Chat and EFL

Good morning. What a pleasure it is that different 'Englishes' in the World and the new directions they are heading in have brought us together once again in this beautiful World heritage town of Évora, in the heart of Alentejo. It is, indeed, very nice to be back at this conference and to have a close friend, Luís Guerra, as chair of this panel.

The theme this year is Language, Communication and Culture, three distinct, but closely connected and complementary concepts. I will be focusing on two of them: communication and language, more specifically, on a bidirectional form of communication that can be used to practice a foreign language.

Whichever way we think of the theme or whatever the perspective we assume, the fact is that these three concepts related to EFL and ESL made us all reflect a little deeper and gather here this week to discuss some of the aspects more closely related to our field of work.

At the conference three years ago I talked about email as a powerful means of communication for language learning, a means of communication very dear to me then and now. So dear to me, that two months later I applied for a sabbatical to the Ministry of Education to carry out a project about its use in the learning process. As a result, I wrote O Email na Sala de Aula (E-mail in the Classroom) and am happy to say that the end product is coming out in two weeks.

However, very pleasant and recent circumstances related to my professional development bring me here today to talk about another equally powerful means of communication at a distance: chat. It is a two-way synchronous form of computer-mediated communication (CMC), a dialogue in real time as we keyboard or speak our words, an online conversation between two or more people by means of a computer.

Considering that chat used to mean nothing to me – to be honest, I couldn't see the point of it! –, it feels strange, but very exciting, to be talking about it publicly for the first time. Even stranger due to the fact that I will be trying to 'make a case' for chat in the EFL (ESL) classroom. My success or failure will depend on your judgement!

The unexpected volte-face in my virtual and real life came about in mid-January of this year when I joined Webheads in Action, an international online group of EFL/ESL teachers, for an eight-week online training program. Our goal was ambitious and demanding: to learn about community building on line, on the one hand, and how to use different state-of-the-art synchronous and asynchronous communication tools and apply them to the EFL (ESL) classroom, on the other. The training was so interesting and enriching, and the bonds we formed were so strong, that we decided to continue our activities well beyond the official deadline, thus, developing into an online Community of Practice (CoP).

Webheads in Action is a multicultural community who speaks different varieties of English. We are an open community who welcomes other participants. All they need is to show up, introduce themselves and join in whatever we are doing. Above all, "[we] are a support group for those interested in learning and doing CMC" (The Webheads Communities) with the aim of "bringing global communities together for peaceful and scholarly purposes online" (Methodology).

The Webheads 'made all the difference' in bringing about the one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change in my attitude towards chat! During my first session in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE), I felt what I imagine an E.T. feels when accidentally landing on Earth – totally lost and uprooted! – in spite of being in a 'cyber space' full of human warmth and sensitivity, as well as willingness and eagerness to help make things easy for 'newbies'. Well, I did pull through the two hour-long session[2]. Since then I have come to understand some of the pros and cons of synchronous communication and its relevancy to the learning process.

chat and the language learning process

Chat can work in three different modes:

thus diversifying the practical applications to the learning process and making them more comprehensive than can be expected at first. Imagine the learning power of a synchronous text, audio and videoconference all in one!

Though I have only used it extensively with colleagues/peers – not yet with students, though I plan to in the short run –, all along the two-month training process we always assumed the double role of teachers and trainees/students. Our training was very practical and 'hands on', generally based on the type of activities that can be carried out in class.

The training period and the work that followed have definitely convinced me that I should try chat with my students. I will 'start very small', probably with an interview prepared in advance, though the students will decide what to ask. And I sincerely hope that the answers and feedback given will demand some degree of improvisation from them.

The chat platforms I use regularly and am more familiar with are Tapped In and Yahoo Messenger. Both have different scopes and audiences, though a part of these can overlap and easily commute from one to the other, as usually happens with Webheads in Action. While Tapped In caters to a more specific and restricted audience – people from the world of Education –, Yahoo Messenger is targeted at a general and comprehensive audience – the general public. Nevertheless, it can provide the type of privacy there is in a cyber office at Tapped In by enabling private conferences to which guests are invited, thus avoiding the danger of undesirable interferences.

tapped In (short for Teacher Professional Development Institute) is a virtual environment that "helps professional development projects, education agencies, philanthropic organizations, and for-profit organizations use the Internet to connect with and support teachers via the Web"[3]. It "is a CyberCampus where teachers and other education professionals create, shape, and participate in their own professional community"[4]. A visit to the 'Calendar' page will give you an exact picture of the daily activities that go on in this multi-user virtual environment.

