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Weekly UpdatesABSTRACT
A vast and largely untapped resource for second language learners has recently become available: native speakers of languages being learned who have access to the Internet. To explore the potential of this new resource for second language learning, we reviewed six free programs for Windows and Macintosh computers that permit synchronous audio (and some video) communication via the Internet. It was found that although the audio (and video) quality varied both among and within the programs reviewed, the communicative contexts created by these programs can provide second language learners with an inexpensive means for useful audio interaction with native speakers of their second language. We provide recommendations for program choice according to user needs and preferences, with an emphasis on tandem language learning, a context in which participants take turns being both second language learner and tutor of their native language.
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It should be quite obvious to anyone living in a technologically developed country today that the widespread availability of personal computers and the Internet have brought about dramatic changes in the way that we communicate. The use of electronic mail is the most obvious way in which our communicative behavior has changed over the last two decades. Instant messaging systems are also gaining widespread use with the integration of the Internet into various wireless devices such as portable telephones.
However, none of these computer-mediated communication media has yet had a major impact on second language (L2) teaching and learning. There are certainly many instructors and students who make use of foreign-language materials on the Internet; and there are numerous foreign-language courses that make use of the World Wide Web. But there remains a vast and largely untapped Internet resource for L2 teachers and learners that has recently become available, namely, audio access to native speakers of the L2.
Native speakers who use the Internet comprise a particularly valuable resource for L2 learners since a major barrier to the development of L2 listening and speaking proficiency is the lack of opportunity to converse with native speakers of the target language. A high school student of French in Iowa is not likely to have much, if any, opportunity to use French outside the French classroom. However, there are millions of native French speakers throughout the world, many of whom have Internet access and would welcome the opportunity to interact with English-speaking French learners in exchange for the opportunity to converse in English with a native speaker.
There have been several projects that have used the Internet to link second language learners with native speakers, but for the most part these efforts have been limited to text communication (Belz, 2002; Blake, 2000; Gonzalez-Bueno, 1998; Negretti, 1999; Ortega, 1997; Toyoda & Harrison, 2002). One project that made use of synchronous audio and video to link second language learners with native speakers (Wong & Fauverge, 1999) was apparently successful in motivating students and providing a rich context for conversing in the second language. In Europe, researchers, teachers, and students have been involved in eTandem Europa (www.slf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/etandem) in which telephone and Internet audio have been used to allow pairs of learners with different native languages to interact and learn each others' languages (see the Language Learning in Tandem Bibliography available at www.slf.ruht-uni-bochum.de learning/tandbib.html, Brammerts, 2002; Apfelbaum, 1993; Glasmann & Calvert, 2001; Helmling, 2002; Rosanelli, 1992).
Until quite recently, synchronous audio and video communication required special software and hardware along with the use of costly ISDN telephone lines. "Business quality" video conferencing that provides full-screen video at 30 frames per second still requires special hardware such as that provided by Tandberg and PolyCom. However, recent advances in programming, computer speed, and Internet bandwidth have brought the ability to talk with and even see others anywhere in the world to millions of home and educational computer users at little or no additional cost above that incurred for the computer hardware and Internet connection. This is a particularly exciting development for L2 learners who speak English as a native language. The emergence of English as the world's predominant international language virtually guarantees that no matter which L2 a native English speaker is learning, there are many native speakers of that L2 who are learning English, too. This fact greatly facilitates the establishment of Internet tandem language learning partnerships involving English and other languages.
The availability of free, synchronous, computer-mediated audio communication (SCMAC) software comes at a time when there is increasing agreement among L2 researchers and educators concerning the importance of second language input, output, and interaction for second language acquisition. The behaviorist-based audio-lingual theories and practices of L2 teaching of the 1950s and 1960s (e.g., Lado, 1957, 1964) and the subsequent opposing communicative competence perspective of the 1970s and 1980s (e.g., Krashen, 1985; Krashen & Terrell, 1983) have both given way to a more encompassing view that recognizes the importance of the quantity and quality of input, output, and interaction in communicative settings where there is some focus on L2 form (e.g., Ellis, 2002). The use of SCMAC programs that allow verbal communication between L2 students who are learning each others' languages appear to provide particularly rich contexts for L2 acquisition with opportunities for L2 input, output, and communicative interaction along with the possibility for focus on L2 form (see www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/gcziko/ papers/scmac/contexts.html for a description of various L2 learning contexts made possible by SMAC).
THREE COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENTS
Three different kinds of communicative environments are offered by SCMAC programs: (a) instant messaging, (b) conferences, and (c) chat groups. Some programs offer all three, and others offer only one or two.
All programs reviewed provide instant messaging, which uses both text and audio between two users. Some programs also provide video communication in their instant messaging modes.
A conference, like a telephone conference call, is a temporary gathering of three or more individuals, typically fewer than 10. All programs providing conferences permit at least text communication and allow users already in a conference to invite others into the conference. Some conferences add audio and video capabilities as well, although these may be limited to one-to-one communication between two participants of the conference. Conferences disappear after the last user leaves. It is usually not possible to find an ongoing conference itself, although it may be possible to request admission to a conference if a user's acquaintance, also called a "friend," "buddy," or "pal," is in a conference.
A chat room, also called a "chat group" or just "group," is typically a more permanent gathering of up to 50 individuals. Chat rooms are of two types: pre-established (by the software provider) and user-created. User-created chat rooms may be public or private, with the latter requiring non-public information (usually obtained from the chat room creator) to enter. It is always possible to share text with all members of a chat room. In addition, some programs make it possible to share audio and even video with one, several, or all members of a chat room. On some systems, the creator of the chat room has special privileges such as being able to control access to the chat room and mute or ban unruly users.
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
Having considered the possible environments in which L2 learners and native speakers can interact using Internet-based SCMAC, the question then arises concerning the extent to which available software provides the means to create these communicative settings. The purpose of this research was, therefore, to review free, widely-used SCMAC programs and to explore their potential use for L2 learning by allowing L2 learners to converse with native speakers of the target language. To be included in this review, a program had to be (a) available without cost, (b) widely used, and (c) capable of at least synchronous audio communication between two or more Internet users using Windows or Macintosh computers. Based on these criteria, six programs were selected: AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, Windows Messenger, PalTalk, and iVisit.
The majority of the testing of the SCMAC software was conducted using high-speed Internet connections. All reviewed programs can also be used with slower connections, such as telephone modems, but speed, quality, and reliability of audio and video tend to suffer with slower connections. Even with high-speed Internet access, Internet traffic jams can result in poorer performance than that noted below.
SCMAC PROGRAMS DESCRIBED AND REVIEWED
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger (http://www.aim.com/) was the first instant messaging program to be adopted by a large number of Internet users. Two versions of this program were reviewed: Version 4.8.2790 for Windows (95, 98, 2000, NT, XP) and Version 4.3.1232 for Macintosh (OS 8, OS 9). The version for Macintosh OS X (4.5.651) promised, but had not yet provided audio at the time of testing and so was not reviewed.
AOL Instant Messenger provides text chat in both instant message (one-to-one) and conference environments. File transfer is also provided. AOL Instant Messenger currently has no video capability and while it does offer audio communication, its audio capabilities are limited.
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