Computer-mediated intercultural discourse - methodological approaches

E-Learning Scenarios for Intercultural Foreign Language Communication
Researching “Online Intercultural Foreign Language Communication” or CMID
University of Tübingen
Applied English Linguistics Colloquium
Claudia Warth
claudia.warth@uni-tuebingen.de
www.ael.uni-tuebingen.de
16.07.2009

Outline
Introduction
Aims of presentation
Thesis - some background information
The thesis, so far & upcoming
Its questions & aims
Approaches & contents
The 3 case studies included
An overview
“High School Project” case study: self-study exchange preparation
“Yale” case study: bilateral intercultural exchange
“icEurope” case study: multilateral ELF web collaboration
The “Yale” case study – methodology and data analysis
The study: aims & approaches
Methodology & data analysis: CMIDA-approach
Exemplary sets of data
Your turn, feedback & input 
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Aims of today’s presentation
Overview of thesis progress
Insight into some of the case studies included
Focus on: methodological aspects & how to handle data
general methodological approaches to analyzing CMC & CMID
part of triangulation process ( investigator triangulation)
looking at some data together & your input and feedback
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The Thesis – Some Background information
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Thesis: “E-Learning Scenarios for Intercultural Foreign Language Learning” – in a nutshell
Where it’s coming from:
High (empirically evident) potential of e-learning for foreign language learning
Assumption: e-learning to facilitate intercultural communication & learning
But: little research into this potential or actual outcomes of intercultural online exchanges / web collaboration (mainly tertiary level)
Methodological approaches unclear
Little insight so far into course & activity set-up
Little insight into teacher’s role
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Thesis: “E-learning Scenarios for Intercultural Foreign Language Learning” – in a nutshell
Where it’s going to:
General research questions:
What is the learning and teaching potential of e-learning for acquiring intercultural foreign language competences (2ndary level)? [ Learning / Potential]
How can this potential be ‘extracted’, i.e. become accessible, analyzed, and evaluated? [ Methodology]
How do courses & activities (i.e. e-learning scenarios) have to be designed to facilitate this type of learning? [ Discussion & Design action plan]
What is the role of the teacher within a given scenario / approach? [ Teaching action plan]
 To be illustrated and discussed on the basis of 3 different e-learning approaches (scenarios) to intercultural FLL
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Thesis: “E-learning Scenarios for Intercultural Foreign Language Learning” - Outline
Research questions and research methodology
Intercultural competence, communication and foreign language learning
Web-based communication and learning across cultures
Catching two birds with one stone - Preparing for a high school year abroad [HSP]
Transatlantic language and culture learning - a bilateral high school collaboration [Yale]
European integration - Multilateral web collaboration via ELF [icEurope]
Conclusion and suggestions for future research
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Thesis: “E-learning Scenarios for Intercultural Foreign Language Learning” - Outline
Research questions and research methodology
Intercultural competence, communication and foreign language learning
Web-based communication and learning across cultures
Catching two birds with one stone - Preparing for a high school year abroad [HSP]
Transatlantic language and culture learning - a bilateral high school collaboration [Yale]
European integration - Multilateral web collaboration via ELF [icEurope]
Conclusion and suggestions for future research
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Research design plan & current stages
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“HSP” & “Yale”
“icEurope”

Ch.1 - Research questions and research methodology

general research questions:

Potential of e-learning for acquiring intercultural foreign language competences [Learning / Potential]
Access to & analysis and evaluation of FL intercultural online learning & CMID [Methodology]
E-learning scenario design [Discussion & Design action plan]
Teacher’s roles [Teaching action plan]
On the theory & methodology menu: Research approaches

social constructionism & constructivism
theories of CALL & intercultural learning
qualitative approach
action research & change orientation
grounded theory
(ethnomethodology/ CA (talk-in-interaction  cultures-in-interaction))
CMC – CMD /CMID(‘computer-mediated intercultural discourse’)

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The E-Learning Scenarios: The 3 Case Studies Involved
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Ch. 4, 5, 6: The Case Studies – 3 E-Learning Scenarios

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Ch. 5 Transatlantic language and culture learning - a bilateral high school collaboration [Yale study]
Underlying theoretical framework & approaches

Constructivist learning online
Concept of (bilateral) web collaboration / online exchange
Byram/ INCA for intercultural communicative competence

CASE STUDY FACTS
US-German web collaboration
Oct. ´07 – Feb. ´08
~ 40 students
US: German class (3rd year) PA, USA
DE: English class, 11th grade, Gymnasium
German teacher with Moodle experience, US teacher without
5 Moodle courses
http://www.spracheundkultur.com/elearning

“Intercultural Meeting Place” – Course & activity design
Activity Design:
Phases & progression within course:
General Introduction
From own to other cultures & comparison – sensitizing
Towards intercultural awareness – understanding & reflection
Intercultural thinking & application – relativization & transfer
“Debriefing”
course progression
tool
intercultural learning
aims
language learning
aims
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The main course: “Intercultural Meeting Place” (ICM)
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Yale study – activities & tasks
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Yale study – activities & tasks cont’d
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Evaluation of ‘Yale’ case study I) Data collection
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a) Performance data
mainly asynchronous data from forums and wikis; very little chat data; reflective data from journals.

