Computer–Mediated Negotiated Interaction: An Expanded Model

Abstract

This study examines task–based, synchronous computer–mediated communication (CMC) among intermediate–level learners of English. The research specifically explores (a) whether learners engage in negotiated interaction when they encounter new lexical items, (b) whether task type has an effect on the amount of negotiation that transpires, and (c) how this computer–mediated negotiation compares to that noted in the face–to–face literature. Fourteen nonnative–nonnative dyads collaboratively completed 4 communicative tasks using ChatNet, a browser–based chat program. Each dyad completed 2 jigsaw and 2 decision–making tasks, which were each “seeded” with 8 target lexical items. The chatscripts reveal that learners do in fact negotiate for meaning in the CMC environment when nonunderstanding occurs. Furthermore, task type was found to have a definite influence on the extent to which learners engaged in negotiation, but not necessarily in the same way that has been observed in the face–to–face literature. Though the negotiation that occurs in the CMC environment proceeds in ways that are roughly similar to face–to–face negotiation, the observed differences call for a new model of computer–mediated negotiation. This new model is presented as a more accurate tool for describing computer–mediated negotiated interaction than those offered to chart face–to–face negotiation episodes.