Selected Peer-reviewed Articles by Bryan Smith
This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technolog... more This article offers a capacious view of technology to suggest broad principles relating technology and language use, language teaching, and language learning. The first part of the article considers some of the ways that technological media influence contexts and forms of expression and communication. In the second part, a set of heuristic questions is proposed to help guide language teachers and researchers in determining how to incorporate technology into their teaching practice or research agenda and evaluate its suitability and impact. These questions are based primarily on the goal of helping learners to pay critical attention to the culturally encoded connections among forms, contexts, meanings, and ideologies that they will encounter and produce in different mediums, both traditional and new.
Digital communication technologies both complexify and help to reveal the dynamics of human commu... more Digital communication technologies both complexify and help to reveal the dynamics of human communicative activity and capacity for identity performance. Addressing current scholarship on second language use and development, this review article
examines research on identity in digital settings either as a design element of educational practice or as a function of participation in noninstitutionally located online cultures.We also address new frontiers and communication in the digital wilds, as it were, and here we focus on cultural production in fandom sites and the processes of transcultural authoring and community building visible in these settings.
"This study investigated whether eye-tracking technology could be employed as a measure of notici... more "This study investigated whether eye-tracking technology could be employed as a measure of noticing of corrective feedback (in the form of explicit recasts) during NS-NNS task-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Pairs of university-level learners of English (n = 18) engaged in a short chat interaction task with a native speaker, who provided intensive and explicit corrective recasts. Participants‘ eye gaze record was compared to that from a stimulated recall. Noticing events (increased visual attention) were compiled and compared from each technique to determine whether these two techniques yielded similar data. Noticing events from each technique were also compared to results of immediate and delayed post tests of the targeted items. Results confirm the strength of both measures as methods for measuring what learners notice in the corrective feedback during SCMC. Further, the eye tracking and stimulated recall data also suggest that although learners engage in similar amounts of viewing activity across recasts targeting various linguistic categories, they are able to notice semantic and syntactic targets more easily than morphological targets. Results are discussed in terms of eye tracking as a potentially valuable tool in exploring the nature of noticing in instructed SLA and also in terms of argued benefits of CMC for language learning.
Keywords: Eye Tracking, Corrective Feedback, Recasts, Noticing, CMC"
Information and communication technologies have never been more interesting due in large part to ... more Information and communication technologies have never been more interesting due in large part to their intimate integration into everyday life. Second and foreign language researchers and educators have long recognized the potential of technology to provide access to input and rehearsal (recordings, tutorials and drills), to amplify possibilities for personal expression (text and media processing), to extend existing and enable new opportunities for interpersonal communication (synchronous and asynchronous messaging), and most recently, considerable interest has been focused on social media and social networking environments that have de facto become fused with the activity of real (and not merely 'virtual') life.
Information and communication technologies have never been more interesting due in large part to ... more Information and communication technologies have never been more interesting due in large part to their intimate integration into everyday life. Second and foreign language researchers and educators have long recognized the potential of technology to provide access to input and rehearsal (recordings, tutorials and drills), to amplify possibilities for personal expression (text and media processing), to extend existing and enable new opportunities for interpersonal communication (synchronous and asynchronous messaging), and most recently, considerable interest has been focused on social media and social networking environments that have de facto become fused with the activity of real (and not merely 'virtual') life.
This study examines the linguistic complexity and lexical diversity of both overt
and covert L2 ... more This study examines the linguistic complexity and lexical diversity of both overt
and covert L2 output produced during synchronous written computer-mediated
communication, also referred to as chat. Video enhanced chatscripts produced
by university learners of German (N= 23) engaged in dyadic task-based chat
interaction were coded and analyzed for syntactic complexity (ratio of clauses
to c-units), productive use of grammatical gender, and lexical diversity (Index of
Guiraud). Results show that chat output that exhibits evidence of online planning
in the form of post-production monitoring displays significantly greater
linguistic complexity and lexical diversity than chat output that does not exhibit
similar evidence of online planning. These findings suggest that L2 learners do
appear to use the increased online (i.e. moment-by-moment) planning time
afforded by chat to engage in careful production and monitoring.
The research on text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication
(SCMC), while generally a... more The research on text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication
(SCMC), while generally acknowledging the potential benefits afforded by the
medium’s capacity for extensive self-repair, has done little in the way of exploration
of the nature of such text. Indeed, until quite recently, output logs have been
favored almost exclusively at the expense of richer records of the interaction that
can better account for this deleted text. Another basic aspect of SCMC interaction
is the occurrence of interruptions initiated by one’s interlocutor during the message
composition phase. The possible effect of these interruptions on the chat
interaction, however, has again been largely ignored in the literature. This study
examines the relationship between these interruptions and deleted text as well as the
effect such interruptions have on the subsequent output produced by learners.
