Task design principles of a campus-based communication skills course in a natural-virtual learning community

Many students from non-English speaking backgrounds find it difficult to use English in the virtual learning communities. This paper proposes a task designed for a campus-based English course in a Singapore university and explains the theoretical underpinnings of the design. It is argued that communication skills in both "virtual" and "natural" learning communities need to be learned. As such, communication skills courses should include learning activities that help students polish such skills.