Bimodal CMC

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.