Computer-Mediated Communication and Focus on Form in the Foreign Language Classroom

Computer-Mediated Communication and Focus on Form in the Foreign Language Classroom

This article describes the implementation of a computer-mediated communication (CMC) task that was designed to facilitate a focus on form in a Korean as a foreign language (KFL) class. The task was found to promote vocabulary and grammar learning within a focus-on-form context as it afforded students opportunities to pay attention to linguistic farms while engaging in meaningful communication. For this study, the students' CMC interactions and their reflective reports on those interactions were analyzed to identify characteristics of the task that might have contributed to the accomplishment of the learning goal. The analysis suggests that not only the inherent nature of the medium itself but also the task-specific characteristics (e.g., required information exchange and repeated use of the target features) increased the likelihood that the students would direct their attention to linguistic features. The students' attention to linguistic features was further enhanced during the post-grammar session when they engaged in metalinguistic talk about their own errors. These findings suggest that task-based CMC may provide a rich addition to the language learning curriculum when combined with effective pedagogical procedures based on second language acquisition (SLA) theory.