CMC- Azri Ramli

Introduction
This paper is a summary of an article entitle “Using Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication to Teach Foreign Students Spoken English: An Exploratory Study” from Ohio University, USA. The objective of the research is to examine whether the use of Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) really can improve spoken English acquisition or not and to enhance the understanding of the use of technology as a tool for online real-time tutoring, help instructors design effective SCMC instruction. Even though the study merely focuses on acquisition of “Business English”, the outcomes can be expected to apply to other domains as well.

Research Questions

This study investigates two research questions:
1. What crucial factors influence the adoption of SCMC to improve spoken English acquisition?
2. What is an ideal SCMC system for spoken English teaching and learning?

Methodology

Participant

Participants in this study were 16 undergraduate business majors at a Midwestern university who were native speakers of English (the tutors) and 3 systems analysts and designers working for a private company in China (the learners). All of the learners had post-secondary degrees and rated themselves poor in English speaking. None of the participants in either group had previously used SCMC tools for language learning.

Duration of Study

The American tutors designed one-hour lessons in oral Business English for the learners in China.



Procedures

The study consists of three stages which are, the preparation stage where the tutors working in teams of four designed one-hour interactive lessons in conversational business in English, testing that involves equipment testing and enhancement of technology skills, and in implementation stage, each team teaches their lesson for about one hour. The teaching materials developed by each tutor group were distributed to the learners one week before the formal training program, so they could have time to preview the contents. Before each lesson, thirty minutes were allocated for setting up and testing the equipment, self-introductions, and Q&A (questions and answers).


Data Analysis/Collection

It involves a survey of tutors, systematic of the implementations activities, and pos-implementation interviews of the learners. The survey was developed and administered to each tutor to assess their perspectives regarding the SCMC teaching experience. Furthermore, one of the researchers observed the actions of tutors and recorded such details as instructors’ and learners’ technology skills, the interaction between instructors and learners, and their operation of equipment, for instances delays and break-downs. For the learners group, post-implementation interviews were conducted through e-mail.

Findings

Based on the results of the survey, the interviews and the comprehensive review of the literature, several important variables were identified that support effective SCMC instruction in oral English. Two major elements that contribute to effective online learning are carefully designed instruction with an authentic context and faster technology that supports more natural interactivity with minimal technical problems. However, neither of these can ensure successful learning in an online environment. All five factors; motivation, technology savvy, interactivity, effectiveness of instruction, and satisfaction, must be taken into consideration as components of the framework.
This conceptual framework emphasizes the crucial role of pedagogy and technology in designing a SCMC-based language training program, and overall, pedagogy can be supported by technology and enhanced by motivation, technology savvy, effectiveness, interactivity and satisfaction to effectively improve learners’ oral proficiency.

Conclusion

In the nutshell, this article has suggested that SCMC can enhance English oral pedagogy and acquisition but according to the exploratory study, there are many challenges to address when communicating in a synchronous and multimedia environment. The proposed conceptual framework provides a comprehensive view for instructors who design, implement, and evaluate synchronous online language instruction. The challenges in adopting SCMC are pedagogical as well as technical,
such as: lessons should have an authentic context, both instructors and learners should take time to learn about each other’s interests , the speed and quality of audio and video need to be improved, and both instructors and learners need to have experience in using the equipment. However, in the future new technologies and innovative pedagogies will hopefully overcome the current insufficiency of SCMC.