview transcript sample – SCMC chat group 169

Appendix 10 Pre- and Post-treatment oral test questions 171

Appendix 11 Transcript sample of a pre-oral proficiency test 174

Appendix 12 Transcript sample of a post-oral proficiency test 176

Appendix 13 Rating scale for the written test (Level 3-5 VSTEP) 178

Appendix 14 Pre- written proficiency test prompt 183

Appendix 15 Sample of a pre- written proficiency test 184

Appendix 16 Post- written proficiency test prompt 185

Appendix 17 Sample of a post - written proficiency test 186

Appendix 18 Rating scale for the written test (Level 3-5 VSTEP) 187

Appendix 19 Pre- and post-treatment proficiency test result 190

Appendix 20 Pre- and post-treatment proficiency test result 191

Appendix 21 Lab tasks 192

Appendix 22 A chat sample downloaded from Hangout program of Gmail 194

Appendix 23 Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and score difference between the two groups 198

Appendix 24 Paired samples test 200

Appendix 25 Lexical diversity: Oral test 205

Appendix 26 Lexical density: Oral test 207

Appendix 27 Lexical diversity: Written test 209

Appendix 28 Lexical density: Written test 211

Appendix 29 Descriptive statistics: Self-rating of English language proficiency 213

Appendix 30 Descriptive statistics: Attitude towards computer 218

Appendix 31 Descriptive statistics: Self-rating of computer experience 220

Appendix 32 Descriptive statistics: Perceptions of internet-connected computers222 Appendix 33 Mean and Standard deviation: Post-treatment questionnaire 224

Appendix 34 Lexical features: Descriptive statistics 229

Appendix 35 Approval to conduct research at DUMTP 231

Appendix 36 Syllabus for English intensive program 232

Appendix 37 Syllabus for English for specific purposes 239

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of authorship i

Abstract ii

Acknowledgements iv

List of abbreviations vi

List of tables vii

List of pictures and figures ix

Table of contents xii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Research setting 2

