The Use of a Task-Based Online Forum in Language Teaching: Learning Practices and Outcomes
Author: Batardière, Marie-Thérèse
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Computer Mediated Communication,Undergraduate Students,Coping,Barriers,Intercultural Communication,Cultural Awareness,Critical Thinking,Language Skills,Asynchronous Communication,Foreign Countries,Second Language Learning,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Assignments,Group Discussion,Integrated Learning Systems,Interpersonal Communication,Questionnaires,Student Attitudes,Interviews,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC). It first considers the pedagogical benefits of CMC, paying particular attention to the specificity of an asynchronous CMC environment and the role of taskbased language learning. It then briefly presents an online collaborative task integrated in a larger project which promotes a three phase approach and which has been carried out for five years. Drawing on qualitative data collected from a cohort of approximately 25 Irish undergraduate students after a six-week online experience with their French partners, it examines students' self-reported coping strategies when faced with challenges of a technical, cross-cultural and personal nature. It also explores students' perceived learning outcomes, namely building cultural knowledge, fostering critical thinking, improving language accuracy and encouraging further study. In light of these findings, it argues that a meaningful and &quot;authentic&quot; learning task is essential to allow &quot;real life&quot; online exchange to take place and to engage students in their own learning. This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC). It first considers the pedagogical benefits of CMC, paying particular attention to the specificity of an asynchronous CMC environment and the role of taskbased language learning. It then briefly presents an online collaborative task integrated in a larger project which promotes a three phase approach and which has been carried out for five years. Drawing on qualitative data collected from a cohort of approximately 25 Irish undergraduate students after a six-week online experience with their French partners, it examines students' self-reported coping strategies when faced with challenges of a technical, cross-cultural and personal nature. It also explores students' perceived learning outcomes, namely building cultural knowledge, fostering critical thinking, improving language accuracy and encouraging further study. In light of these findings, it argues that a meaningful and &quot;authentic&quot; learning task is essential to allow &quot;real life&quot; online exchange to take place and to engage students in their own learning. This chapter investigates students' reported patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will inform our understanding of the students' language learning process on an online discussion forum and consequently will help us maximise the educational potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC). It first considers the pedagogical benefits of CMC, paying particular attention to the specificity of an asynchronous CMC environment and the role of task-based language learning. It then briefly presents an online collaborative task integrated in a larger project which promotes a three phase approach and which has been carried out for five years. Drawing on qualitative data collected from a cohort of approximately 25 Irish undergraduate students after a six-week online experience with their French partners, it examines students' self-reported coping strategies when faced with challenges of a technical, cross-cultural and personal nature. It also explores students' perceived learning outcomes, namely building cultural knowledge, fostering critical thinking, improving language accuracy and encouraging further study. In light of these findings, it argues that a meaningful and &quot;authentic&quot; learning task is essential to allow &quot;real life&quot; online exchange to take place and to engage students in their own learning. [For the complete book, &quot;Internet Research, Theory, and Practice: Perspectives from Ireland,&quot; see ED575997.]