The effects of task type in SynchronousComputer-Mediated Communication

This study examines the potential of learner-learner interaction through Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) to focus learners’ attention on form. Focus on formis operationalized through Language-Related Episodes (LREs), instances where learners turntheir attention to formal aspects of language by questioning the accuracy of their own or eachother’s language use. The study also compares two task types, jigsaw and dictogloss, withrespect to the number and characteristics of LREs. Ten adult intermediate ESL learners froman intensive English language program in the US worked together in dyads to carry out onejigsaw and one dictogloss task in an SCMC environment. Tasks were controlled for contentand were presented in two alternative orders. The dictogloss in this study generated moreLREs than the jigsaw. LREs were also qualitatively different across task types. Jigsaw LREswere implicit and did not result in incorrectly solved outcomes, whereas dictogloss LREs wereexplicit and resulted in correctly solved, incorrectly solved, and unresolved outcomes