1.2.1 Institution 2

1.2.2 Students 2

1.2.3 Use of technology 6

1.3 Research questions 7

1.4 Rationale of the study 8

1.5 Structure of the dissertation 11

1.6 Chapter summary 12

Chapter 2 Literature Review 13

2.1 Introduction 13

2.2 Definitions of key terms 13

2.3 Theoretical framework of the study 15

2.3.1 Constructivism in socio-cultural theory 15

2.3.2 Computer-mediated communication and socio-cultural theory 18

2.3.3 Computer-mediated communication and language development 20

2.3.4 Computer-mediated communication and second language acquisition

theories 21

2.4 Research on computer-mediated communication 25

2.4.1 Synchronous computer-mediated communication 25

2.4.2 Transfer from synchronous online discussions to oral abilities 29

2.4.3 Quantity and complexity of language 32

2.5 English language education in Vietnam 34

2.5.1 Vietnamese EFL learners’ current language proficiency 34

2.5.2 Why can CMC help Vietnamese EFL learners? 36

2.6 Research gap 40

2.7 Chapter summary 41

Chapter 3 Methodology 42

3.1 Introduction 42

3.2 Research design 42

3.3 Research participants 45

3.4 Ethical considerations 52

3.5 Research Procedures 53

3.6 Data collection methods 62

3.6.1 Oral proficiency tests 62

3.6.2 Written proficiency tests 63

3.6.3 Pre-treatment questionnaire 63

3.6.4 Post-treatment questionnaire 64

3.6.5 Post-treatment interview 65

3.7 Data analysis 67

3.7.1 Comparison of scores 67

3.7.2 Analysis of lexical features 67

3.7.3 Students’ perceptions of the treatment 70

3.8 Research reliability and validity 70

3.8 Chapter summary 71

Chapter 4 Findings and discussion 73

4.1 Introduction 73

4.2 Findings of the study 73

4.2.1 Comparison of pre- and post- treatment scores 73

4.2.2 Analysis of lexical features 78

4.2.2.1 Quantity of language 78

4.2.2.2 Lexical richness 84

4.2.2.3 Comparison of lexical features between the two treatment groups 94

4.2.3 Students’ perceptions of and attitude towards the treatment 95

4.2.3.1 Perceived effects of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat 96

4.2.3.2 Students’ evaluation of non-SCMC role play and SCMC chat 106

4.2.3.3 SCMC chat group’s perceptions of the treatment 113

4.2.4 Suggested model of language skills development using SCMC 114

4.3 Discussion of the key findings 116

4.3.1 Comparison of pre- and post- treatment scores 117

4.3.2 Lexical features 119

4.3.3 SCMC chat group’s perceptions of the treatment 122

4.4 Chapter summary 127

Chapter 5 Conclusion and Implications 128

5.1 Introduction 128

5.2 Summary of key findings 128

5.3 Implications 132

5.3.1 Theoretical implications 132

5.3.2 Methodological implications 132

5.3.3 Pedagogical implications 133

5.4 Limitations of this study and Future research 136

5.5 Conclusion 138

AUTHOR’S PUBLICATIONS 139

REFERENCES 140

APPENDICES 151

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Research on computer mediated communication (CMC) has shown an outstanding development on foreign/second language teaching and learning methodology using technology of which countless benefits have been proved through numerous world-wide research studies (Abdorreza, Jaleh, & Azadeh, 2015; Abrams, 2003; Bui, 2006; Chou, 2004; Dang, 2011) Gonzalez-Lloret (2011) assumed that CMC was one of the fastest growing communicative media in the world and produced large quantities of authentic materials for instructors and learners around the world

Generally, CMC which refers to discussions via computer as a medium of communication has two modes The first, asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ASCMC), takes place in time and place independence Typically, the instructor and students discuss, give and get information or deliver materials through course web pages, posting of forum messages or email messages In contrast, synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) represents real-time interactions Usually, this means that the instructor and students meet in a chat room, simultaneously, at a particular location in cyberspace or from any location that has Internet access and interact through typed statements or questions (Lavooy

& Newlin, 2003)

The advantages of using SCMC have been so far touched on a variety of research publications, the aim of this study is to explore experimental insights into applicability of SCMC mode for Vietnamese EFL students’ language skills development The present study investigates the effects of SCMC on the development of oral and written proficiency of EFL university students of Vietnam over the course of a fifteen-week semester The research also explores students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards SCMC mode as well as their progress on language skills through SCMC activities

at Nam Ky Khoi Nghia street in Ngu Hanh Son district of Danang city The total area is 62,093 m2 The total number of students at the time of the research being done in the academic year 2017-2018 was 4,402 students DUMTP is a public school belonging to the Vietnamese educational system Its mission is to train health staff at undergraduate and post graduate levels in order to meet the requirements of health human resources and people’s health care and protection

Major training programs of DUMTP in the academic year of 2017-2018 were 6-year-curriculum General Practitioner, 5-year-curriculum Pharmacist and 4-year-curriculum Bachelors of Public Health, Medical Imaging, Medical Laboratory, Rehabilitation, General Nursing, Dental Nursing and Anesthesia Resuscitation Nursing

While General Practitioner program was lately introduced in DUMTP in

2015, the other ones have been offered over a long history of establishment since

1963 They shared many common subjects, except for some specialized ones particular to the individual discipline The participants involved in this research were General Practitioner students The investigation was conducted in their first semester of the first academic year out of twelve semesters within six years they studied at DUMTP

1.2.2 Students

Enrolment in the academic year 2017-2018 of DUMTP where the research was done was about 750 new students from all over Vietnam Based on the enrolment regulations by Ministry of Education and Training for the academic year 2017-2018, the candidates submitted their application forms online or directly at the

campus The requirements of enrolment were: passing the national high school graduation examination of which the three subjects of Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology had to be taken by the candidates; the score for admission had to be at least

at the threshold point to meet entry quality requirement at the provision of Ministry

of Education and Training and be selected from the highest points to the number of admission criteria, for example, 750 new students in the academic year 2017-2018 for DUMTP

100 General Practitioner fresh students were admitted to DUMTP in

2017-2018, making up the total of 300 students in General Practitioner major at DUMTP

at the time of this research being carried out The first-year students were randomly assigned into two different classes of 50 each It was in these classes they would stay together for the full six years of the program

In order to get a General Practitioner degree, students had to pass around 230 credits divided into 90 subjects, not including Practicum and Field Placement, which were roughly equally allocated in twelve semesters within the six-year period The subjects were classified as General Education Knowledge, Basic Professional Knowledge, Professional Knowledge and Complimentary Knowledge The following was a part of the training curriculum for General Practitioner program in semester one (out of twelve semesters)

Table 1.1 Subjects of semester one

Theory Practice

Total number of school subjects that students would study in this semester was 6 subjects with 10 theoretical and 5 practical credits One credit equaled 15 in-class hours teaching theory, or 30 preclinical-practice hours at campus labs, or 45 clinical-practice hours at hospitals It was stipulated for all courses that one class hour (either theory or practice) lasts 50 minutes It was also noted that these were compulsory subjects, like all other subjects throughout the twelve semesters of the General Practitioner program The schedule followed the given chronological order

in compliance with the curriculum, learning materials, delivery methods made from the university board, ministerial and teacher-centered viewpoint, without taking students’ viewpoints and perceptions into consideration

