Bimodal CMC

The Glue of Language Learning at a Distance

Authors

  • Robert J. Blake University of California, Davis

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v22i3.497-511

Keywords:

Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication, Oral and Written Communication, Interactionist Second Language Acquisition, Virtual Language Learning

Abstract

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) forms an integral part of the first-year Spanish course, Spanish Without Walls (SWW), designed for distance education. The CMC component of SWW supports bimodal (i.e., oral and written) interactions among students and the instructor and provides the same kinds of benefits as those in face-to-face interactions well documented in the literature on second language acquisition (SLA). The study described here illustrates the progress of a typical first-year language student as she interacts with the course instructor. Analysis of the transcripts of this student's interactions shows that she remained engaged in the language-learning process, actively participated in negotiation of meaning, repaired her language errors, and was able to satisfy her own language-learning needs.

Author Biography

  • Robert J. Blake, University of California, Davis

    Robert J. Blake (Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin) is Professor of Spanish at the University of California, Davis and founding Director of the UC Consortium for Language Learning & Teaching. He has published widely in the fields of Spanish linguistics, second language acquisition, and computer-assisted language learning. He was the academic consultant for Nuevos Destinos (Annenberg/CPB Project, WGBH, and McGraw-Hill Companies) and co-author of Tesoros (BeM, McGraw-Hill Companies), a 5-disc multimedia CD-ROM program for introductory Spanish. He has co-authored with María Victoria González Pagani both Al corriente: Curso intermedio de español (4th ed.) (McGraw-Hill Companies) and Spanish without Walls, a distance-learning course offered through UC Davis Extension. In May 2004, Professor Blake was inducted into the North American Academy for the Spanish Language, making him a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy as well.

References

Blake, R. (2000). Computer mediated communication: A window on L2 Spanish interlanguage. Language Learning & Technology, 4 (1), 120-136. Retrieved March 19, 2005, from http://llt.msu.edu

Blake, R. (in press). Two heads better than one: C[omputer] M[ediated] C[communication] for the L2 curriculum. In R. Donaldson & M. A. Haggstrom (Eds.), Changing language education through CALL. London: Routledge Press.

Blake, R., Blasco, J., & Hernández, C. (2001). Tesoros CD-ROM: A multimedia-based course. Valladolid: Boecillo Editorial Multimedia (BeM) and New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, Inc.

Blake, R., & Zyzik, E. (2003). Who’s helping whom?: Learner/heritage speakers’ networked discussions in Spanish. Applied Linguistics, 24 (4), 519-44.

Blake, R., & Delforge, A. (in press). Online language learning: The case of Spanish Without Walls. In B. Lafford & R. Salaberry (Eds.), Spanish second language acquisition: State of the art of application. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Carr, S. (2000, February 11). As distance education comes of age, the challenge is keeping the students. The Chronicle of Higher Eduction, A39.

Gass, S. (1997). Input, interaction, and the second language learner. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kern, R. (1995). Restructuring classroom interaction with networked computers: Effects on quantity and characteristics of language production. Modern Language Journal, 79 (4), 457-474.

Liontas, J. I. (2002). CALL media digital technology: Whither in the new millennium? CALICO Journal, 19 (2), 315-330.

Lafford, P. (2003). [Review of Tesoros: Curso multimedia interactivo de Español]. CALICO Journal, 20 (2), 405-418.

Murray, G. L. (1999). Autonomy and language learning in a simulated environment. System, 27 (3), 295-308.

Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 11 (2), 219-258.

Swain, M. (2000). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principle and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honor of H. G. Widdowson (pp. 125-144). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Warschauer, M. (1996). Comparing face-to-face and electronic discussion in the second language classroom. CALICO Journal, 13 (2), 7-26.

Downloads

Published

2013-01-14

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 3 (2005)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Blake, R. (2013). Bimodal CMC: The Glue of Language Learning at a Distance. CALICO Journal, 22(3), 497-511. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v22i3.497-511