An exploratory study of English-language learners’ text chat interaction in synchronous computer-mediated communication: functions and change over time

Abstract

The use of text chat in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) could help remedy the widely reported lack of active involvement in online language learning. However, the nuances and complexities of learners’ text-chat actions warrant further examination. This exploratory study used observational data collected from 40 students in a graduate-level Academic English course at eight time points across a semester to analyze the functions of text-chat interaction in an SCMC setting and to capture how their text chat changed over time. This led to the identification of five functions of text-chat interaction (i.e. cognition, metacognition, socio-affect, organization, and technology), suggesting that cognitively meaningful learning occurred immediately through such interaction. Over time, there was a decline in the quantity of text-chat interactions. In addition, the patterns of chat between students and the teacher were somewhat different from those observed among students. In the former case, text quantity diminished, especially in the category of cognition; but in the latter, students engaged in more text chat with their peers to show affect, cognitive agreement, and disagreement over time. The study’s findings regarding the complex dynamics of an authentic process in SCMC language classrooms have considerable practical value in facilitating interaction in similar language-learning contexts.

Keywords:

• SCMC
• interaction
• text chat

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest has to be reported.

Additional information

Funding

Youth Fund of Beijing Education Science Planning (BHCA211).

Notes on contributors

Yining Zhang

Yining Zhang is an associate professor in the department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Tsinghua University. Her research interests include online language teaching and learning, individual differences in language learning, and learning analytics in language teaching and learning.

Binbin Zheng

Binbin Zheng is an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on technology use for medical education and literacy education. She is particularly interested in self-regulated learning and online learning interactions.

Yuan Tian

Yuan Tian is a lecturer in the Language Center at Tsinghua University, where she teaches Academic English for Graduate students, and English Reading and Writing for Undergraduate students. She holds a Ph.D. in Foreign Languages and Literatures. Her research primarily focuses on English for academic purposes, textual analysis, and multimodal stylistics.