Triadic Text-Based SCMC and Focus on Form: Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity

Abstract

This study explored the interactional processes and outcomes of triadic interaction in text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) in relation to fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Three EFL teachers and six Korean college students formed three triads, with one teacher and two students in each. They regularly met twice a week via Windows Live Messenger for communicative interaction. The teachers implemented their focus on form (FonF) lessons by providing corrective feedback, and by answering students’ form-related questions. To a lesser extent, the teachers provided metalinguistic explanation. At the completion of research, the teachers and learners filled out a questionnaire designed to tap into their perceptions of the learners’ fluency, accuracy, and complexity patterns. The chat scripts were analyzed to obtain indicators of fluency, accuracy, and complexity with respect to time progress and task types. The analysis revealed that the learners’linguistic performances were largely influenced by task types rather than linear time progress. Arranging time, preventing student absence, and balancing interaction between two learners were found to be critical in successful implementation of triadic interaction in a SCMC setting. Implications are discussed for future empirical studies of FonF and triadic text-based SCMC.