This document summarizes a study analyzing teacher-student interactions during tasks conducted in a virtual world environment. It discusses the use of multiple communication modes in the virtual world, including verbal, textual, visual and spatial modes. It describes the tasks conducted, including warm-up discussions and guided tours. The study examined the transactional strategies used by the teacher, the role of technical assistance, and how different communication modes were utilized. Key findings included that most teacher-student interactions occurred during classroom management and feedback, technical issues required significant attention, and the teacher effectively combined verbal, visual and spatial modes to facilitate communication.

1. Analyzing MUVE tasks in
action
Cristina Palomeque & Joan-Tomàs Pujolà
Universitat de Barcelona
XVIIth International CALL Research Conference, Tarragona

2. Index
Multimodality: theory, MUVE, transcripts
Task design in virtual worlds
Research questions
Research context
 Data collection
 Data analysis
Results
Concluding remarks

3. 1.1. Multimodal theory
Communication occurs through different modes (Kress
& Van Leewen, 2001)
Verbal (oral and text)
Images
Sound
Movement
…

4. 1.2. Modes in Second Life
Verbal communication Non-verbal communication
Audible mode Textual mode Avatar-based
(visual)
Environment-
based (spatial,
movement)
-Oral language,
pauses,…
-Background
sounds
-Local chat
-Instant message
-Note card
-Appearance
-Gestures
-Layout of space
-Proxemics
-Kinesics
Adapted from Örnberg, T. (2005)

5. 1.3. Multimodal transcriptions: 3M
• Macro level (sequence map)
• Micro level (magnifying glass)

6. 2. Principles in MUVE task design
QUALITIES QUESTIONS
Language learning
potential
Does the task have a communicative potential?
Learner fit Is there a balance between feasibility and challenge? /Is the task
technically feasible for a student who is not proficient in a virtual
world?
Meaning focus Is the learner’s attention directed primarily toward the meaning of
the language? Does the task make sense in the environment?
Authenticity within the
MUVE environment
Is the task embedded in the MUVE environment? Is it immersive? Is
it cognitively authentic?
Impact Will learners get a positive experience from the MUVE task?
Practicality Does the institution meet the requirements needed? Does the task
take longer to set up than actually carry out?
Sweeney, P. & Palomeque, C. (2010) (adapted from Chapelle, 2001)

7. Dimensions for task design
1. Social / communicative / cognitive dimension
1. Affective /creative dimension
1. Spatial / physical dimension
Deutschmann & Panichi (2009)

8. Tasks used in this study
Warm-up discussion
Social / communicative dimension
Guided tour
Social / communicative dimension
Spatial / physical dimension
Guided tour
Social / communicative dimension
Spatial / physical dimension

9. Research questions
RQ1: What kind of online transactional strategies
does the teacher use to communicative in a MUVE?
RQ2: What role is the role of technical help in the a
MUVE language class?
RQ3: How are different modes used when
communicating in a MUVE?

10. Research context
Participants: 9 undergraduate students of Tourism + 1
teacher
Course: English for Communication Level 1
Optional practice classes in Second Life
3 Modules: Hotels, Museums and Cities
2 task types: discussion and guided tour

11. Data collection
Data
collected
Pre-
questionna
ires
Session
questionna
ires
SL video
recordings
Interviews Researcher
Journal
Amount of
data
1 quest/St 9 quest /
student
8 sessions
(8 hours)
8 10-min
interviews
9 logs
Format Google
Forms (.xls)
Word (.doc) Snapz Pro
(.mov)
Audacity
(.wav)
Word (.doc)

12. Data analysis
Transana
Transcription of verbal mode
3M program
Transcription of non-verbal modes
Link video to transcriptions
Coding
Queries for analysis

13. Macro level

14. Micro level

15. Queries

17. Results RQ 1
Online transactional strategies (total: 1739)

18. Strategies and class stage

19. Transactional strategies in tasks
Discussion activity (total: 84) Guided tour (total: 176)

20. Results RQ 2
Technical strategies ( total: 491)
(27% of T turns)
Technical help (total: 307)
(17% of T turns)

21. Role of tech help in class
Disc. Tour
1 13

22. Results RQ3
Audio-Text channels
• Default channel: audio
• Total channel switches:
454
• Technical: compensate for sound problems
• Logistics: summarize or repeat instructions, form groups…
• Task: provide unobtrusive feedback
• Form: model structures, vocabulary…

23. Results RQ3:
Visual and Verbal mode
Location check
In-world reference
Visual addressivity

24. Location check
Found in every session
Part of a classroom management routine
Trigger:
After a location change
Many avatars in a shared space
Technical graphic problems

25. In-world reference
Total: 363
• Logistics: moving between
locations, checking that everyone is
in the same place
• Task: references to objects during
tours
• Technical: provide tech help
(how to activate objects)
Functions of verbal in-world references

26. Visual reference
Pointing
To exemplify an instruction
To point to an object
Avatar proximity
To avoid ambiguities during a tour or an instruction
To direct the group’s attention to an object

27. Visual addressivity
Type of
addressivity
T in front of
group
T with 1 St TOTAL
Name 33 29 62
Name + proximity 483 41 524
Generic + proximity 12 - 12

28. 6. Conclusions
Most transactional strategies happened during the
classroom management and feedback stages
Feedback markers were the most popular strategy to
show presence, encourage participation and promote
a positive social environment. (Foster & Ohta,
2005)
Special presence during guided tour

29. Conclusions (II)
Technical help, as well as other technical
strategies, had a significant presence during the
teacher’s turns and were important to deal with
communication problems (Fägersten, Holmsten &
Cunningham, 2010)
Task type was an important factor

30. Conclusions (III)
The teacher made use of different modal affordances
in the MUVE, combining different channels and modes
to avoid communication breakdowns and make
communication more effective.
Channel switches
Location checks
Verbal and visual in-world references (Wigham, 2012)
Verbal and visual addressivity (Naper, 2011)

31. Thank you!
Cristina Palomeque
cristina.palomeque@gmail.com
Joan-Tomàs Pujolà
jtpujola@ub.edu