This study explores the relationship between scrolling, negotiated interaction, and selfinitiated... more This study explores the relationship between scrolling, negotiated interaction, and selfinitiated self-repair (SISR) in a task-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) foreign language learning environment. Pairs of adult learners of German engaged in four jigsaw tasks over the course of one university semester. Video screen capture software was employed to record the written interaction of each participant. Results suggest that in an SCMC environment learners engage in more SISR of grammatical aspects of their own output than lexical aspects. Results also show a negative correlation between the amount of scrolling and negotiation of meaning. No significant correlation was found between scrolling and SISR. Recommendations for a methodological shift in data collection and analysis approaches by CALL researchers are made with the present data illustrating the importance of such a shift.
Synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) has been shown to have direct and indirect ben... more Synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) has been shown to have direct and indirect benefits for classroom-based second language development. This paper reports on a classroom-based study that explores some of these potential benefits for younger learners of English in a North American (US) public school ESL classroom setting. Data from learner-learner chat interaction are used to illustrate several of these potential benefits as well as some drawbacks to using such a pedagogical approach with younger language learners.
The current study provides guidance for both junior computer-assisted language learning
(CALL) r... more The current study provides guidance for both junior computer-assisted language learning
(CALL) researchers as they decide on the most appropriate forms and placement of scholarly
activity and also for decision makers attempting to evaluate the scholarly activity of these CALL
researchers in their quest for promotion and tenure. In this study, data from 35 online surveys
from established CALL researchers were examined to determine their expert opinions on
the quality of CALL-specific and general applied linguistics journals. These scholars were also
asked to list the criteria they used to rank these journals and comment on the types of scholarly
activity most beneficial to junior CALL scholars. Results suggest that the single most important
element in the scholarly dossier of a CALL researcher is a series of refereed scholarly articles in
highly ranked, peer-reviewed journals. A clear qualitative hierarchy of both CALL-specific and
general applied linguistics journals emerged from the data. The data also show that scholars
agree that the “best” journals for CALL research are those that reflect the highest quality
of relevant articles and those that make a significant contribution to the field. Markedly less
important to these CALL experts in determining journal quality are those more “objective”
measures of quality such as acceptance rate, impact factor, and circulation.
This paper reports on a study of the use of self-repair among learners of German in a taskbased
... more This paper reports on a study of the use of self-repair among learners of German in a taskbased
CMC environment. The purpose of the study was two-fold. The first goal sought to
establish how potential interpretations of CMC data may be very different depending on
the method of data collection and evaluation employed. The second goal was to explicitly
examine the nature of CMC self-repair in the task-based foreign language CALL
classroom. Paired participants (n=46) engaged in six jigsaw tasks over the course of one
university semester via the chat function in Blackboard. Chat data were evaluated first by
using only the chat log file and second by examining a video file of the screen capture of
the entire interaction. Results show a fundamental difference in the interpretation of the
chat interaction which varies as a function of the data collection and evaluation methods
employed. The findings also suggest a possible difference in the nature of self-repair
across face-to-face and SCMC environments. In view of the results, this paper calls for
CALL researchers to abandon the reliance on printed chat log files when attempting to
interpret SCMC interactional data.
Smith, B. (2007). Theoretical and methodological considerations in applied linguistics research on computer-mediated communication. Studies in Languages and Language Teaching Journal, 14, 64-75.
The present study builds on recent uptake research (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001a, 2001b; Ly... more The present study builds on recent uptake research (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001a, 2001b; Lyster & Ranta, 1997) by exploring the relationship between negotiated interaction, a type of focus on form episode, and learner uptake. The study explores whether a negotiation routine's complexity affects learner uptake and if this uptake affects lexical acquisition in a synchronous computer-mediated environment. The data are chatscripts of task-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) interaction among intermediate-level learners of English (n = 24). Results suggest that the complexity of negotiation routines does not influence learner uptake. Findings also suggest that there is no relationship between degree of uptake (none, unsuccessful, and suc- cessful) and the acquisition of target lexical items. These results suggest a possible diminished role for uptake in SLA in a CMC environment. The pedagogical application of these findings includes a word of caution to classroom teachers to adjust their expectations about the relationship between learner uptake and acquisition. In attempting to explain the acquisition of target vocabulary items during task-based CMC interaction, teachers should focus on the nuances of negotiated interaction as well as more subtle indications of acquisition rather than learner uptake per se.