Regarding ESP requirements, ESP is a compulsory subject in General Practitioner major’s official training curriculum The students have to obtain 9 credits of ESP during their six-year study to fulfill the graduation requirements The objectives of this ESP 1 module are to equip students with necessary vocabulary, medical terms, and grammatical structures aiming at supporting four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) focusing on communication themes about hospital environment; and to practice English professional conversations between doctors and patients as well as doctors with their colleagues Within 3 credits equivalent to 45 class hours, the students acquire a big quantity of medical terms, grammatical structures used in hospital and clinic conversations relating to lab practice, clinical practice and treatment so that the students are able to communicate English in their future working environment after graduation The contents of ESP 1 module include following 5 lessons: presenting complaints; working in general practice; giving instructions and procedures; explaining and reassuring; and dealing with medication (please see Appendix 37 – p.239 for detailed syllabus)

After eighteen years teaching English at DUMTP, the researcher identified the following hindrances to the students: firstly the switch from relatively traditional method at high school to a quite different, rather communicative approach; secondly from general English to ESP (medical English particularly to General Practitioner program) During the first year studying at DUMTP, many students are reported to

suffer from stress due to the conflict between the familiar teacher-centered classrooms and the unfamiliar learner-centered ones, similarly to many other researchers stating earlier in their studies on Vietnamese EFL students: Sullivan (2000), Nguyen (2011) According to Bui (2006) and Tomlinson & Dat (2004), Vietnamese students have a minimum of eleven years of learning English but ample evidence shows that a high proportion of these students are hardly able to communicate in English, after such a number of years, simply because of shyness, inadequate vocabulary, or a lack of the necessary communicative knowledge Moreover, they have many difficulties in speaking and understanding their English university lecturers who use mainly English for classroom instruction, owing to the lack of previous contact with English-speaking environment at high school The key elements leading to this drawback addressed by Nguyen, Fehring, & Warren (2015) were: not enough class time for teaching English speaking and communication, no speaking tests in the examinations, big class sizes, teacher quality, and limited programs for teachers’ professional development

For the purpose of helping the first-year students overcome these hindrances

in EFL learning, the researcher wished to consolidate their general English and provide them with opportunities to practice their language skills on daily activities

as well as functional conversations via computer-mediated communication so that they would be more confident following ESP modules in their formal curriculum which were expected to be ambitious and challenging with strange and complicated medical terms different from what they had learned at high school This intensive course would be provided in the first semester just as they started their university training curriculum because of the following reasons: firstly, they had opportunities

to be accustomed with rather communicative language teaching approach in parallel with their formal ESP module; secondly, the schedule was not so tight as it would

be in the following semesters when they started doing their practice at hospitals

In view of the above-mentioned reasons, an English intensive course was designed to provide students with daily conversations, grammar and vocabulary equivalent to level 3 of the Vietnamese six-level framework of reference for foreign

languages (B1-CEFR) with the purpose of intensifying communication skills in English for students as emphasized by the National Foreign Language Project 2020

by Prime Ministry of Vietnam The course lasted 10 weeks with 4 contact hours each in the computer lab of DUMTP

To be successful in the additional English course, students to some extent needed computer skills Therefore, an exploration into their computer experience was done by the researcher before the course started

1.2.3 Use of technology

It was reported that Vietnamese EFL students used computers mainly for personal pleasure and entertainment such as chatting, and exchanging emails with friends, writing blogs and wikis, having diaries on Twitter, or posting photos and statuses and commenting on the more popular social network Facebook (Dang, 2011) It has been recently observed that a few students used private messages on Facebook to discuss their study or their group assignment work A limited number

of students received lectures, learning materials or feedback from their teachers via emails While the uses of multimedia computers and the Internet have grown rapidly in ESL/EFL teaching and learning settings worldwide, the scenario of technology applications in education in Vietnam is just at the beginning stages (Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2010)

Along with the aforementioned reasons, the current teaching and learning contexts in Vietnam as well as the government’s call for applying technological tools in education to improve the quality of EFL education makes technology highly desirable (Vietnamese Government, 2008a) Introduction of technology in general and CMC in particular to educational purposes was one of the missions of the current study with the expectation of reducing the burden for teachers, increasing students’ level of autonomy and at the same time expanding the learning possibilities beyond the classroom wall

From the scenario of the limited applications of CMC in teaching and learning practice in the current context, Vietnam needs to speed up, invest, research, and explore more about CMC applications in the classrooms to get the benefits that technological tools can bring (Dang, 2011) The present study aims to explore the

effects of SCMC on the language development of Vietnamese EFL students over the course of a fifteen- week semester The expected outcome might be that there would be some improvement on experimental participants’ oral and written proficiency and the students would perceive some benefits for their language skills CMC discussions will be thus shown to be a valuable addition to the foreign language classrooms in the Vietnamese socio-cultural context, in terms of second language acquisition and learners’ language skills development

1.3 Research questions

The current study aims to investigate the effects of two different treatments, including oral role plays and synchronous online discussions, both of which are often used in the foreign language classroom, on the development of oral and written proficiency