What, specifically, can teachers get out of it? They can "log in to share experiences, find and contribute educational resources, hold real-time meetings, conduct collaborative inquiries, and meet new colleagues"[5], guide peers in different areas, talk about how they carry out their projects, or, at times, simply get together and socialize – certainly an important part of life whether in the real world or in virtual reality!

And how can students benefit? Well, they can be taken to this cyber environment by their teachers to (1) talk 'through their fingertips' with peers from any part of the world, (2) debate current and real-world issues with them as they happen, (3) carry out exchanges and projects with other classes, and (4) 'hear' experts on different fields, talk to them, ask them questions and get immediate answers. Students can also be left to work on their own, in groups, while the teacher monitors in the background and later reads the session log to have a clearer overview of what went on. Or they can go there on their own (previous arrangements are necessary, though) and the teacher can also get the logs of those sessions. Tapped In has a set of procedures regarding access to students. For example, "visiting students must be sponsored by one or more TAPPED IN members [e.g., their teacher] who will take responsibility for their conduct"[6].

These different activities will certainly contribute to features that are more and more important in the learning process of the present and future: autonomy and independence, on the one hand, team work, collaboration and cooperation, on the other, in addition to awareness of the real world out there and of the multicultural diversity it holds.

My experience as a teacher-trainee/student at Tapped In with the Webhead community has been based primarily on our weekly Sunday two-hour chat with other members from four continents: the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. So many sessions later, it still feels thrilling (sometimes it even causes goose bumps) to be talking through the keyboard with friends as far away as Argentina, the U.S. (Arizona, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Australia, and as close as Spain, Denmark, France and Germany.

There is no pre-determined topic for our weekly 'live talks', but there are always things to talk about or have fun with. This has definitely helped us get to know one another better, has decisively contributed to the solid foundations we built and has constantly strengthened the close bonds we formed.

We have often used Tapped In for individual or group presentations. There are two simple ways of doing it: have the text previously prepared in small chunks and copy it to the text area at a certain pace, giving everyone time to read it; or project the Web pages that you have prepared in advance, one at a time.

My first virtual presentation, a joint venture with my two close friends, Dafne Gonzalez in Spain and Susanne Nyrop in Denmark, was for the Webhead community at Tapped In. Each of us prepared pages about Carnival in Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Venice, and projected them during our February 10^th chat, calling attention to special celebrations and pictures, answering questions, making comments, drinking 'virtual' caipirinha and having fun! I imagine it is hard to 'imagine' all this. You have to experience it!

yahoo messenger is another very popular chat platform among the Webhead community. Besides its user-friendliness (for Windows users, at least) and the possibility of holding private conferences, there is an additional and very attractive feature – audio! the use of voice! –, which obviously provides extremely relevant potential for language learning, turning it into what I call the '4 in 1 tool': a single application that allows practice, reinforcement and consolidation of the four basic skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking, without any fuss or complication. An inexpensive microphone is all you need!

However, if you want to enhance your chat session even further and give it that extra special touch, get a web cam. What an exciting experience it is when you actually see your friends live on the screen for the first time! Anyway, whether you use just text, text and voice, or text, voice and video, this is state-of-the-art communication!

Both Tapped In and Yahoo Messenger have been our faithful support platforms for several real-time events we have participated in such as Tesol Arabia 2002 (scroll down to Vance Stevens), TESOL 2002 and the Tapped In Summer Carnival 2002 (click on "A Cooking Lesson with Webheads"), a 12-hour extremely well-organized virtual marathon of presentations and discussions by educators in several fields. Believe it or not, at times during the frantic clicking from session to session, I actually thought I was attending a real conference!

The latest event, though in a different platform, was Global Day Learn VI, a 24-hour live marathon of presentations, questions and answers, and debates, covering all time zones.

Whether at Yahoo Messenger or Tapped In, the setting for language learning is 'cyberspace'. No, it's not science-fiction. It's virtual, but it's real. It's virtually real! The emphasis is on communication, on development of communicative skills and on the use of authentic language, – something teachers generally have difficulty promoting in a traditional classroom. How? By carrying out an assigned task: hosting a 'knowledge bowl' between distant schools, writing collaboratively or creating projects with students at other schools. Or interviewing someone, exchanging ideas about a set topic, discussing an event, situation or problem of the 'real' world, with 'real' people, in 'real' time. Comments, answers, suggestions and feedback are immediate.

