Collaborative interaction in EFL Web-based debates: How do learners develop socially constructed knowledge?

Abstract

This paper focuses on interactions between Japanese learners of English as a foreign language using computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the second language (L2) classroom. CMC provides potential benefits for L2 learning because it enables a broader range of interactions. In this study, a synchronous online debate was conducted using a Bulletin Board System (BBS). Interactions through the on-line debates were analyzed based on Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson's (1997) “Interaction Analysis Model” for examining the social construction of knowledge. Based on their methods and theory of social constructivism, an investigation was made on how the on-line interactions could be qualitatively assessed, and on whether negotiations between the participants would generate the construction of knowledge. In this paper, two representative debate logs were analyzed to scrutinize how knowledge was co-constructed through social interaction. The value of debates for pedagogical use was also reconsidered, and new criteria for the debate evaluation were proposed.