A quasi-experimental design was chosen for this study The present study used two “intact” classes to do experiment over one semester of 10 sessions with 4 hours each This was a mixed study in which both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed The mixed study used a pretest and posttest design to measure the participants’ oral and written proficiency as well as pre- and post-questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to record the participants’ perceptions on CMC

In current dissertation, SCMC chat group involves students who engage in role play activities via computer-mediated discussion, which is used interchangeably as synchronous online discussion, written chat, or chat Respectively, non-SCMC role play group refers to students who take part in role play activities through face-to-face discussion, which is used interchangeably as oral role play, or face-to-face discussion

The current study aims to contribute to our understanding of the necessity of technology application in EFL classrooms by investigating whether SCMC has an effect on the development of oral and written proficiency of EFL university students

in the Vietnamese context The research was guided by the following three research questions:

1 To what extent are EFL learners’ levels of oral proficiency different between non-SCMC role play group and SCMC chat group after a fifteen-week semester? The extent of difference, if any, is determined as follows:

1a by the pre- and post-treatment scores on the oral tests

1b by a comparison between pre- and post-treatment evidence of quantity of language produced, and lexical richness in oral test transcripts

2 To what extent are EFL learners’ levels of written proficiency different between non-SCMC role play group and SCMC chat group after a fifteen-week semester? The extent of difference, if any, is determined as follows:

2a by the pre- and post-treatment scores on the written tests

2b by a comparison between pre- and post-treatment evidence of quantity of language produced, and lexical richness in written test papers

3 What are the students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of the use of SCMC

in language skills classes?

1.4 Rationale of the study

Chou (2004) showed that the appropriate incorporation of synchronous activities could enhance learning interests and interpersonal relationship In addition, previous researchers (Chun, 1994; 1998; Beauvois, 1997; Warschauer, 1996) indicated SCMC’s positive effects on affective features of language learning such as positive attitude, increased motivation, low anxiety enhancing communication and interactivity, and learning with authentic materials and audience as well as on linguistic features such as greater amount of language production, higher level of language complexity, and the use of a wider range of discourse features as compared to those found in oral classroom interaction One more benefit that SCMC offered was the flexibility of learning (Kilickaya, 2007) According to Kilickaya (ibid.), students could learn anywhere, anytime, anyhow, and anything they wanted, which suited their needs and styles Beauvois (1997) presented several indications that CMC might lead to better overall learner acquisition of a foreign language due to factors such as lowering the affective filter, greater willingness to participate, collaborative construction of knowledge, community building among students and instructor, and more candidness in comments in online discussions

There have been a variety of research studies on a link between oral communication and online discussion, since writing in a computer-mediated environment resembles spoken language in terms of its interactional features (Chun, 1994; Beauvois, 1997) Beauvois (ibid.) hypothesized that networked discussions might be able to "effectively bridge the gap between written and oral expression for the linguistically limited student whose oral skills are not adequate to allow for full expression of ideas in the target language" (p 167) Payne and Whitney (2002) who directly examined the effect of CMC on the development of oral language skills partially corroborated Beauvois' findings They reported that SCMC could indirectly improve oral proficiency They found that the experimental group using chat outscored the control group in oral proficiency after one semester

Synchronous computer-mediated communication was used in this study because of the following reasons:

EFL teaching and learning in Vietnam has been of low quality because of a large number of constraints (Le, 1999; Nguyen A T., 2002; Peeraer & Van Petegem, 2010) According to Peeraer et al., the challenges in EFL teaching in Vietnam include difficulties in implementing practices that address student needs, motivation, class size, communicative teaching strategies, student-centered lessons, and student autonomy Besides these challenges, Vietnamese EFL teachers’ qualifications and the current reading and grammar-focused tests have made EFL teaching less effective First, an environment rich in “native-speaker” English has been rather limited for Vietnamese learners of English to approach and practice their English skills as most of their EFL teachers are native Vietnamese speakers

As Peeraer et al stated, “the lack of an English environment was a huge challenge” (p 9) in teaching EFL in Vietnam Therefore, using SCMC provides Vietnamese EFL students with authentic texts (a wide range of available online sources) and opportunities for target language use in the classroom Second, Vietnamese learners

of English were often better at writing and reading skills than other ones as they received a stronger emphasis on these skills in the classroom based on the traditional teaching methodology in Vietnam Moreover, the study by Nguyen,

