Making "international friends': A descriptive study of the WASEDA-CCDL chatting experience between ESL and EFL learners

• Main Authors: Carreon, Maria Eda, Misolas, Carmina D., Tan, Neslie Carol C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Linguistics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11727
• Institution: De La Salle University

Interaction is a key component in language learning and this has taken new form with the advent of technology, expanding its possibilities with new venues and wider scopes. ESL and EFL learners have taken advantage of this through the WASEDA-CCDL program which allows them to chat in a non-threatening and spontaneous environment, similar to authentic interaction, that aims to facilitate their language learning. This study collected a total of 18 chat conversations between Japanese and Filipino students participating in the program from June to July 2007. Communicative acts and communicative strategies employed by both language groups were examined and compared to determine possible similarities and differences between EFL and ESL learners. Findings reinforce existing notions of the relative higher competence of ESL and EFL learners. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the chat context in facilitating language learning was investigated.