IMPACT OF SYNCHRONOUS COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION ON EFL LEARNERS’ COLLABORATION: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

For the last two decades, computers have entered people's lives in an unprecedented manner in a way that almost everybody considers life without them rather impossible. In recent years, researchers and educators have been trying to discover how computers and the Internet technology can maximize the quality of language instruction. As such, the present experimental study sought to investigate the impact of Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) on Iranian EFL learners' collaboration. To this end, 26 upper-intermediate female students were randomly chosen from a language institute and then they were randomly assigned to one control (Face-to-Face) and two experimental groups (Internet Relay Chat and 2 Dimensional modes). Then, they were taught how to write for ten sessions. The two experimental groups were instructed over the net with two different SCMC modes while the control group was given instruction in a conventional classroom context. Quantitative data regarding the students' collaboration were collected via Haythornthwaite's (2000) three-part Likert-scale questionnaire after being tested for its reliability and validity for the present context. The results of one-way ANOVA showed no statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of collaborative learning, class interaction, and students' impression. The results also suggested that mode of instruction might not be a determining factor as far as the amount of students' collaboration, interaction and impressions are concerned.