Warren , & Fehring (2014) found that the exclusion of speaking component in the tests is the primary reason hindering the teaching of students’ English speaking and communication This result confirms previous studies that found that the traditional written-form test model that focuses on testing students’ linguistic competence rather than communicative competence would lead to the teachers’ and students’ preference for the exam-oriented teaching in classes (Ming & Jaya, 2011; Pan & Block, 2011) As pointed out by Nguyen, Warren, and Fehring (2014), this is one of the reasons leading to the dominance of grammar-translation method and the limited implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT) in EFL classes Therefore, learners’ speaking skills have not been appropriately developed Third, synchronous online discussions have been called a "hybrid" between oral and written language: the spontaneity and informal style of the writing is comparable to oral speech, although the mode is written language CMC has been described as '''conversation in slow motion that allows students time to reflect and compose before communicating - something that is not possible in oral exchanges of information" Beauvois (1998b, p 93) Above all, SCMC has been chosen as research subject in this study with the expectation of exploiting students’ available skills and forte to develop other language skills, especially speaking skills In the present study, oral role plays are transposed to a written mode (via online discussions) Using more writing activities in the foreign language classroom is the paradigm shift that has occurred in recent research The shift is from product-oriented to process-oriented writing Writing can be a powerful tool which allows learners to find their own voice, to construct their identity, and to practice their higher thinking skills (Homstad & Thorson, 2000; Selfe & Hilligoss, 1994) in addition to advancing their language development

The lab setting applied in this study also demonstrated the increasing use and importance of technology in foreign language learning, and it addressed different learning styles than could be addressed in the regular classroom

Based on these considerations, there seem to be several differences between oral and written language which would be interesting to explore The following

hypotheses guide this research: First, meaningful activities in the lab tasks will result in language learning Second, the SCMC treatment group will write at a higher proficiency level at the end of the semester because they had more opportunity

to write Third, the non-SCMC role play group will demonstrate higher oral proficiency at the end of the semester because they had more opportunity to speak

Further research is needed to evaluate its effects on English foreign language (EFL) learning of Vietnamese students The results of the study will contribute good information to connecting oral and written mode, restructuring class time or making use of other means than traditional oral practice to develop oral proficiency Findings might also further illustrate the relationship between oral communication and written online discussions, providing learners with different learning styles rather than a traditional classroom setting

1.5 Structure of the dissertation

The dissertation follows the following organization:

Chapter 1 presents the general introduction to the study, the research setting, the research questions, the rationale for the study, and the definitions of important terms In order to provide a theoretical foundation for the investigation, Chapter 2 provides English language education in Vietnam and carries out an exploration of SCT theory, CMC and SCT, CMC and SLA theories as well as CMC and language development that fits into the framework of this investigation, followed by related researched studies on synchronous computer-mediated communication which are reviewed and critiqued The design of this dissertation study is presented in Chapter

3 The research questions, information on the participants including participants’ language and computer background and demographics, data collection procedures, coding and methods of data analysis are described in detail accordingly Chapter 4 presents the results obtained for each research question Detailed discussions and interpretation of the results based on quantitative and qualitative analyses as well as students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of the use of SCMC are shown in this chapter In Chapter 5, the summary of key findings and pedagogical implications arising from the findings in Chapter 4, limitations of the study as well as

opportunities for future search into synchronous computer-mediated communication and the development of language skills are discussed

1.6 Chapter summary

This chapter provides the basic groundwork for carrying out the current research project Enhancing English proficiency and developing computer technology in tertiary education are of great concern to Vietnamese government and entire society To realize the long-term strategies of the National Foreign Languages Project 2020 of the government, national and local institutions are exploring different approaches to the problem

There are issues relating to raising awareness and capacity, teachers’ preference and expertise, and students’ ability and perception in introducing information technology into the pedagogical environment Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate whether the effects of SCMC might have on EFL learners’ language development and whether the application of computer technology in general and more specifically, SCMC would help to address the problems of English language teaching and learning at the DUMTP with its classroom culture as discussed Answering this critical and comprehensive question will help to facilitate the needs of the students through apposite uses of computer-mediated communication

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of Vietnamese EFL learners’ cultural, social, and educational background, especially features salient to the study and to review the most pertinent theoretical frameworks and research studies that formed the design of the present study This chapter tries to explore relatively distinct issues, which lie at the heart of the investigation This chapter is structured by the following theories: constructivism in socio-cultural theory (SCT); computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social-cultural theory; computer-mediated communication and second language acquisition (SLA) theory; computer-mediated communication and language development; and related research studies

on synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) as well as Vietnamese EFL learners’ current language proficiency

These issues will each be examined in detail, especially as they relate to the research questions which guide this investigation

2.2 Definitions of key terms

Many concepts and issues in second language acquisition and learning processes have been interpreted and defined in a variety of ways, depending on the area or subfield in which they are used While linguists have provided relatively clear definitions of these terms, it is considered necessary to define a few key terms

as they are used throughout this dissertation in the following section

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) describes conversations in which

the medium of communication is the computer In this study, CMC is used in a synchronous manner, using a chat program, providing EFL students of Vietnam with the opportunity to practice their language skills with their peers

Asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) refers to a type

of computer-mediated communication that a student replies a message at a different time than another student who receives the message There is often a time lapse

between the posting of students’ messages, for example, one student can write a message and another student can read and respond to this message in a different physical location at a later point in time, such as email, blog, wiki

Synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC): in synchronous

interaction, students are logged on to the same network at the same time – though not necessarily in the same physical location Students type their opinions and comments, click to send and their messages appear immediately on the screens of the members in their group They can read and respond to each other’s postings immediately and they are engaged in real-time conversations

Language skills are defined in this dissertation including listening, speaking,

reading and writing which are commonly used in order to be able to interact or communicate It should be noted that for the purpose of the present study, the investigation focused on productive skills (speaking and writing) although in everyday life, we use one receptive skill and one productive skill in order to communicate with others It means that we talk while we are listening and we write references we have read It is important to acknowledge that the four language skills are sometimes referred to as macro skills of language In this study we wish to concentrate on the development of speaking and writing skills We do not explore listening and reading

skills Therefore, language skills development used here is the development of speaking

and writing skills through analysis as well as pretest and posttest

Proficiency is used in a narrow sense in this study since the focus is on ESP

students who have limited language skills Here, proficiency refers to the student's ability to express meaning in a comprehensible manner with regards to a variety of topics related to daily life and activities

The most frequently used measure of lexical richness is the type-token ratio The two aspects of lexical richness measured in this dissertation are: First, lexical

diversity refers to a measure of how many tokens (the total number of words) occur

in a text (oral test interview or written test paper in this study), divided by how

many types (the number of different words) occur in that same text Second, lexical

density refers to the ratio of content words (types) to the total number of words

(tokens) in the text

Commonly, the term second language learning refers to learning a language

in a country where this language is spoken predominantly as the official or unofficial language, e.g., learning English in the United States or French in France

The term foreign language learning describes a situation in which the language is

learned in an instructional setting and is usually not used outside the classroom, e.g., learning English in Vietnam or Japanese in Sweden However, “most learning strategies can be applied equally well to both situations” (Oxford, 1990) Therefore,

a distinction between second language learning and foreign language learning is not made in this dissertation

2.3 Theoretical framework of the study

In order to understand the processes that are involved in language acquisition

in synchronous online discussions and to ascertain their potential benefits, research must be grounded on socio-cultural theory (SCT) and second language acquisition (SLA) theories

2.3.1 Constructivism in socio-cultural theory

The meaning of constructivism varies according to one's perspective and position Within educational contexts there were philosophical meanings of constructivism, as well as personal constructivism was described by Piaget (1967), social constructivism outlined by Vygotsky (1978), radical constructivism advocated by Von Glasersfeld (1995), constructivist epistemologies, and educational constructivism (Matthews, 1998)

Social constructivism and educational constructivism (including theories of learning and pedagogy) have had the greatest impact on instruction and curriculum design because they seem to be the most conducive to integration into current educational approaches (Jones & Brader-Araje, 2002)

One of the common threads of constructivism was the idea that development

of understanding required the learner to actively engage in meaning-making In contrast to behaviorism, constructivists argued that "knowledge is not passively received but built up by the cognizing subject" (Von Glasersfeld, 1995, p 13) Thus, constructivists shifted the focus from knowledge as a product to knowing as a process

Social constructivism

Vygotsky (1978)'s work has formed the foundation of social constructivism

in educational settings In particular, his emphasis on the role of others, or the social context, in learning has pushed educators to re-examine the extent to which learning

is an individual process As explained earlier, prior to the recent interest in social construction of knowledge, the attention was placed almost exclusively on the individual through behaviorist and Piagetian educational applications Vygotsky (1978)'s theories have turned this focus upside down by emphasizing the role of the greater community and the role of significant others in learning (Jones & Brader-Araje, 2002)

Vygotsky (1978) argued that the path between objects and thought was mediated by other people through the use of signs or the symbols of language (Veer

& Valsiner, 1991) Human history was, then, on the one hand the history of man’s growing domination over nature through the invention of tools and the perfection of technology, and on the other hand, it was the history of man’s gradual control of the self through the invention of the cultural technique of signs (ibid)

In addition, Vygotsky (1978) extended the emphasis on culture and society

in his argument that all higher mental functions were social in origin and embedded

in the context of the sociocultural setting In his opinion, learning was best understood in light of others within an individual's world This continual interplay, between the individual and others, was described by Vygotsky (1978) as the zone of proximal development (ZPD) The zone of proximal development was defined as the intellectual potential of an individual when provided with assistance from a knowledgeable adult or a more advanced child:

The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978, p 86)

During this assistance process, an individual was "other regulated" by a more capable peer or an adult "Other regulation" referred to cues and scaffolding

provided by the more capable peer or adult The individual, by means of this assistance, was able to move through a series of steps that eventually lead to "self-regulation" and intellectual growth He stressed the importance of the zone of proximal development because it allowed for the measurement of the intellectual potential of an individual rather than on what the individual had achieved

