| This study deals with the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in second language acquisition. While a number of previous studies have reported the positive effects of CMC on language production and attitudes towards communication, most of them measured the effects only within the CMC environment. Following Abrams (2003), I examine whether the CMC benefits are observed in the subsequent oral communication. Twelve learners of Japanese participate in five discussion sessions in CMC and face-to-face (F2F) settings. There are no statistically significant differences in language production or attitudes towards oral communication between the learners who participate in CMC sessions and those in F2F sessions. Overall, no evidence is found to indicate learner's CMC experiences help improve their performance and attitudes in the subsequent oral communication. The results in this study advise prudence in generalizing the effect of CMC in less commonly studied contexts and call for systematic examinations of different variables. |
