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Different Internet technologies foster the acquisition of different language skills.In the case of synchronous interaction tools, such as Webchat, the concern is to evaluate whether and how this communication context affects the process of acquiring a second language.A collection of Webchat interaction data among English non-native speakers (NNS) and native speakers (NS) is the basis for a microanalytic investigation conducted form a Conversation Analysis (CA) perspective.The main purpose is to discover patterns and conversational strategies used by participants in this on-line context.A CA research approach was chosen since it investigates the machinery and the structure of social action in language, avoiding preformulated theoretic categories.This is important since CMC represents a new SLA context, forcing both NS and NNS to produce different structures and strategies.The study analyzes, in particular, whether Webchat implies a reduction of the range in interactional practices, actions performance, sense making, and meaning negotiation, thus affecting the SLA process.Finally, the researcher considers the reliability and validity of this type of qualitative research in this new technological area.Using some research methodologies taken from CA literature, an analysis of the data focuses first on the overall structure of interaction and sequence organization in connection with the on-line communicaiton setting features.It then passes to turn-taking organization, with attention to recurrent structures and patterns as in openings and closings; turn design (or packaging of actions); expression of parlinguistic features in this on-line context; and some (interlanguage) pragmatic variables.The conclusion resolves the findings and underlines NNS versus NS behaviour, offering hypotheses about SLA through Webchat and synchronous CMC in general, encouraging further investigation. INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCHInterest in Internet technologies for communication and education has recently increased.There are differences in the types of technologies and the types of language skills and communication competencies that each of them requires.Different modes include synchronous and asynchronous interaction e-mail, Webchat, MOOs, IRC-multimedia activities, Web-based reading, and task-oriented activities.Each mode fosters a different kind of linguistic competence, and calls for different skills.In the case of tools for synchronous interaction it is interesting to analyze whether the communication context is linguistically relevant and how it affects the process of acquiring a second language.This study takes a Conversation Analysis (CA) approach to analyze Webchat interaction among native speakers of English and ESL students.The Web site used for this purpose is Dave Sperling's ESL Webchat (http://www.eslcafe.com/chat/chatpro.cgi),expressly created in order to put ESL learners in touch with native speakers.The subjects were foreign language university graduates without any previous computer skills who were enrolled in a postgraduate course in Foreign Tourism and Marketing. Why Conversation Analysis (CA)?
Raffaella Negretti (Thu,) studied this question.