Constructivism in educational practices

The influence of constructivism in education today can be seen in a variety

of published curricula as well as instructional practices Social constructivist applications have commonly been found in schools through the widespread use of cooperative and collaborative teaching strategies such as Teams-Games-Tournament, Student Teams Achievement Division, Jigsaw, Numbered Heads Together, and Peer-Peer Tutoring (Slavin, 1980; 1990) In each of these, the emphasis was on having students working together while sharing ideas and challenging each other's perspectives One of the most obvious places that the impact of social constructivist theories can be seen was in the design and organization of classrooms Teachers today tend to recognize the power of peer-peer interactions and the greater classroom community in learning Online discussions seem to support the premises set forth in various second language acquisition theories and learning theories Not only has CMC shown potential for changing classroom dynamics and for restructuring the process of language acquisition (Goertler, 2009); it might even impact learners' language development across different modalities (i.e., speaking or writing) (Kost, 2004)

In summary, constructivism in education emerged after the behaviorist movement as a welcome and refreshing view of learning that centered on the active learner within the teaching-learning process The constructivist focused on the social context and larger community of learners has resulted in a major shift away from individually-based instruction to instruction that incorporated and embeded teaching within the larger community of peers, younger students, as well as those who are older The greatest contribution of constructivism to education may be through the shift in emphasis from knowledge as a product to knowing as a process

This legacy of constructivism likely proves to be a lasting and meaningful shift in the structure of schooling (Jones & Brader-Araje, 2002) This theoretical viewpoint sheds more light on the current study of using SCMC to help educators re-organize foreign language classrooms in Vietnam institutional context

2.3.2 Computer-mediated communication and socio-cultural theory

Sociocultural perspective based on the work of Vygotsky is a very viable means to analyze network-based communication According to Warschauer (1997):

Collaborative learning, either among students or between students and a teacher, is essential for assisting each student in advancing through his or her own zone of proximal development, that is, the gap between what the learner could accomplish alone and what he or she could accomplish in cooperation with others who are more skilled or experienced (Warschauer, 1997, p 471)

Beauvois (1997) also mentions the "Zone of Proximal Development" in order

to explain that CMC writing builds a type of linguistic community other than a traditional classroom: "In this networked computer environment, the scaffolding is the interaction on the local area network (LAN) that forms the basis for real-time communication (electronic discussion) that supports the learners as they collaboratively construct knowledge" (p 166) Research in L1 acquisition has established that children's communicative development depends on their engagement in meaningful communicative activities with more knowledgeable peers or caregivers Hall (1999) reviews several studies that suggest that "the communicative skills and knowledge that children learn are dependent on their experiences in regularly occurring, goal-directed activities, with assisted guidance from more-competent participants" (p 21) These results are consonant with Vygotsky (1978)'s sociocultural theory of learning, in which he highlights the role

of social interaction for learning and development He posits that the learner brings two levels of development to the task: the actual developmental level, representing what the learner is able to do by him- or herself, and the potential developmental level, representing what the learner will be able to do in the future The distance between these two levels constitutes the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and

represents what the learner can do with assistance from more knowledgeable peers The potential developmental level becomes the next actual developmental level as the learner expands his/her cognitive abilities as a result of the interaction (called scaffolding) with others Following from these considerations it could be stated that developing language skills is similar to learning in general (Kost, 2004)

In the foreign language classroom, the same principles apply The importance of interaction is emphasized by Wagner-Gough & Hatch (1975), who argue that conversational interaction forms the basis for the development of syntax rather than providing a practice space for grammatical structures They claim that syntax develops out of conversations rather than the reverse Ellis (1984) adds:

…interaction contributes to development because it is the means by which the learner is able to crack the code This takes place when the learner can infer what is said even though the message contains linguistics items that are not yet part of his competence and when the learner can use the discourse to help him/her modify or supplement the linguistic knowledge already used in production (Ellis, 1984, p 95)

With regard to the meaningfulness of discourse in the foreign language classroom, Hall (1999) points out that the traditional patterns of classroom discourse (e.g., teacher initiation student response - teacher evaluation) are not as successful as meaningful activities to promote language learning:

In cases where teacher-produced questions and comments are limited to evaluating student displays of knowledge, and student contributions are limited to short responses to teacher queries, the classroom discourse is not likely to lead to active student involvement and complex communicative development However, in cases

in which teacher questions and comments are probing and open-ended, and in which students are allowed to ask questions and expand on the talk in addition to responding to the teacher, the classroom discourse facilitates learning (Hall, 1999,

p 28)

