global, local comprehension and inferencing. Among the three of them, global comprehension was further proved to be facilitated more by online discussion by the significant difference in the between-group comparison of the collapsed mean scores.
As claimed by previous researchers, negotiation of meaning tends to occur in interactive learning conditions (Van den Branden, 2000), and so did it in this study, through the teachers’ follow-up questions and other members’ responses. Negotiation of meaning enabled the learners to develop their understanding of the reading texts, local understanding of sentences and paragraphs, and even the ability to make inferences by integrating textual clues.
5.2 Implications
The findings of this study might not be remarkable, but some modest contributions have been made to the field of L2 learning, especially in FonF research.
Implications are drawn from this study both from the theoretical perspective to create a niche for this study in FonF research, and from the pragmatic perspective to build up its connections with pedagogical practices in L2 classrooms.
5.2.1 Theoretical perspective
This study seems to contribute theoretically in the following ways: 1) It suggests online discussion as one option for FonF interventions; 2) It attempts to pursue
“balanced development” in FonF research; and 3) It explores the possibility to analyze data from the perspective of Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) in L2 research.
First, the findings of this study confirms that online discussion can be one option for FonF intervention that can lead to successful form learning. The condition of online discussion creates a more comfortable environment for learners to give responses to others, and thus make communication, which is required in FonF intervention, more likely to occur naturally. With the aid of other important FonF principles suggested by previous researchers (e.g. Park, 2005; de la Fuente, 2002)
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such as learner readiness, learners’ attention shifting and production of target forms, effective FonF learning is possible.
Second, this study tries to pursue the ideal of “balanced development” suggested by Han et al. (2008, p.603), and indeed detects some possible relations between learning of word forms and comprehension of input. Besides a promising better effects on word form learning, the online discussion learning condition has also been found to be facilitative to enhance text comprehension, especially global comprehension. It might be inferred that learning word forms might be positively related to text comprehension.
Third, this study provides, far from a model, but a simple example that adopts analysis of data variations to complement research results obtained from conventional statistic methods. Besides quantitative methodology that is commonly used to confirm learning effects in L2 research, investigation into the diachronic learning process is also needed to offer a comprehensive view. As shown in this study, analysis of data variations helped to look into the process of learning occurring in the interventions over time, allowing some intriguing findings to emerge.
5.2.2 Pragmatic perspective
This study explores the possibility to take advantage of teenagers’ fascination with computer-mediated communication (CMC) and include CMC in L2 learning classrooms. With the prevalence of smartphones and tablet computers in modern life, CMC has become one of the main means of communication among teenagers (Insightxploer, 2012; Pollster, 2011; Zhang, 2012), and teenagers specially tend to foster a more open-minded attitude toward CMC than their teachers and parents (Toetenel, 2014; Wang, Woo, Quek, Yang, & Liu, 2012). It can be suggested by this study that instead of a mere distraction from learning, technological gadgets such as smartphones or tablet computers could provide CMC platforms, which aid L2
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learning if used wisely and effectively.
This study has shown that CMC provides a relatively friendly and comfortable environment for learners to communicate with one another, which has been found effective in eliciting more interactions among the learners (cf. Birch & Volkov, 2007;
Kamhi-Stein, 2000; Tower, Latimer, & Hewitt, 2013) and thus able to facilitate their text comprehension in this study. With teachers playing a relatively minor role as a facilitator rather than a controller, the online discussion was led mainly by learners themselves. Learners take the initiative in reading and clarifying the meaning of the text on their own; such initiative learning has been commonly thought to bring successful learning (Lightbown, 1998).
This study also implies that CMC can be beneficial to word form learning.
Although it might take a relatively longer period of time for learners to develop necessary social skills and get used to the heavy cognitive load to have the synchronous discussions online, the possible learning effects brought by CMC is worthy of the efforts.
Despite the fact that a longer period of time might be needed before CMC makes positive learning effect, its effectiveness in easing learners’ pressure in discussion is immediate. As can be observed in this study, it turned out that the learners, high- and low-achievers alike, felt free to produce L2 on the online forum and had fun; some even felt so relaxed that they chatted naturally with their members in L2. One possible explanation for such successful creation of a friendly discussion environment lies in the anonymity and exclusivity of CMC (especially within an online community forum), which ease the learners’ pressure to “speak up” as in traditional classroom discussions. The learners were less hesitant to give responses, their language production was thus more likely to benefit through trial and error. In extreme cases, some low-achievers even seemed to “copy” other members’ answers. Some teachers
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might take it negatively, but considering “copying” as a sign of reading the responses and a minimum exposure to the target forms, CMC might be favored over the cases when they sit in classrooms passively, reluctant to participate in any activities.