Online communication in a second language : social interaction, language use, and learning Japanese

248 Pages·2012·2.52 MB·English

by  Sarah E Pasfield-Neofitou

Online Communication in a
Second Language
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Series Editor: Professor David Singleton, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language
acquisition and processing in situations where a language or languages other
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Online Communication in a
Second Language
Social Interaction, Language Use, and
Learning Japanese
Sarah E. Pasfi eld-Neofi tou

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS
Bristol • Buffalo • Toronto
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Pasfield-Neofitou, Sarah E.
Online Communication in a Second Language: Social Interaction, Language Use, and
Learning Japanese/ Sarah E. Pasfield-Neofitou.
Second Language Acquisition: 66
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Japanese language—Study and teaching—Foreign speakers. 2. Japanese language-
-Computer-assisted instruction for foreign speakers. 3. Japanese language—Social
aspects. 4. Web-based instruction—Social aspects. 5. Online social networks. 6. Internet
in education. I. Title.
PL519.P37 2012 495.6'8007–dc23 2012022013
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-825-4 (hbk)

ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-824-7 (pbk)
Multilingual Matters
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Canada: UTP, 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada.
Copyright © 2012 Sarah E. Pasfield-Neofitou.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Contents
Tables and Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
Online Social Interaction, Language Use, and Language
Learning 1
The ‘Language of CMC’ 2
L1 Perspectives 8
Language Learning Opportunities in Instructed L2 CMC 12
Intercultural and L2 Uses of CMC in Social Settings 14
A Social Realist Approach 16
Methodology 23

Book Outline 36
2 Learner Backgrounds and Online L2 Networks 37
The Learners’ Linguistic Backgrounds 38
The Learners’ Technological Backgrounds 40
The Learners’ Online Contacts 54
CMC Networks and Relationships 58
Initiating CMC in an L2 62
Discussion 69
3 Social Settings of Situated CMC Use 71
Management of Communication 71
Management of Identity 74
Maintenance of Interest 77
Non-use, Lapsing, and Lurking 79
CMC and Broader Communication 84
Linguistic Domains and Virtual L2 Community 96
Discussion 104
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vi Online Communication in a Second Language
4 Features of CMC Use 106
Organisation of Online Conversations 106
Language Choice 112
Code and Orthographic Switching 126
‘Synchronicity’ and Genre of Language Use 138
Case Studies of Two Learners’ Longitudinal Patterns
of CMC 141
Discussion 153
5 Use of Contextual Resources and SLA Opportunities 158
Widening Opportunities for Language Use 158
Gaining an Audience and Challenges 159
Dictionaries and Other Resources 166
Opportunities for Planning and Revision 178
Repair and Corrective Feedback in CMC 180
Discussion 203
6 Conclusion 205
Online Interaction with Native Speakers: Implications 205
Participating in Domains and Virtual Communities 206
Entering CMC Networks and Maintaining Relationships 207
Code/Orthographic-switching and Turn-taking 210
Acquisition Opportunities in CMC 212
A Relational View of L2 CMC Use 214
Theoretical and Methodological Implications 215
References 217
Index 234
Tables and Figures
Tables
Table 1.1 D ata collected for each Australian participant 27
Table 2.1 J apanese background of Australian participants 39
Table 2.2 C omputer background of Australian participants 41
Table 2.3 E nglish background of Japanese participants 55
Table 2.4 C omputer background of Japanese participants 57

Table 2.5 N ature of participants’ relationships 60
Table 3.1 M ost recent communication and concurrent activities 73
Table 3.2 M odes of CMC used by Australian participants 85
Table 3.3 H ours of use of most frequently used CMC in Japanese 89
Table 3.4 Number of contacts by participant and medium 92
Table 3.5 A ustralian participants’ interactions over the past week 94
Table 3.6 A ustralian participants’ interests on Mixi and Facebook 104
Table 4.1 A ustralian participants’ language choice by medium 114
Table 4.2 P airs’ language choice by relationship 118
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Table 4.3 K aylene’s contacts 122
Table 4.4 U se of code-switching in participants’ CMC conversations 128
Table 4.5 L ucas’ use of intra e-turn code-switching 135
Table 5.1 Resources used during CMC interactions 168
Table 5.2 I nstances of repair identified in the corpus 182
Table 5.3 I nstances of repair according to medium 184
Table 5.4 C ategorisation of repair strategies 185
Figures
Figure 1.1 S ocial domains 22
Figure 2.1 A ustralian participants’ social networking 58
Figure 2.2 A ustralian and Japanese participants’ networks 59
Figure 4.1 E xample of a turn a nd e-turn in Tokio and Genna’s chat 107
Figure 4.2 T urn management in Kaylene and Ruriko’s chat 109
Figure 4.3 P articipants’ use of paralinguistic features in email 124
Figure 4.4 T imeline of Lucas and Hisayo’s communication 144
Figure 4.5 T imeline of Kaylene’s CMC use 148
Figure 4.6 T imeline of Kaylene and Ruriko’s CMC
threads (2006–2008) 154
Figure 5.1 Example of writing systems from Alisha and Eri’s chat 167
Acknowledgements
I have been very fortunate to have the support of numerous people and insti-
tutions in the production of this book, and first and foremost, would like to
express my sincere appreciation of the 18 Japanese and 12 Australian volun-
teers whose generous participation made this research possible, and whose
enthusiasm increased my own. My special gratitude goes to A/Prof. Helen
Marriott and Dr Robyn Spence-Brown, who mentored me throughout this
research. Helen has provided me with constant support and encouragement,
sharing her knowledge of the field while allowing me to grow as a researcher.
Robyn has also provided me with valuable guidance, in the form of her pas-
sion for teaching, and knowledge in the area of second language acquisition.
A number of other staff at Monash University also provided me with valu-
able support, including Prof. Farzad Sharifian, Prof. Ross Mouer, and the late

Prof. Michael Clyne. I thank them sincerely for the interest they showed in
my research. Dr Hiroko Hashimoto and Mari Morofushi kindly proofread
the Japanese version of the interview questions for this project and I am
grateful for their support.
I am particularly grateful to my wonderful editors who have made pos-
sible the publication of this book, everyone at Multilingual Matters who
worked on the production side so efficiently, and the anonymous reviewer
who provided valuable suggestions to the manuscript. I was also fortunate
to receive feedback on earlier versions of my work from Prof. Tony Liddicoat
and Dr Glenn Stockwell, whom I thank warmly for their kindness and
advice.
My trip to Japan to complete fieldwork for the current project was greatly
facilitated by my friends the Terada and Otsuka families, whom I thank for
their hospitality. I also thank Prof. Satoshi Miyazaki and Dr Ji-Hyun Yoon
for the use of facilities at Waseda University during my stay.
As always, I owe a large debt to those I love, and am grateful for the sup-
port of my friends and family. My brothers, Simon and Mark Pasfield, helped
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to proofread sections of this text relating to software terminology and World
of Warcraft respectively. My parents, Jenny and Alan Pasfield, have given me
support and encouragement when I needed it most. Finally, I am indebted to
the very first reader of this book, my husband Simon Neofitou, for his
unwavering belief in me, and his constant support, care and love. This
volume is dedicated to the memory of my grandparents, Irene and Victor
Pasfield, and Alison and George English.