Mutually Beneficial Foreign Language Learning: Creating Meaningful Interactions Through Video‐Synchronous Computer‐Mediated Communication
Fumie Kato (PhD, University of Sydney) is Associate Professor of Languages and Culture Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Ryan Spring (PhD, Tohoku University) is Senior Assistant Professor at the Institute of Excellence in Higher Education, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Chikako Mori (MEd, Ohio University) is Senior Lecturer of Languages and Culture Studies, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Abstract
Providing learners of a foreign language with meaningful opportunities for interactions, specifically with native speakers, is especially challenging for instructors. One way to overcome this obstacle is through video‐synchronous computer‐mediated communication tools such as Skype software. This study reports quantitative and qualitative data from a Skype partner program that emphasized meaningful communication between American students learning Japanese in the United States and Japanese students learning English in Japan. Analysis of pre‐ and posttests showed significant improvement in the listening and speaking abilities of the Japanese participants and in the speaking abilities of the American participants.
