Investigating the Online Interactions of a Team of Test Developers Working in a Wiki Environment

Author(s):  
Anna Filipi ◽  
Sophie Lissonnet

This chapter reports an investigation of online interactions occurring in the context of the development of a suite of foreign language tests known as the Assessment of Language Competence (ALC) (http://www.acer.edu.au/alc/). The interactions took place in a wiki environment from 2007 to 2009. The aim of the investigation was twofold. The first was to identify the features of the organization of online postings in an asynchronous online environment and to compare them with the organization of face-to-face interaction. The second was to examine how expertise is invoked in interactions centered on the vetting of test items. The chapter uses selected findings from Conversation Analysis and applies them to the postings on the wiki. Findings from the analysis include the rarity of self-repair, similarities in the organization of sequence structure and the same orientations to affiliative behavior found in conversation.

Author(s):  
Anna Filipi ◽  
Sophie Lissonnet

This chapter reports an investigation of online interactions occurring in the context of the development of a suite of foreign language tests known as the Assessment of Language Competence (ALC) (http://www.acer.edu.au/alc/). The interactions took place in a wiki environment from 2007 to 2009. The aim of the investigation was twofold. The first was to identify the features of the organization of online postings in an asynchronous online environment and to compare them with the organization of face-to-face interaction. The second was to examine how expertise is invoked in interactions centered on the vetting of test items. The chapter uses selected findings from Conversation Analysis and applies them to the postings on the wiki. Findings from the analysis include the rarity of self-repair, similarities in the organization of sequence structure and the same orientations to affiliative behavior found in conversation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
D.S. Bowyer

Students on foreign exchange (FE) programs often fail to make progress in either their creation of intercultural relationships with domestic students or their foreign language (LX) abilities, despite these being the two most common FE student goals (Kudo & Simkin, 2003; Willis Allen, 2010). This article discusses the results of a pilot board game club project created with a Japanese university’s new self-access learning center to provide FE and domestic students more frequent opportunities to interact with and learn from each other. Five people involved in the club, two FE students, one domestic student, and two learning center staff members, took part in a written or face-to-face interview at the end of the first year of the program. Results indicated that the participants believed the club was successful in its two main goals of increased interaction and LX development. However, a more robust future quantitative study is necessary. 外国文化交流(FE)プログラムの学生たちは、最も一般的な学習目標であるにもかかわらず、外国語(LX)の能力向上及び母語話者学生との異文化理解のための関係性構築のいずれをも達成できないことが多い(Kudo & Simkin, 2003; Willis Allen, 2010)。本論はFEの学生たちと母語話者たちで交流し、学び合う機会をより多く与えるために設置された、大学の自律学習センターで行われたボードゲーム・クラブでの予備調査結果について考察する。プログラムの初年度末に二人のFE学生、一人の母語話者学生、及び二人のスタッフがアンケートに回答し、インタビューを受けた。結果から、参加者たちは対象言語能力の向上と異文化理解促進というふたつの目標の達成に、クラブ活動が効果的であると考えていることが分かった。しかしながら、本論の信頼性を確認するために、より多くの量的研究を今後も行っていく必要がある。


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 2141-2153
Author(s):  
Eva Stranovská ◽  
Silvia Hvozdíková ◽  
Dáša Munková ◽  
Gadušová Zdenka

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822098527
Author(s):  
Benjamin Luke Moorhouse ◽  
Yanna Li ◽  
Steve Walsh

Interaction is seen by many English language teachers and scholars as an essential part of face-to-face English language classrooms. Teachers require specific competencies to effectively use interaction as a tool for mediating and assisting learning. These can be referred to as classroom interactional competence (CIC). However, the situation created by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic which began in early 2020, and the recent advancement in technologies have led to teachers conducting synchronous online lessons through video-conferencing software. The online environment is distinctly different from the face-to-face classroom and teachers require new and additional skills to effectively utilise interaction online in real time. This exploratory study used an online mixed-method survey of 75 university level English language teachers who had engaged in synchronous online teaching due to COVID-19, to explore the competencies that teachers need to use interaction as a tool to mediate and assist language learning in synchronous online lessons. Teachers were found to require three competencies, in addition to their CIC – technological competencies, online environment management competencies, and online teacher interactional competencies – which together constitute e-CIC. The findings provide greater insights into the needs of teachers required to teach synchronously online and will be of interest to teachers and teacher educators.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mo Li ◽  
Xiaotian Zhang ◽  
Barry Lee Reynolds

Abstract The use of formulaic language in written discourse is an important indicator of language competence. Nonetheless, the features of lexical bundles used by lower proficiency English as a Foreign Language learners have received little attention. The present study addressed this gap by employing a corpus-based method to investigate the quantity, function, and quality of four-word lexical bundles produced by low proficiency L2 English writers with 11 different L1 backgrounds in response to a timed English writing assessment. The investigation was specifically anchored on the data extracted from 1,330 essays using Wordsmith 7.0. Results of the investigation showed (1) an over dependence on writing topic related bundles; (2) an Indo-European L1 language background positively influencing lexical bundle production; (3) an overuse of stance expressions and discourse organizers at the expense of referential expression usage; (4) L1 Japanese, Korean, and Telugu writers producing more accurate lexical bundles and L1 German writers producing fewer accurate lexical bundles; and (5) the frequent use of lexical bundles not leading to highly accurate and appropriate use of lexical bundles. The implications of these results were discussed in connection with foreign language education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Sumayyah Qaed Alsulami

English is taught as a foreign language in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Although the government tries gradually to integrate teaching English in all grades: secondary, intermediate and elementary, learning English is still limited and need more developing. This essay is a brief review about bilingualism in Saudi education. This essay will be divided into three sections. The first section will describe the Saudi bilingual context through three dimensions: language competence, late bilingualism, and individual bilingualism. The following section will define bilingualism with regard to the Saudi context. The last section will discuss the appropriate educational program for Saudi bilinguals and the implications of this educational program incorporating Arabic and English.


2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica T. Whitty

AbstractWhile flirting is a relatively underresearched area within psychology, even less is known about how people cyber-flirt. This paper explores how often individuals flirt offline compared to online. Moreover, it attempts to examine how men and women flirt within these different spaces. Five thousand, six hundred and ninety-seven individuals, of which 3554 (62%) were women and 2143 (38%) were men, completed a survey about their flirting behaviour both in face-to-face interactions and in chatrooms. The first hypothesis, which stated that the body would be used to flirt with as frequently online as offline, was partly supported. However, it was found that individuals downplayed the importance of physical attractiveness online. Women flirted by displaying nonverbal signals (offline) or substitutes for nonverbal cues (online), to a greater extent than men. In chatrooms men were more likely than women to initiate contact. It is concluded that cyber-flirting is more than simply a meeting of minds and that future research needs to consider the role of the body in online interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simeon Floyd

Conversation analysis is a method for the systematic study of interaction in terms of a sequential turn-taking system. Research in conversation analysis has traditionally focused on speakers of English, and it is still unclear to what extent the system observed in that research applies to conversation more generally around the world. However, as this method is now being applied to conversation in a broader range of languages, it is increasingly possible to address questions about the nature of interactional diversity across different speech communities. The approach of pragmatic typology first applies sequential analysis to conversation from different speech communities and then compares interactional patterns in ways analogous to how traditional linguistic typology compares morphosyntax. This article discusses contemporary literature in pragmatic typology, including single-language studies and multilanguage comparisons reflecting both qualitative and quantitative methods. This research finds that microanalysis of face-to-face interaction can identify both universal trends and culture-specific interactional tendencies. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document