Research on interaction has provided important insights on how second languages may be acquired t... more Research on interaction has provided important insights on how second languages may be acquired through interaction, and on how second language learners use their second language in various settings and tasks. Research into computer mediated communication (CMC) in a second language learning context has been a logical outcome of interactionist research. In CMC interactionist research it is typically the case that the products of data collection and objects of analysis are linear transcripts or chat logs. While these transcripts may help us to better understand the nature of learnersÕ interactions, they are essentially one-dimensional in nature, not allowing one to coordinate learnersÕ actions (utterances, gestures, changes in body posture, etc.) with the language they create during interactions. In this paper, we report on the use of a usability lab (UL) in gathering data on synchronous CMC (SCMC) among non-native English dyads. This UL allowed us to capture video, audio, and screen capture for all SCMC sessions. We demonstrate that this methodological approach coupled with a proposed coding technique brings to light many nuances of SCMC interaction that are obscured when relying on printed chatscripts alone.
Research on interaction has provided important insights on how second languages may be
acquired ... more Research on interaction has provided important insights on how second languages may be
acquired through interaction, and on how second language learners use their second language
in various settings and tasks. Research into computer mediated communication (CMC) in a
second language learning context has been a logical outcome of interactionist research. In
CMC interactionist research it is typically the case that the products of data collection and
objects of analysis are linear transcripts or chat logs. While these transcripts may help us to
better understand the nature of learners interactions, they are essentially one-dimensional
in nature, not allowing one to coordinate learners actions (utterances, gestures, changes in
body posture, etc.) with the language they create during interactions. In this paper, we report
on the use of a usability lab (UL) in gathering data on synchronous CMC (SCMC) among
non-native English dyads. This UL allowed us to capture video, audio, and screen capture
for all SCMC sessions. We demonstrate that this methodological approach coupled with a
proposed coding technique brings to light many nuances of SCMC interaction that are
obscured when relying on printed chatscripts alone.
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Arguing against the common perception of technology as passive, neutral,
and universal, this art... more Arguing against the common perception of technology as passive, neutral,
and universal, this article presents a theoretical analysis of a commonly
used and frequently studied technology—Computer Mediated Communication
(CMC)—to illustrate how a technology that is often undistinguished in
practice and research is indeed active, biased, and specific.We then report two
exploratory studies that attempt to test the proposed framework with empirical
evidence. The findings suggest that differences in the features of two CMC
sub-technologies result in different effects on student-student interactions and
vocabulary learning. We are able to both theoretically and empirically demonstrate
that CMC technology can be realized in multiple forms and shapes, each
of which has its own individual characteristics. These different characteristics
are distributed across four different dimensions: temporality, spatiality,
identity, and modality. Depending on their relative location on these dimensions, these characteristics have significant impact on student online
behaviors in terms of social, linguistic, and psychological expressions.
Although the two empirical studies were preliminary due to their sample size
and quasi-experimental nature, they did positively confirm the view that each
technology has unique features that actively shapes potential uses and users.
This article presents a theoretical analysis of a commonly used and frequently studied
technolog... more This article presents a theoretical analysis of a commonly used and frequently studied
technology—computer mediated communication (CMC)—to illustrate how a technology that
is often undistinguished in research and practice and often considered passive and neutral in
nature is indeed active and biased. We then report an exploratory study of a networked ESL
classroom that attempts to test a proposed framework for distinguishing and evaluating CMC
technologies with empirical evidence. The findings suggest that differences in the features of
the two CMC sub-technologies considered result in different effects on student–student interactions
and learner perceptions. We demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that synchronous
CMC technology can be realized in multiple forms and shapes, and, therefore, must
be considered not as a uniform entity but viewed rather in terms of its own individual characteristics.
These different characteristics are delineated across four dimensions: temporality,
anonymity, modality, and spatiality. Combinations of these characteristics are shown to have
a significant impact on student online behaviors in terms of social, linguistic, and psychological
expressions. Although the present study is only preliminary due to its sample size, it
confirms the view that individual technologies employed in a computer-assisted language
learning (CALL) context must be considered independently in terms of their unique features.
This study examines task-based, synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC)
among intermed... more This study examines task-based, synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC)
among intermediate-level learners of English. The research specifically explores (a) whether
learners engage in negotiated interaction when they encounter new lexical items, (b) whether
task type has an effect on the amount of negotiation that transpires, and (c) how this
computer-mediated negotiation compares to that noted in the face-to-face literature. Fourteen
nonnative–nonnative dyads collaboratively completed 4 communicative tasks using ChatNet,
a browser-based chat program. Each dyad completed 2 jigsaw and 2 decision-making tasks,
which were each “seeded” with 8 target lexical items. The chatscripts reveal that learners do
in fact negotiate for meaning in the CMC environment when nonunderstanding occurs.
