Task-based Computer-mediated Negotiation in an Efl Context: the Ins and Outs of Online Negotiation of Meaning Using Language Learning Tasks

The book mainly investigates task-based, synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) among EFL learners of English. It specifically explores (a) how learners negotiate for meaning when they interact in CMC in terms of frequency of negotiations, its causes, and the phases of resolving communication breakdown, (b) the relationship between the task type and the amount of negotiation that transpires, and (c) the learners? perceptions about their task-based interaction in CMC. 24 NNS-NNS dyads collaboratively completed 6 communicative tasks falling under 3 task types while chatting in Moodle. The interaction scripts reveal that learners do negotiate for meaning in CMC when communication breaks down. The causes of these negotiations varied in the chat scripts but they were mainly content and lexical triggers. The observed differences in the online negotiations call for a new model of computer-mediated negotiation. The results also suggested that task type did have an effect on how much learners negotiated for meaning. Finally the interview data revealed the different views the learners held about the tasks and how they influenced their interaction, language learning, and their CMC.