This paper describes an internet Chat class in a compulsory Japanese language subject at an Australian university. The study seeks evidence of the use of language strategies relating to social interaction in Chat classes and examines the importance of strategy use in this form of Collaborative CALL. It also presents the way the medium is used in the curriculum as a means of fostering student collaboration. A preliminary survey was conducted to investigate types of strategies used by the students in two specific situations: when they saw an unknown word in their Chat partner s message and when they did not know how to say a particular word. The results demonstrate how students practise the social strategies necessary for collaborative learning through a CALL activity. This is followed by a discussion of the importance and role of social learning strategies in collaborative CALL and possible directions of future studies on internet Chat use in foreign language education.
History
Citation
Saito, R. 2005, 'Internet Chat as Collaborative CALL: Language learning strategies in an Internet Chat class', in B. Bourke, M. Parry & Y. Watanabe (eds), Innovative Practice in Japanese Language Education, 1 edn, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland. pp. 55