Aiden Yeh, a Webhead colleague from Taiwan, recently introduced her students to our weekly sessions at Tapped In. It has been a success so far! During their first session, they met several Webheads and tried to get acquainted with an exclusively text-chat environment. There was a natural sense of confusion and a certain feeling of 'chaotic navigation' (an expression borrowed from Susanne Nyrop) due to the multiple threads/topics of conversation and fast flow of text scrolling down the screen (both features take time to get used to). In short, there were mixed feelings about this multi-user environment, as you can infer from some comments of theirs – typos and mistakes remain, because they are absolutely natural in such a fast-paced setting (Tapped In log, 22 Sep. 2002):

At Yahoo Messenger, all options are available. You can start with text only chat and then take a step further and give students practice in pure 'chatting', talking to one another through voice. The types of activities can be very similar to the ones just referred. How they are organized and carried out is up to the teacher. But, rest assured, it will bring added excitement to the learning process!

Communication environments such as these offer different possibilities, but the main goal is ultimately the same in the case of a foreign language – intensive communication whether it's just reading and writing, or speaking and listening, or all four, so students can improve their fluency in productive and receptive skills.

Integrating chat in the EFL (ESL) classroom not only adds potential to the learning process, but also has several and diversified advantages. I believe the first one is the fact that an extra tool represents 'added' value. More so when it's a communication tool such as this one, working in real time and running on a computer, a device that usually appeals to students and with which they relate to and feel comfortable with. On the one hand, it can be powerfully motivating and bring enormous excitement to what is generally a difficult process – learning a language; on the other, the target language will be learnt by interacting with real people, in a real (though virtual) environment, using language people normally use in the real world.

Besides, chat encourages collaborative or cooperative learning that not only allows "students to take some control of their learning, working together producing joint products", but is also "process oriented rather than product oriented and very different from traditional approaches to teaching" (Maier et al. 122). Through it, "small groups of learners may be providing . . . support and guidance to each other. . ." (Maier et al. 22). Through it, team work and group skills will be developed and enhanced.

Whether these different levels of interaction open up and broaden cultural and multicultural horizons, or awareness of the outside world or merely new contacts, they will certainly contribute to a fuller enrichment on an academic, professional, sociocultural and personal basis.

Communicative skills and technological competencies – a part of the so-called computer literacy – are other advantages to be obtained from synchronous (and asynchronous) means of communication.

In addition to the communicative, language, group and technological skills, chat develops socialization or social skills: greeting others, introducing yourself, leave taking, etc.

Furthermore, through chat, students can develop different 'transferable skills' – "general skills relevant to the world of work" – such as communicating, group work, personal and interpersonal skills, as well as organizational skills (Maier et al. 11-12).

Obviously, not everything is 'a sea of roses' in the chat scenario. As happens with most anything in life, real or virtual, there is the other side of the coin: the disadvantages, at times, rather frustrating!

I will briefly focus on three types: technical problems, project/session management and language. I will start with language since it is one of the three reasons that brought us to this international conference.

The abbreviated-oversimplified-instant-messaging-type language that is coming more and more into use nowadays, especially among the younger generations, is obviously related to these new communication media such as email, chat and cellular phones.

This language point is very well laid out in a recent article titled "Nu Shortcuts in School R 2 Much 4 Teachers" (Jennifer 8. Lee), published in the New York Times online edition. The title is catchy and at once suggests the content. In it, an eighth-grade teacher refers to these simplifications as the students' "online lingua franca: English adapted for the spitfire conversational style of Internet messaging". But, she argues, "[kids] should know where to draw the line between formal writing and conversational writing", which I totally subscribe.

Nevertheless, I feel there is a need for the type of flexibility expressed by a second teacher who says: "When my children are writing first drafts, I don't care how they spell anything, as long as they are writing. If this lingo gets their thoughts and ideas onto paper quicker ['frees their creativity' in yet another teacher's words], the more power to them." I think the same can be said about chat (and email as well), because the main aim is for communication, especially in a foreign or second class where 'that' is often difficult to generate. However, when editing and revising a formal text, we should expect students to switch to standard English.

At the management level, there are at least two aspects that may need careful planning and adjustment: time management and number of participants. As chat is a synchronous form of communication, different and distant time zones can make it very difficult, even impossible, for everybody to get together at the same time. So there is often a need to pre-program sessions and adapt them to class hours or leisure time of everyone involved. On the other hand, there are chat platforms that set a low limit to the number of people that can meet at one time. Though this is not the case with the platforms I dealt with, it is a point to bear in mind when exploring others.

We finally arrive at the technical side: (partial) incompatibilities between operating systems – Windows versus Mac –, for example, that have caused technical inconveniences of different sorts among the Webhead community.

While the majority of Webheads are Windows users and haven't reported any technical constraints at Tapped In, nor any of a relevant nature at Yahoo Messenger, Mac users have had constant problems with voice and video at Yahoo Messenger.

