Tandem learning on the Internet: Learner interactions in virtual online environments (MOOs) (Foreign Language Teaching in Europe)

The study investigates interactions between 29 tandem partners from a German and a North American university, who met twice a week in a text-based online environment that allowed them to communicate with each other in real time via a computer keyboard. The analysis focuses on learners’ codeswitching, negotiation of meaning, error correction, and the use of specific spellings and punctuation.
The data suggest that most partners complied with the principle of reciprocity and that the non-threatening atmosphere of the MOO encouraged them to test their hypotheses about their L2. Moreover, the analysis revealed a noticeable increase in learners’ awareness of the target language. All students frequently engaged in negotiation of meaning, but there was a conspicuous absence of corrective feedback.

The Author: Markus Kötter completed his studies in English and German in 1996. He then taught for a year at the University of Münster before he joined the British Open University in 1998 to coordinate the FLUENT project and other pilot studies into the use of audio-conferencing and -graphics systems in distance language learning and teaching. In 2001 he returned to Münster, where he currently teaches at the English department.