چکیده:
The study explored the effect of task-based collaborative interactions in a Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication (SCMC) environment on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' development of grammatical knowledge and accuracy of a specified structure, that is, conditional clauses. To this end, at first, two intact EFL-grammar classes from an Iranian university were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. A grammar test focusing on the above-mentioned structure was used at the pretest and posttest times. The control group learners were exposed to mainstream noncollaborative instruction in which they performed a number of tasks individually within the context of a teacher-fronted classroom. The learners of the experimental group, however, carried out the same planned tasks through peer-peer and teacher-student collaborative interactions in the form of text chats in an SCMC environment (i.e., Skype). Secondly, to trace learners' trajectories of grammatical accuracy, their L2 written outputs produced during the task performance were analyzed, employing the error-free T-unit ratio. The SCMC participants were also interviewed to elicit their attitudes towards employing the approach to grammar instruction. As to grammatical knowledge test, ANCOVA results revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the posttest. In terms of grammatical accuracy, subsequent t-test results indicated significant gains for the SCMC group. Furthermore, learner interviews indicated that most learners had generally positive attitudes toward CMC-oriented grammar instruction. The findings suggested that collaborative interactions in form of text-based exchanges in CMC learning environments can be a useful platform for L2 grammar instruction and learning.
خلاصه ماشینی:
"Task-based Collaborative Interaction in a CMC Environment: A Form-Focused Perspective 1 Azizullah Mirzaei Associate Professor, Shahrekord University, Iran Farzaneh Taheri MA in TEFL, Shahrekord University, Iran The study explored the effect of task-based collaborative interactions in a Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication (SCMC) environment on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' development of grammatical knowledge and accuracy of a specified structure, that is, conditional clauses.
In order to further investigate the task-technology interface within SLA, termed as 'elective affinities' by Ortega (2009), the study, therefore, aims at exploring the possible effects of task-based collaborative interactions and dialogues in a synchronous CMC (SCMC) environment on improving EFL learners' grammatical knowledge of a specific structure, namely, conditional clauses.
5. 1 Grammar Test Results In order to explore the effect of task-based SCMC-oriented collaborative dialogues on EFL learners' grammatical knowledge of conditional clauses, both preliminary descriptive statistics and subsequent statistical analysis were carried out.
The finding also confirms the results of examining the first research question within the current study in which SCMC-based task performance and collaboration led to the development of EFL learners' grammatical knowledge compared with the traditional teacher-fronted context of the control group.
As far as the second research question of the study was concerned, the results of interviews from EFL learners in CMC-oriented group indicated that most of the learners had unanimously positive attitudes toward employing a task-based computer-mediated collaborative approach to grammar instruction."