Furthermore, task type was found to have a definite influence on the extent to which learners
engaged in negotiation, but not necessarily in the same way that has been observed in the
face-to-face literature. Though the negotiation that occurs in the CMC environment proceeds
in ways that are roughly similar to face-to-face negotiation, the observed differences call for a
new model of computer-mediated negotiation. This new model is presented as a more accurate
tool for describing computer-mediated negotiated interaction than those offered to chart
face-to-face negotiation episodes.
This within-groups study examines communication strategy use among adult learners of
English in ... more This within-groups study examines communication strategy use among adult learners of
English in a computer-mediated environment. Specifically, communication strategies
employed during problem-free discourse as well as compensatory strategy use during taskbased
computer-mediated communication (CMC) were explored. This strategy use was also
examined relative to communicative task type (jigsawand decision-making). The data suggest
that learners use a wide array of communication strategies during task-based CMC and that
the CMC environment shapes this use. Learners also employed various compensatory strategies
while navigating the tasks. However, though there is modest evidence that task type
influences compensatory strategy use, these strategies were found to be equally effective in
terms of subsequent acquisition of target lexical items embedded in the tasks.
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Selected Peer-reviewed Articles by Bryan Smith
examines research on identity in digital settings either as a design element of educational practice or as a function of participation in noninstitutionally located online cultures.We also address new frontiers and communication in the digital wilds, as it were, and here we focus on cultural production in fandom sites and the processes of transcultural authoring and community building visible in these settings.
Keywords: Eye Tracking, Corrective Feedback, Recasts, Noticing, CMC"
and covert L2 output produced during synchronous written computer-mediated
communication, also referred to as chat. Video enhanced chatscripts produced
by university learners of German (N= 23) engaged in dyadic task-based chat
interaction were coded and analyzed for syntactic complexity (ratio of clauses
to c-units), productive use of grammatical gender, and lexical diversity (Index of
Guiraud). Results show that chat output that exhibits evidence of online planning
in the form of post-production monitoring displays significantly greater
linguistic complexity and lexical diversity than chat output that does not exhibit
similar evidence of online planning. These findings suggest that L2 learners do
appear to use the increased online (i.e. moment-by-moment) planning time
afforded by chat to engage in careful production and monitoring.
(SCMC), while generally acknowledging the potential benefits afforded by the
medium’s capacity for extensive self-repair, has done little in the way of exploration
of the nature of such text. Indeed, until quite recently, output logs have been
favored almost exclusively at the expense of richer records of the interaction that
can better account for this deleted text. Another basic aspect of SCMC interaction
is the occurrence of interruptions initiated by one’s interlocutor during the message
composition phase. The possible effect of these interruptions on the chat
interaction, however, has again been largely ignored in the literature. This study
examines the relationship between these interruptions and deleted text as well as the
effect such interruptions have on the subsequent output produced by learners.
(CALL) researchers as they decide on the most appropriate forms and placement of scholarly
activity and also for decision makers attempting to evaluate the scholarly activity of these CALL
researchers in their quest for promotion and tenure. In this study, data from 35 online surveys
from established CALL researchers were examined to determine their expert opinions on
the quality of CALL-specific and general applied linguistics journals. These scholars were also
asked to list the criteria they used to rank these journals and comment on the types of scholarly
activity most beneficial to junior CALL scholars. Results suggest that the single most important
element in the scholarly dossier of a CALL researcher is a series of refereed scholarly articles in
highly ranked, peer-reviewed journals. A clear qualitative hierarchy of both CALL-specific and
general applied linguistics journals emerged from the data. The data also show that scholars
agree that the “best” journals for CALL research are those that reflect the highest quality
of relevant articles and those that make a significant contribution to the field. Markedly less
important to these CALL experts in determining journal quality are those more “objective”
measures of quality such as acceptance rate, impact factor, and circulation.
