2015 IJRSET – Volume 4 Issue 2
Author/s:
Tahriri, Abdorreza*
Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Iran (atahriri@gmail.com)
Hassaskhah, Jaleh
Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Iran (jaleh_hassaskhah@yahoo.com)
Mozafarian Pour, Azadeh
Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Iran (amozafarianpour@gmail.com)
Abstract:
This study sought to investigate the impact of Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) on EFL learners’ motivation. To this end, 26 upper-intermediate female students from a language institute in Ahwaz, Iran participated in the present study. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. The two experimental groups received instruction in writing over two different Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) mediums over the internet, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) (n = 8) and 2 Dimensional (2D) (n = 8) while the control group received instruction in a conventional face-to-face (F2F) classroom environment (n = 10). The data were collected through an Attitude/Motivation questionnaire prior to and after the experiment. The results of paired-samples t-tests showed that all three groups’ level of motivation increased after the experiment; however, the results of one-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests revealed that only the differences between the experimental and control groups were statistically significant, F (2788.56, 3400.97) = 9.42, p = .001. In addition, the difference between the two experimental groups (IRC and 2D) was not found to be significant. The findings of the present study might provide EFL instructors with practical guidelines on how on-line instruction could be planned to boost EFL learners’ motivation.
Keywords: Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC); IRC; 2D; motivation; EFL
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrset.2015.1053
*Corresponding Author