CMC-data, i.e. data gained through participants’ contributions in Moodle (students and teachers):
Forums
Messages (Moodle messenger / Mail)
Wikis
Chats
Moodle glossary (students)
‘ePorfolio’ (students)
Reflective Moodle journals (students and teachers)
b) Secondary data
Self-assessment (students, before start of project)
Questionnaires (pre-, while-, post) (students and teachers)
Forum “What we’ve learned so far” (students)
Interviews (post) (some US students via Skype, teachers)
Personal communication (with teachers in person or via email)
Moodle history and statistics data

Evaluation of ‘Yale’ case study II) Data sighting & analysis
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“Can a course like the ‘Yale’ course foster cross-cultural understanding & language awareness needed for intercultural communication?”
Yes – no ?!? How? What needs to be changed or how can it be supported?:
How is ‘culture’ / ‘intercultural understanding’ communicated by the students, in relation to the task? [ Learning / Potential]
In which ways do students do so? [ Methodology]
How does the assumed potential compare to the actual language and culture outcomes for a given task? [ Discussion]
Which implications and conclusions can be drawn for setting up and teaching in an intercultural FL e-learning scenario? [ Design & Teaching action plans]

Evaluation of ‘Yale’ case study II) Data sighting & analysis cont’d
Initial data analysis plan (before case study): analysis of ‘intercultural online discourse’ & esp. underlying moves and strategies
Refined data analysis plan (after):
assumed aims & learning potential of task
actual ‘languaging’
actual ‘culturing’
implications and conclusions for future activities & teaching?
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underlying strategies & moves (CMID)?
generalizability for CMID?

CMD-perspective, i.e. the particular shapes and forms discourse and conversation take in an online environment
CMID-perspective
CMD in intercultural setting
Language used for intercultural communication purposes there
“Culture communicated” (cultures-in-interaction)

CMIDA as main approach[Computer-Mediated Intercultural communication Discourse Analysis]
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CMD [computer-mediated communication]
“Computer-mediated discourse is the communication produced when human beings interact with one another by transmitting messages via networked computers. The study of computer-mediated discourse (henceforth CMD) is a specialization within the broader interdisciplinary study of computer-mediated communication (CMC), distinguished by its focus on language and language use in computer networked environments, and by its use of methods of discourse analysis to address that focus.” (Herring 2003: 612; my highlights)
CMID [computer-mediated intercultural communication]

Communication produced by humans in an intercultural online environment; the focus is on investigating the language used to communicate the ‘cultural’ and ‘intercultural’ [‘culturing’] or to create a ‘third space’ within a CMC-setting with the help of discourse analysis.

(own working definition)

CMID approach to Yale case study
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(CMD based on Susan Herring & expanded)

Tackling the data – research cycle
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1st data sighting:

Topics & contents in posts?
How did students talk about them?

2nd data sighting:

Discourse features (e.g. interaction management, ‘turn taking’, topic initiation)
Strategies and moves
Pragmatic aspects

(pragmatics in general, Long and others in particular)

Discourse behavior (Herring)
Content analysis & categorizing topics / contents
Aspects of ‘multimodality’
Highlighting ‘problem zones’ & ‘teaching potential’

3rd data sighting:

Comparison to assumed cultural / intercultural contents of task
Comparison to journal entries & 2ndary data
Conclusions & implications for learning, teaching & activities

Applying CMIDA to the Yale case study – some starters: “Map it!” activity
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“Map it!” – Making sense of the data ?!? 
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[Learning/Potential] [Methodology]

Meaning
Interaction
Meaning
Interaction
Meaning
Interaction
Meaning
Interaction
Solidarity
Meaning

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Meaning
Interaction
Meaning
(Interaction)
Meaning
Interaction
Structure
Meaning
Interaction
Structure
Social behavior
Meaning
Interaction
Structure
Social behavior
Meaning
Interaction
Social behavior
(Interaction)
Social behavior

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Meaning
Interaction
Meaning
Interaction
Structure
Soc. beh.
Meaning
Interaction
Structure
Soc. beh.

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Meaning
Meaning
Meaning
(Structure)
Social beh.

Your turn 
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For your data samples:
What would you consider ‘data’ in your samples?
How would you categorize the data given?
How would you consider ‘linguistic’ and ‘cultural elements’ (content)?
How would you relate them to each other?
Which other aspects strike you?
Which problems do you see in your data sets (regarding contents, communication as well as methodological approaches)?
How to deal with them?

Your feedback, your thoughts, your comments!Thank you very much 
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Bibliography (select)
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Herring, S. (1999). InteractionalCoherence in CMC. In: JCMC 4 (4) June: jcmc.indiana.edu/vol4/issue4/herring.html (05/30/09)
Herring, S. (2003). Computer-Mediated Discourse. In: Schiffrin, D. et al. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. 612f.
Long, M. H. (1983). Native speaker/non-native speaker conversation and the negotiation of comprehensible input.