CMC environment. The purpose of the study was two-fold. The first goal sought to
establish how potential interpretations of CMC data may be very different depending on
the method of data collection and evaluation employed. The second goal was to explicitly
examine the nature of CMC self-repair in the task-based foreign language CALL
classroom. Paired participants (n=46) engaged in six jigsaw tasks over the course of one
university semester via the chat function in Blackboard. Chat data were evaluated first by
using only the chat log file and second by examining a video file of the screen capture of
the entire interaction. Results show a fundamental difference in the interpretation of the
chat interaction which varies as a function of the data collection and evaluation methods
employed. The findings also suggest a possible difference in the nature of self-repair
across face-to-face and SCMC environments. In view of the results, this paper calls for
CALL researchers to abandon the reliance on printed chat log files when attempting to
interpret SCMC interactional data.
acquired through interaction, and on how second language learners use their second language
in various settings and tasks. Research into computer mediated communication (CMC) in a
second language learning context has been a logical outcome of interactionist research. In
CMC interactionist research it is typically the case that the products of data collection and
objects of analysis are linear transcripts or chat logs. While these transcripts may help us to
better understand the nature of learners interactions, they are essentially one-dimensional
in nature, not allowing one to coordinate learners actions (utterances, gestures, changes in
body posture, etc.) with the language they create during interactions. In this paper, we report
on the use of a usability lab (UL) in gathering data on synchronous CMC (SCMC) among
non-native English dyads. This UL allowed us to capture video, audio, and screen capture
for all SCMC sessions. We demonstrate that this methodological approach coupled with a
proposed coding technique brings to light many nuances of SCMC interaction that are
obscured when relying on printed chatscripts alone.
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
and universal, this article presents a theoretical analysis of a commonly
used and frequently studied technology—Computer Mediated Communication
(CMC)—to illustrate how a technology that is often undistinguished in
practice and research is indeed active, biased, and specific.We then report two
exploratory studies that attempt to test the proposed framework with empirical
evidence. The findings suggest that differences in the features of two CMC
sub-technologies result in different effects on student-student interactions and
vocabulary learning. We are able to both theoretically and empirically demonstrate
that CMC technology can be realized in multiple forms and shapes, each
of which has its own individual characteristics. These different characteristics
are distributed across four different dimensions: temporality, spatiality,
identity, and modality. Depending on their relative location on these dimensions, these characteristics have significant impact on student online
behaviors in terms of social, linguistic, and psychological expressions.
Although the two empirical studies were preliminary due to their sample size
and quasi-experimental nature, they did positively confirm the view that each
technology has unique features that actively shapes potential uses and users.
technology—computer mediated communication (CMC)—to illustrate how a technology that
is often undistinguished in research and practice and often considered passive and neutral in
nature is indeed active and biased. We then report an exploratory study of a networked ESL
classroom that attempts to test a proposed framework for distinguishing and evaluating CMC
technologies with empirical evidence. The findings suggest that differences in the features of
the two CMC sub-technologies considered result in different effects on student–student interactions
and learner perceptions. We demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that synchronous
CMC technology can be realized in multiple forms and shapes, and, therefore, must
be considered not as a uniform entity but viewed rather in terms of its own individual characteristics.
These different characteristics are delineated across four dimensions: temporality,
anonymity, modality, and spatiality. Combinations of these characteristics are shown to have
a significant impact on student online behaviors in terms of social, linguistic, and psychological
expressions. Although the present study is only preliminary due to its sample size, it
confirms the view that individual technologies employed in a computer-assisted language
learning (CALL) context must be considered independently in terms of their unique features.
among intermediate-level learners of English. The research specifically explores (a) whether
learners engage in negotiated interaction when they encounter new lexical items, (b) whether
task type has an effect on the amount of negotiation that transpires, and (c) how this
computer-mediated negotiation compares to that noted in the face-to-face literature. Fourteen
nonnative–nonnative dyads collaboratively completed 4 communicative tasks using ChatNet,
a browser-based chat program. Each dyad completed 2 jigsaw and 2 decision-making tasks,
which were each “seeded” with 8 target lexical items. The chatscripts reveal that learners do
in fact negotiate for meaning in the CMC environment when nonunderstanding occurs.
Furthermore, task type was found to have a definite influence on the extent to which learners
engaged in negotiation, but not necessarily in the same way that has been observed in the
face-to-face literature. Though the negotiation that occurs in the CMC environment proceeds
in ways that are roughly similar to face-to-face negotiation, the observed differences call for a
new model of computer-mediated negotiation. This new model is presented as a more accurate
tool for describing computer-mediated negotiated interaction than those offered to chart
face-to-face negotiation episodes.
English in a computer-mediated environment. Specifically, communication strategies
employed during problem-free discourse as well as compensatory strategy use during taskbased
computer-mediated communication (CMC) were explored. This strategy use was also
examined relative to communicative task type (jigsawand decision-making). The data suggest
that learners use a wide array of communication strategies during task-based CMC and that
the CMC environment shapes this use. Learners also employed various compensatory strategies
while navigating the tasks. However, though there is modest evidence that task type
influences compensatory strategy use, these strategies were found to be equally effective in
terms of subsequent acquisition of target lexical items embedded in the tasks.