SKYPING the WEST with the EAST

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SKYPING the WEST with the EAST

• Presented by Li Jin
• University of South Florida

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Purpose of the Presentation

• Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication
  (SCMC) Foreign Language Education
• What is SKYPE?
• My Study Skyping Chinese as a Foreign Language
  (CFL) Students with Native Speakers in China
• Benefits and caveats of SKYPING Foreign Language
  Students with Native Speakers
• Pedagogical implications

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SCMC

• Synchronous computer-mediated communication
  a.k.a. chat, Internet-based communication through
  synchronous technologies such as MUD (Multi-User
  Domain), MOOs (MUD-Object-Oriented), ICQ (QQ in
  China), public chat room, instant messenger.
• Emerging synchronous technologies VOIP (SKYPE,
  GIZMO), MSN IM, AOL IM, Yahoo! IM, Gmail Chat,
  etc.

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SCMC FLE

• SCMC has been used in FLE since the early 1990s.
• Text-based large-group synchronous chat was used
  in various FLE classrooms (e.g. Beauvois, 1992
  Chun, 1994 Kelm, 1992 Kern, 1995)
• Dyadic text chat (e.g. ORourke, 2005
  Pellettieri, 2000 Sotillo, 2005)
• Bimodal chat (Blake, 2005)

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Features and Benefits of SCMC in FLE

• Chat tends to produce more complex language than
  traditional face-to-face communication (e.g.
  Chun, 1994 Kern, 1997)
• Participation increases
• Attitudes toward the target language improve
• SCMC elicits similar discourse functions to those
  in face-to-face communication (Sotillo, 2000)
• Chat experience increases oral achievements
  (Abrams, 2003 Beauvois, 1997 Dussias, 2006
  Payne Whitney, 2002)
• Chat experience enhances acquisition of lexical
  items (Smith, 2004)
• Chat helps students improve interlanguage
  pragmatic competence (e.g. Sykes, 2005)

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Bimodal CMC

• Bimodal chatting can stimulate linguistic
  interactions that provide similar benefits to
  those in face-to-face collaborations. (Blake,
  2005)

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What is SKYPE?

• SKYPE is an open-source software that supports
  one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many bimodal
  chat both voice and text, which requires
  speakers and a microphone.
• SKYPE supports multilingual interface

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Synchronous Interaction Afforded in SKYPE

• Computer-to-computer call and computer-to-landline
  call regardless of local or international
  distance
• Text chat
• One-to-one or One-to-many
• Text messages when friends are offline voice
  message (paid service)
• Call/Chat history

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Chinese native speaker
Text-chat window
Voice chatting
CFL Student
text chatting
call
text
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The Study

• Context
• Modern Chinese III Chinese conversations and
  Literacy in the Department of World Languages
• Lab-based class
• Students use Chinese input system NJ-Star

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The Purposes of Using SKYPE

• Build intercultural connections between CFL
  students and native speakers of Chinese
• Amplify authentic language learning opportunities
  that afford meaningful communications
• Enhance students communicative competences in
  Chinese

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Participants
All students enrolled in Modern Chinese III
university students in Central China
Each CFL student was paired up with a native
speaker to conduct SKYPE conversations
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Integrating SKYPE in After-class Conversation
Activities

• Students learned characters, phrases, and
  sentence structures used in typical Chinese
  conversations in class
• Students selected topics to practice Chinese with
  their partner on SKYPE
• Students emailed their partners to introduce
  themselves and set up a SKYPE chat time
• The teacher joined the conversation to introduce
  the CFL student and his/her partner.

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Features of SKYPE Interaction

• Both text and voice chat
• Use text to request for clarification in voice
  conversation CFL students asked NS partners to
  type what they are saying in both Chinese and
  English
• Use text to check voice comprehension CFL
  students used text to ensure what they said was
  comprehended by their partners
• Use both text and voice for linguistic learning
  CFL students typed/said English to ask Chinese
  partners to translate.

