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Description
The present study has three main goals: first, to investigate participants' preferences for oral Spanish practice in face-to-face (FTF) versus oral computer-mediated communication (OCMC) modes. Second, this study explores differences in performance between FTF and OCMC groups. Finally, this investigation looks into the relationship between willingness to communicate (WTC) and performance in different oral Spanish practice groups (FTF and OCMC). To accomplish these goals, students from two intact intermediate university Spanish classes were administered two decision-making tasks. Participants were randomly assigned to groups of three and performed the tasks on different days; one task was carried out via Skype in the computer lab, and the other was performed face-to-face in the classroom. A WTC questionnaire, which was adapted from Cao and Philp's 2006 study, was administered to each participant to determine L2 WTC, and a debriefing questionnaire measured students' reactions to both modes of classroom communication. The study shows that though learners profess to prefer face-to-face (FTF) communication in the L2 classroom, they initiated a significantly higher number of speaking turns in the OCMC mode. Another interesting finding is that the significant positive correlation found between WTC and the number of turns and words spoken in the FTF setting does not hold for the OCMC group. In other words, number of turns and words produced reflect WTC in the FTF mode; however, they do not reflect WTC in the OCMC mode. This interesting finding reveals that learners interact differently through OCMC and FTF. This could pose advantages for L2 teaching and learning in the modern classroom that should be further investigated.
