Negotiation of Meaning and Noticing in Text‐Based Online Chat

The aim of this study was to explore the claim that the hybrid nature of synchronic computer‐mediated chat (SCMC) promotes the noticing of target language forms, which may, in turn, stimulate the process of second language actuation. When viewed in the context of interaction theory, the hybrid nature of SCMC makes online negotiation a potentially useful tool for collaborative second language (L2) learning. In the present study, the online negotiations of 16 English as a foreign language (EFL) Persian learners were investigated to determine the potential of SCMC for promoting noticing (operationalized as collaborative mini‐dialogues or language‐related episodes LREs) and to investigate its effectiveness. The study revealed that the learners did focus on form and that the ratio of LREs far exceeded those reported in previous offline settings. To determine the effectiveness of noticing, posttests were designed on the basis of specific linguistic items arising during the LREs, and the performance of learners on these test items was examined in immediate and delayed posttests. The results suggested that noticing in such contexts was associated with subsequent learning and that on the immediate posttests the learners were able to remember more than three fourths of the LREs. If long‐term retention is the ultimate goal of L2 learning, most importance should be attached to the correct responses on a delayed test. On these measures, the learners responded correctly 56.7% of the time. Given the incidental nature of noticing, this relatively slight decrease in performance by the learners on the delayed tests was encouraging. Considering the distribution of the characteristics of the LREs, logistic regression analysis revealed that successful uptake was the strongest predictor of correct responses. This result suggested that what was of most benefit to learners was the nature of the uptake, not its mere presence; therefore, learners need to produce successful uptake in order to receive the most benefit from online negotiation of meaning.