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Students Perceptions

• SKYPE conversations are very helpful. I can
  practice my Chinese speaking and know more about
  Chinese culture.
• It is exciting. I have a Chinese friend now!
• I dont know what to talk to my partner. If I
  was given some topics, SKYPE conversations will
  be much easier.
• I am scared. I feel someone was laughing at me
  when I was speaking Chinese. I dont know my
  partner that well. I prefer to practice it with
  my teacher before talking to my Chinese partner.
• I have scheduling issues. I cannot stay up at
  night to wait for my Chinese partner to get
  online. I am always sleepy in the morning. So I
  never get chances to talk to my Chinese partner
  on SKYPE.

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CAVEATS in SKYPE Conversations

• Affective CFL students may be intimidated by
  speaking the target language with an unfamiliar
  native speaker
• Cognitive even intermediate-level CFL students
  may not possess plenty of linguistic knowledge in
  authentic conversations
• Logistical CFL students may have scheduling
  conflicts with China native speakers
• Pedagogical CFL students need topics in
  intercultural communication with native speakers.
  

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Pedagogical Implications

• Teachers roles
• Students roles
• Group size
• Learning tasks for SKYPE conversations
• Follow-up Activities
• SKYPE conversation training

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Teachers Roles (FLET)

• Technology guru (SKYPE Chinese Input System)
• Facilitator / Mediator (introduce dyads and
  mediate the first SKYPE conversation)
• Liaison / middle-person (with students and
  teachers in China)
• Encourager (intercultural communicator)

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Students Roles

• Autonomous language learner
• Use Chinese partner as a language resource
• Practice Chinese listening speaking skills
• Intercultural communicator (intercultural
  communication competences, Byram, 1997)

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Group Size
suggested

• Dyadic chat/tandem learning
• reciprocity, but requires intrinsic motivation
  (Belz Thorne, 2006)
• Teachers mediation (assigned topics, follow-up
  activities)
• Group chat
• not good for voice interaction, too distracting
• Information-overload, bimodal chat

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Learning Tasks

• Task-based activities provide conditions allowing
  learners to maintain the
• balance of fluency, accuracy, and complexity of
  language development
• (Skehan, 1998).
• Linguistic Discourse Competences
• Ethnographic interviews
• Career paths, current events in the press,
  differences in the educational system in two
  cultures
• Classroom themes
• Pragmatic proficiency
• Role-play or open discussion about how to praise
  and react to appraisal invitation and refusal
• Intercultural communication competences
• Questionnaires on C1/C2 (Bauer, deBenedette,
  Furstenberg, Levet, Waryn, 2006)
• Parallel texts/images on the same topic in two
  cultures (Kinginger, et al, 1999)
• Ethnography (ODowd, 2006)

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Follow-up Activities

• Students can bring new linguistic forms they
  learn during conversations to share with the
  class
• Students can reflect on their communication with
  their partner and practice critical thinking
  during intercultural communication
• Students can reflect on the learning experience
  and modify their future learning in terms of
  technology use and language use.

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SKYPE Conversation Training

• The teacher needs to
• demonstrate where to access and install the
  software
• demonstrate how to make good use of the
  technologies (Chinese input System and bimodal
  chat)
• demonstrate how to play the dual roles of
  language learner and intercultural communicator
  (how to ask for help in language learning and how
  to express ideas in an interculturally
  appropriate way)
• demonstrate how to remedy intercultural
  communication breakdown

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Online Recourses for SKYPE Implications

• SKYPE http//www.skype.com/helloagain.html
• Gizmo, Google Talk, Yahoo!Voice, MSN Chat
• NJ Star Communicator http//www.njstar.com/communi
  cator/
• Microsoft (control panel/regional and language
  option/languages)

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• If you have any questions or concerns,
• please contact me at
• lijin_at_mail.usf.edu
• http//helios.acomp.usf.edu/lijin

Thank you!