THE BENEFITS OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION TOWARDS LANGUAGE LEARNING
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The way of teaching and learning language nowadays has become wider. Students can learn language in many ways. Teachers and students can now not depending 100% to books in order to learn language. Computer is one of the tool that teacher can use to teach language and students can use to improve their language. This is related to Computer Assisted Learning Language (CALL). According to Beatty (2003), CALL is defined as any process in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her language. There are four types of CALL programs which are CALL software applications program, Generic software program, Web-based learning program and Computer-mediated communication (CMC) program. This literature review will focus on one of the programs which is Computer-Mediated Communication program.
Computer-mediated communication in the educational context works on the basic principle of linking students together via computer. While the forms of C M C vary, they have in common the action of placing students in a networked environment through which they communicate with each other electronically in or outside the classroom. This may occur in either synchronous formats (real-time, i.e. immediate communication) or in asynchronous ones (delayed communication, i.e. students being able to access and respond to messages at their leisure). As Fey (1998: 86) observes, in these networked circumstances, ‘computer networks are allowing students to transcend boundaries of classroom walls and to learn in new ways’. Learners are no longer confined to the traditional types of classroom based activities and interaction with their peers that they may find unappealing and counterproductive in the ‘wired’ realm of the 21st century.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Students’ perceptions on computer-mediated communication
Research done by Ozdener and Satar (2008) which was conducted at a vocational high school in Turkey had found out that students enjoyed learning language through computer-mediated communication. They said that through the chat session, they were able to chat with their friends of with the person they know in English without anxiety and they felt confident. They also enjoyed speaking English with a familiar friend. Besides, the students stated that chat sessions made various contributions to their foreign language which is English skill, and that they made noticeable improvements particularly in their writing/reading, pronunciation/speaking skills. Some of the students stated that they believed that their English vocabulary knowledge had increased and their practical skills in English were developed.
Undergraduate students from UTHM have their own perceptions of computer-mediated communication towards language learning. This research was done by Berhannudin Mohd Salleh., Ahmad Esa., Asri Selamat., Hussain Othman., Abdulah Sulaiman., & Khairul Azman Suhaimy. They said that Nicenet which was tool used for computer-mediated communication can overcome their fear and lack of confidence. Fear and lack of confidence is most common among foreign language learners including ESL learner in Malaysia. The students also stated that they can overcome their nervousness and embarrassment, improve their writing skill, and also develop thinking skill.
2.2 Computer-mediated communication and disable person.
Research done by Michelle and Pandian (2007) proved that computer-mediated communication did help deaf learner to learn language. They divided the students into intervention and comparison group. The result showed that that CMC allowed the students to participate in the group discussions and classroom debates on a more equally proportional basis. They also felt that the discussion was easy to follow and enjoyed using CMC during the activity. The deaf students in the study who used CMC (which involves reading and writing for communication) agreed they felt comfortable in the online environment and were comfortable with the pace of the discussion. This was in spite of the struggle some deaf students experience with reading and writing.
Another research done by Moira Burke, Robert Kraut and Diane Williams (2010) confirmed that computer-mediated communication works in learning language. They did the study with the students who suffer of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). People with ASD have difficulty making eye contact, interpreting nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, processing non-literal language, thinking flexibly, and understanding others’ perspectives. Furthermore, some individuals with ASD are hypersensitive to environmental stimuli, such as bright lights, loud sounds, or strong smells. The finding showed that many benefits of CMC, including reduced stress from nonverbal signals, the ability to find people with similar interests, and pre-defined interaction mechanisms, like birthday greetings.
3.0 CONCLUSION
As for the conclusion, I can say that all English teachers in Malaysia perhaps should apply computer-mediated communication in their language class. Teachers may face some difficulties but the researches showed that computer-mediated communication somehow help students in improving their language proficiency especially in speaking and writing. Here are some reasons why am I saying that computer-mediated communication should be applied in language class. First and foremost, computer-mediated communication significantly reduces cultural barriers of student-student-teacher communications. Second, CMC helps shy and reluctant students communicate freely and more confidently (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 2001). Third, Computer-Mediated Communication provides both teachers and students with variety of authentic teaching/learning materials. Last but not least, Computer-Mediated Communication helps English teachers perform teaching responsibilities which they are not confident with.
REFERENCES
Ozdener, N., & Satar, H.(2008, Apr). Computer-Mediated Communication in Foreign Language Education: Use of Target Language and Learner Perceptions. Volume: 9 Number: 2 Article 9. Retrieved from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde30/pdf/article_9.pdf
Chang, Y-Y. (2007). The Potential of Synchronous Text-Based Computer-Mediated Communication for Second Language Acquisition. Volume VIII. No. 2. Retrieved from http://www.iacis.org/iis/2007_iis/PDFs/Chang.pdf
Burke, M., Kraut, R., & Williams, D. (2010, February 6). Social Use of Computer-Mediated Communication by Adults on the Autism Spectrum. Retrieved from http://www.thoughtcrumbs.com/publications/Burke_CSCW2010_CMC_and_Autism.pdf
Berhannudin Mohd Salleh., Ahmad Esa., Asri Selamat., Hussain Othman., Abdulah Sulaiman., & Khairul Azman Suhaimy. (2010). Computer-Mediated Communication as a Tool for Improving The English Language Among Adult Learners in TVET Program. Retrieved from http://penerbit.uthm.edu.my/ejournal/images/stories/JTET21/JTET21_A4.pdf
Michelle, F., & Pandian, M.S. (2007, August 8). Cooperative Learning Incorporating Computer-Mediated Communication: Participation, Perceptions, and Learning Outcomes in a Deaf Education Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.languageinindia.com/aug2007/deafcommunication.pdf
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