A Study of Negotiation of Meaning among EFL University Students in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication

• Main Authors: CHEN,PEI-SHAN, 陳珮珊
• Other Authors: CHI,FENG-MING
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/90343016379720884983

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 英語教學研究所 === 104 === Synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) provides a context for language learners to have direct and meaningful interactions with one another, as well as opportunities to negotiate meaning when non-understanding occurs. While there is a considerable literature on SCMC and language learning, most of these studies focus primarily on text chats, and little research has been conducted on voice chats. This study thus aimed at exploring negotiation of meaning among EFL university students in voice chats. Two research questions were addressed in this work: (1) How did the participants maintain their ongoing conversations through negotiation of meaning when non-understanding occurred during voice chats?; (2) How did the participants perceive Skype as a voice chat tool for learning English? The study was conducted over a five-week period. Twenty-four university students, who were put into groups of three, were required to engage in three chat sessions to discuss technology-related topics after viewing assigned YouTube video-clips. Two types of data were collected and analyzed in order to answer the research questions: voice chat transcripts and the semi-structured oral interviews. The findings indicated that the majority of negotiation routines in voice chats followed four stages: (1) triggers that caused comprehension difficulties; (2) indicators signaled by the participants for non-understanding; (3) responses that elaborated on the confusing part of the utterances; (4) reactions to the response that completed the negotiation and signaled the interlocutor was ready to go back to the main line of the conversation. Moreover, this study showed that the content of utterances was the primary cause of non-understanding during voice chats, which, in most of cases, was indicated by the inferential strategies, and the participants who caused non-understanding tended to reply with short responses, or rephrase and further elaborate on the confusing part of the utterances, which usually resulted in either minimal reactions to the response or task appropriate responses. With regard to the perceptions of Skype, the participants regarded it as an interesting and effective tool to learn English, because it provided a non-threatening and real-world context for them to practice English and exchange different perspectives with their peers. The pedagogical implications of this study and suggestions for future research are also provided.