Developing sociolinguistic competence through intercultural online exchange

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to investigate whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) intercultural exchange offers the conditions necessary for the development of the sociolinguistic competence of second language learners. Non-native speakers (NNS) of French in British Columbia interacted through CMC with native speakers (NS) of French in Quebec over the course of one university semester. Drawing on the sociocultural perspective, this study used a qualitative approach to analyse the collected data. The data included the transcripts of text-based chat discussions and of a discussion forum. The framework used to guide the sociolinguistic inquiry consisted of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001). The findings of this study suggest that intercultural CMC exchange offers positive conditions for the development of the sociolinguistic competence. NNS were exposed to stylistic variation and made minor changes in their use of sociolinguistic elements, showing that they developed sensitivity to the vernacular style used by NS. The results also allow for a general description of the sociolinguistic elements involved in this type of exchange.