helianlingzi

What are some of the technologies used for CMC? What are some of the promising features of CMC for language learning. Comment on any of your uses of these technologies, in particular if you have used any of them for language learning or practice purposes.

CMC is broadly used in language teaching and learning. People usually categorize CMC as either synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous CMC include chatting, classroom discussions, and Moos. Asynchronous CMC includes mailing lists/bulletin board systems, bulletin boards, and email/short-messaging system. Conferencing can take one of two different forms. “It can include synchronous chat or it can include audio and visual messages transferred by the computer.”

Face-to-face conversation exercise is good for me, but sometimes it is somewhat difficult because some factors such as my listening, lack of vocabulary, can’t organize sentence in short time, or confusion by some use of words, make me nervous when I talk with others in English. Therefore, sometimes I’d like to chat on line using. If I feel difficult in understanding some sentences, I ask them type it because I have more time to think what I should answer and make sure what others talk. This type of CMC helps me improve my English in grammar and spoken English.
Example 1, once a time, my friend typed “Well I wont be there at 815 exactly because I have to walk from my class it ends then”. If we talk face-to-face, I must could not hear “then”. In this situation, I can understand better and learn the use of “then”.
Example 2, another time, she said “nope no problem”. I haven’t heard this sentence before, but because we are chatting on line, I have time look for it in dictionary.
Example 3, once I said “Would you like have dinner with me”? She said “You mean lunch right”?
So I understand when I should use “dinner”.
In a word, no matter talking or typing, chatting on line is really helpful for me to practice English.
Finally, comment on the findings of Dr. Sauro's research, and what the implications may be for future practice.
Dr. Sauro’s research indicates both types of corrective feedback support gains but no significant advantage for either feedback type on immediate or sustained gains in target form knowledge. However, the metalinguistic group shows significant immediate gains relative to the control condition. Therefore, appropriate feedback is really helpful in teaching and learning. However, the teacher should think which type and what time to give feedback is suitable.
Actually, what I am interested in is that which kind of metalinguistic feedback is more helpful. The fist kind of metalinguistic feedback which is list in the article doesn’t indicate clearly which error occurs for learners. Learners need more time to find it, which may make them remember it for a long time and improve their ability to edit writing by themselves.
And I am thinking if there is difference for any type of feedback when teachers correct different errors. For some simple or complex errors, explicit or implicit errors, there may have different effects under those types of feedback.