Concerning limitations of connection speed, as may be the case with a dial-up connection when using voice and video at Yahoo Messenger – "Yahoo can be erratic [with voice] over narrow-band connections", says Vance Stevens (Email, 28 April 2002) –, here is a significant comment to the 'call for help' I recently sent to the Webheads:

I suppose it is safe to conclude that for the '2 in 1' mode – text and voice –, Yahoo Messenger seems to work well with a slower connection, though problems may arise with the '3 in 1' mode – text, audio and video –, specifically when trying to work with both audio and video at the same time. Video can interfere with voice and even cause the system to crash. Thus, it seems advisable to have a faster, broadband connection if you want to include videoconferencing.

None of these technical problems occur with email, where there are no time or number limitations, and where the connection speed is irrelevant when sending or receiving normal messages (without graphics, audio or video files attached).

Since both forms of communication do not exclude each other, nor are they conflicting, on the contrary, they are two different but complementary sides of a same coin, mixing both is a consideration to bear in mind.

Both are communication tools that can be used in the EFL (ESL) classroom to extend the learning process well beyond the traditional four walls, because both are powerful and effective forms of communication. And although each one has its specific characteristics, both contribute to the same basic aim – communication!

The coming together of email and chat in the language classroom is a more fascinating, authentic and enriching experience than using just one of them. It facilitates and intensifies the interactions and the language practice, encourages reflection (with email there is time to think about what we want to say) and caters to a wider range of students, from the faster-paced and more outgoing to the slower-paced and more introverted ones.

Whether you are introducing a new technique or strategy in class, or using new hardware or software, first and foremost, you should feel comfortable with it. The same applies to chat, so, explore and experiment with it extensively in advance.

When using chat for educational purposes, I believe that great care should be taken in the choice of platform, particularly when grade school students are involved.

The amount of guidance and autonomy given to students during their first virtual communication sessions is a personal matter, however, I think it is closely related to the teacher's knowledge of the class or groups involved, the students' age, language level and technological know-how or computer literacy. Gradual introduction in one mode, then in the other, with small groups at first, then larger ones, is probably a wiser decision in order to avoid daunting or discouraging students. Start small and build on their experience!

Set tasks or a topic to be discussed in each session, even with older students. Monitor them while they are on line. Go from group to group. Then monitor their work more carefully off line: read the log or saved version of each session for a better overview and assessment of the work done.

If you are working at the higher education level, consider giving students extra credits to encourage use of these tools.

I hope to have given you an idea of how fascinating these environments can be and of the excitement and enrichment they can bring to learning English as a Foreign (or Second) Language. However, I have also tried to show that not everything 'rolls on wheels' at all times. There are pros and cons, as with (most) everything in life. Now and then there are unexpected technical 'glitches', even with broadband connections, and obstacles of different sorts to overcome. There is a lot of time involved in experimenting with and exploring these online synchronous tools. And there is a lot of time involved in exchanging ideas and 'scaffolding' one another in order to learn how to communicate effectively worldwide so that we can put that knowledge into practice with our students, whether in the traditional classroom or at a distance. But there is also a lot of fun, healthy socializing, mutual support and true friendship. This is all part of what has kept the Webheads in Action community of practice together "beyond the scope of its mandate" (Vance Stevens), alive, active and always 'on the move'!

By describing the type of work that this community has carried out for almost a year, first as trainees, then as practitioners, and in a very near future as facilitators, I hope to have given you an idea of the different types of potential that synchronous means of communication hold (1) for intense, real and real-time practice of language in the traditional face-to-face classroom or at a distance, (2) for community building online and (3) for professional development.

I don't really know if I have succeeded in 'making a case' for the educational use of chat in the EFL (and ESL) classroom. What I do know is that I believe the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, therefore, I have definitely decided to give it a first try with my seventh grade students. Details of the sessions, including their reactions, will be uploaded to my Web page!

Lee, Jennifer 8. "Nu Shortcuts in School R 2 Much 4 Teachers". The New York Times on the Web. 19 Sep. 2002. Online. Internet. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/technology/circuits/19MESS.html. 20 Sep. 2002.

Maier, Pat, Liz Barnett, Adam Warren, and David Brunner. Using Technology in Teaching and Learning. London: Stirling, 1998.

[1] Adapted from Diaz-Rico, Lynne T. "Mentoring the TESOL Professional". TESOL Matters. Vol. 12, No. 2 (9+). March/April/May 2002.

[2] Read about these first impressions in more detail at "Webheads in Action and Me: Personal Impressions".

[3] Cited from TAPPED IN Virtual Environment and Support Services. A visit to this page will give a better picture of the services offered.

[4] Cited from Self-Guided Web Tour. It is very important to visit this page to get acquainted with the environment and get started.

[5] Cited from Self-Guided Web Tour.

[6] Cited from Guidelines for Use with Students.