Chapter 1 Introduction
Introduction is the first part of the study, presenting the whole picture of theresearch. It includes the research background which shows the reasons why theauthor conducted the research. It is then followed by the definition of CMC,introducing certain basic ideas and concepts of CMC and its features. Thesignificance of the study and the whole outline of the study are also presented inthis chapter.
1.1 Research background
Interaction plays an important role in second language acquisition(SLA), thusit becomes a hot topic in SLA. Constructive learning theory has had a tremendousimpact on teaching concepts and teaching methods since its introduction. At thesame time, the process approach, prominent by its interactive and learner-centeredfeatures, became popular in the western countries. It emphasized on learningprocess and gradually became the mainstream in language teaching. Constructivistshold that one of the teacher’s main tasks is to create a suitable learning environmentfor students to construct knowledge by themselves. Students construct knowledgeactively, not passively. However, traditional classroom language teaching which isoften teacher centered, can not provide sufficient time, space and opportunities forstudents to communicate and interact, let alone construct knowledge. Besides,traditional classroom teaching can cause students’ anxiety which might become apsychological barrier for language improvement. Students do not have a morerelaxing way to open their mouths to communicate with others and express theirideas freely in face-to-face interaction. Chinese students indicate that they may feelawkward when speaking English in front of their classmates. Furthermore, student’sautonomous learning can not be fully developed in traditional classroom teaching.It is claimed that teachers can also hardly monitor students’ language learning andgive sufficient feedback to students in traditional classroom language teaching.
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1.2 The definition of text-based CMC
Internet has many practical functions. The network, acting as the medium ofcommunication (computer-mediated communication, referred as CMC), is one ofthe important functions. The term of CMC was firstly used in 1990, and it wasaccepted widely after their introduction. CMC means a process facilitated bycomputer networks for people to express, exchange information and achievecommunication at end. Its main function is to facilitate communication amongpeople. Herring (1996) defined the CMC as communication via computer. Shestressed the importance of textual aspect of CMC and held that the main feature ofCMC was text-based.CMC can be divided into synchronous communication (SCMC) andasynchronous communication (ACMC). SCMC can allow participants to read orlisten the information, and immediately give responses to each other so as toachieve instant information exchanges. Its limitations are that all participants areasked to simultaneous online which is limited sometimes. ACMC avoids theshackles of time, and participants can log in at any time to exchange with each other.However, its interactive function is far less than SCMC due to the time delay.Paramskas (1993) viewed that synchronous communication was the most interactive.There are many internet apps nowadays, for example, qq, we-chat, micro-blog andso on. Those apps provide convenient ways for students to study, communicate andbetter improve their foreign language learning.In the early and middle period of 1990s, the application of text-based CMC inforeign language teaching was still in the exploration stage. Many foreign scholarsattempted to help foreign language learners to carry out text-based SCMC in orderto seek a new way of foreign language teaching. During this period, the mostrepresentative scholars in this research field were Chun (1994), Kern (1995) andWarschauer (1996). Their research results showed that text-based CMC had positiveeffects on language learning, mainly in language output quanti