The activities used as treatment in this study pertain to the same principles The web-based tasks followed by oral role plays and synchronous online discussions are meaningful activities that promote open-ended exchange of information Students read through material on English webpages searching for

information that they will then use in a role play They have the chance to expand

on the topic, ask questions, and elaborate as they see fit The information search as well as the subsequent role play is done in pair- or group-work which encourages scaffolding and advancing of the ZPD, and both offer opportunities for negotiated interactions, i.e., negotiation of form and meaning Moreover, since interaction between non-native speakers to develop communication skills has been valued in other research studies (Gass & Varonis, 1985; Kramsch, 1985), the use of pair- and group work in non-SCMC role plays and in written online discussions offers a good opportunity to increase students' practice time (Kost, 2004)

2.3.3 Computer-mediated communication and language development

CMC’s contribution to language development has constantly been proved since early period in CMC’s history Various metalinguistic aspects of language development have been explored, including negotiation of meaning, sociolinguistic environment, and intercultural competence (Kern & Warshauer, 2000; Luppicini, 2007; Stockwell G , 2007) Furthermore, numerous studies on interactionist approach as well as a sociocultural viewpoint to SLA have been conducted on negotiation of meaning and CMC (Chun, 2008; Levy & Stockwell, 2006; Lamy & Hampel, 2007)

Kitade (2000)’s findings showed that CMC is a profitable environment for sociolinguistic development This study concluded that interactional features of CMC facilitated encouraging conditions for developing positive attitudes towards language learning: no turn-taking competition, text-based interaction, and a lack of nonverbal cues

Additionally, increasing in linguistic competence, both quality and quantity, among learners has also been stated in the study by Kern (1995) He revealed that CMC-supported learners created more language production than their friends in the FTF group Kern found that SCMC discussions produced between two and four times more turns, more sentences, and more words than the oral discussions The research also showed that learners’ language production was at a greater level of sophistication regarding grammatical accuracy and complexity

Finally, in terms of language skills, both written and spoken skills are enhanced through various modes of CMC in language learning projects In fact, there is a common tendency to associate CMC with the development of specific language skills (Levy & Stockwell, 2006) The hypothesis that SCMC may improve speaking proficiency has been tested by Payne and Whitney (2002), who found that participants in a chat room have a significantly higher oral proficiency than those just spending time in traditional oral classes

In short, it can therefore be seen that CMC has been used widely in developing most language areas and skills, except for listening skills which are normally supported and developed through other forms of visual and audio technology (Stockwell, 2007) In general, the text-based nature of CMC brings about many meaningful applications in language education This medium not only amplifies students’ attention to linguistic forms (Wang, 2004), but it also stimulates increased written production of the target language as well as creating a less stressful and more equitable environment for discussion (Nguyen, 2011)

2.3.4 Computer-mediated communication and second language acquisition

theories

Input, output, and negotiated interactions play a major role in CMC environment characterized as a learning context in which a collaborative and student-centered atmosphere is created Several second language acquisition theories are applicable for this context as they attempt to further our understanding

of language learning by hypothesizing about the factors that are integral elements of

a student-centered learning environment and are considered facilitative for language acquisition (Kost, 2004)

The roles of Input, Output, and Interaction hypothesis are discussed in detail here in the dissertation

Input hypothesis

Input quite simply refers to the language that a learner is exposed to in a communicative context (i.e., from reading or listening) In all approaches to second language acquisition, input is an essential component for learning in that it provides

the crucial evidence from which learners can form linguistic hypotheses Input has even been argued to be the greatest sole determiner of language acquisition (Krashen, 1985)

One proposal concerning the function of modified input is that modifying input makes the language more comprehensible If learners cannot understand the language that is being addressed to them, then that language is not useful to them as they construct their second language grammars (Gass & Mackey, 2015)

According to Lee (2008), during the online negotiation, learners are exposed to input, feedback, and output in a way similar to what they would experience through face-to-face interaction These exposures to input, output, attention to feedback, and CMC takes place in a real-time interaction in which users negotiate meaning by modifying their written language (Gass & Varonis, 1985; Rutherford & Sharwood, 1988) A message which is typed on a computer linguistic form is essential to SLA (Gass, 1997; Krashen, 1985; Long M H., 2013; Pica, 1994; Swan, 1985)

Both modified input and output are often constructed collectively in a social context through computer rather than by the learner in isolation During online collaborative communication, learners have opportunities to observe and study information projected on the screen They may copy useful vocabulary, expressions, and linguistic aspects from each other (Lee L , 1998; St John & Cast, 1995) CMC allows the learner sufficient time to process input, and monitor and edit output through a self-paced learning environment The learner reads and types comments

at his or her own pace (Kelm, 1992; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991) At the same time, the learner pays attention to certain aspects of discourse on the screen (Warschauer, 1997) The learner reexamines and edits these text-based forms to make the interaction more meaningful and comprehensible In other words, learners are more aware of the language structures that they and their peers use to compose messages Subsequently, this may lead them to attend to feedback or attempt self-correction frequently Learners benefit from the focus on form in attempting to overcome incorrect target language features; this internal monitor supports language acquisition (Lightbown & Pienemann, 1993; Pica, 1996)