An Exploration of Social Interaction and Vocabulary Appropriation among Advanced Adult ESL

233 Pages·2015·0.68 MB·English

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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2005
An Exploration of Social Interaction
and Vocabulary Appropriation Among
Advanced Adult ESL Learners Engaged in a
Threaded Discussion Forum
Su-Lin Tai
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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

AN EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL INTERACTION AND VOCABULARY
APPROPRIATION AMONG ADVANCED ADULT ESL LEARNERS ENGAGED
IN A THREADED DISCUSSION FORUM

By

SU-LIN TAI

A Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Middle and Secondary Education
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2005
The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of

Su-Lin Tai defended on June 17, 2005.

_______________________________
Frank B. Brooks
Professor Directing Dissertation

_______________________________
Vanessa Dennen
Outside Committee Member

_______________________________
Elizabeth Platt
Committee Member

_______________________________
Frederick L. Jenks
Committee Member

Approved:

Pamela Carroll, Interim Department Chair, Department of Middle and Secondary
Education

The Office of Graduates Studies has verified and approved the above named committee
members.

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This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved sister, Su-Chen Tai, who always believed in
me and encouraged me when I felt like giving it up. She supported me spiritually and
financially during the hardship of completion of my study.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my committee members for all their feedback and support. I
am especially grateful to Dr. Frank B. Brooks, my major professor, for his invaluable
advice, guidance, encouragement, and continuous support as well as numerous hours
reading and editing the draft of the dissertation. I appreciate Dr. Dennen jumped in for
help at the last minute. I am also grateful to Dr. Platt for her thoughtful insight and strong
support. I am also thankful to Dr. Jenks for serving on my committee when he needed
more rest for his health.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the Director, Dr. Patrick Kennell, and
the staff of the Center for Intensive English Studies for all their assistance. I am also
thankful to the students who participated in this study.
I am also in debt to my colleagues, Sophia Chen and Dr. Dogossou Abel
Houroumtcho for spending their precious time coding data with me. My appreciation also
goes to all my friends here in Tallahassee and in Taiwan for listening to me, taking me out
for lunch and dinner, and praying for me. This dissertation could not have been completed
without their support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………..ix
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….xi
List of Examples…………………………………………………………………xii
Abstract………………………………………………………………………….xiv

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION…………………………………….… 1

The Statement of the Problem……………………………………….. 1
Purpose of the Sutdy…………………………………………………. 3
Research Questions.…………………………………………………. 3
Theoretical Framework……………………………………………… 5
The Nature of Interaction in CMC…………………………. 5
Sociocultural Theory……………………………………….. 6
Word Meaning in Communication………………………… 7
Methodology………………………………………………………… 8
Significance of the Study……………………………………………. 10
Limitations of the Study……...……………………………………… 11
Organization of the Dissertation…………………………………….. 12
Definitions…………………………………………………………... 12

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………… 14

Collaborative CMC………………………………………………...... 14
Communities of Interdependence and Socialization. ……... 14
The Role of the Teacher……………………………………. 15
The Role of the Students…………………………………… 16
Advantages of Collaborative CMC………………………… 17
Disadvantages of Collaborative CMC…………..…………. 19
A Comparison of Synchronous and Asynchronous CMC…. 20
CMC Studies in SLA……................................................................... 22
An Overview of CMC Studies in SLA……………….......... 22
Synchronous CMC Studies in Learner Interaction..….......... 25
Asynchronous CMC Studies in Learner Interaction..…........ 28
Sociocultural Theory in Collaborative CMC………………………... 31
Scaffolding and Affordances………………………………. 31
Intersubjectivity, Alterity, and Appropriation..……………. 34
Functional Dualism of Texts……….………………………. 38
Word Meaning in Communication…………………………………… 39
Word Meaning in SCT……………………………………… 40
Word Appropriation Strategy………………………………. 42
i Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 44
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CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY…………………………………… 45

Introduction …… …………………………………………………… 45
Pilot Study…………………………………………………………… 47
Research Design……………………………………………………... 53
Procedures for Data Collection and Preliminary Data Analysis…….. 56
Phase I: Pre-task Preparation………………………………. 56
Phase II: Controversial Discussion in a Threaded Forum…. 59
Phase III: Post-task Interviews..………………………….... 62
Establishing Trustworthiness…….………………………………….. 63
Credibility…………………..……………………………… 63
Transferability……………………………………………… 65
Dependability……………………………………………..... 66
Confirmability………………………………………………. 66
Credibility of the Researcher……………………………….. 67
Formal Data Analysis………………………………………………… 68
Research Question 1.0 Patterns of Social Interaction………………… 70
Research Question 1.1 Roles of Expert/Novice……………………… 70
Research Question 1.1.1 Initiators of Threads.……..………………… 71
Procedures for Obtaining Data………………………………. 71
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 71
Research Question 1.1.2 Providers of Argumentative Ideas………… 72
Procedures for Obtaining Data………………………………. 72
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 72
Research Question 1.1.3 Word-Knowledge Participants…………….. 73
Procedures for Obtaining Data………………………………. 73
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 73
Research Question 1.2 Functions of the Postings…………………….. 74
Procedures for Obtaining Data………………………………. 74
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 78
Research Question 1.3 Multiples Voices….………………………….. 79
Procedures for Obtaining Data………………………………. 80
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 80
Research Question 2 Word Appropriation Strategies………………… 81
Procedures for Obtaining data………………………………. 81
Procedures for Establishing Trustworthiness……………….. 84
Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 84

CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANLAYSIS…………………………………….. 86

Introduction.………………………………………………………….. 86
Patterns of Social Interaction…………………………………………. 87
Task I: Assisted Suicide…………………………………….. 88
Roles of Expert/Novice in Task I………………………….… 88
An Overview of Task I: Assisted Suicide…………………… 89
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Initiators of Threads……………………………….. 92
Providers of Argumentative Ideas…………………. 97
Word-Knowledgeable Participants………….…….. 100
Functions of the Postings in Task I.…………………………. 105
Various Purposes for Using Questions in Postings… 108
Using Evidence to Support Group Positions………. 113
Uptakes as Means of Meaning Construction………. 113
Off-Topic Postings…………………………………. 116
Verification of Assigned Tasks……………………. 117
Responses for Further Explanations……………….. 119
Controversial Definitions………………………….. 120
Multiple Voices in Task I…………………………………… 122
Intersubjectivity in Task Engagement…….……….. 123
Alterity in Task Engagement………………………. 130
Task II: Mandatory Uniform Policy………………………… 139
An Overview of Task II…………………………………….. 139
Roles of Expert and Novice in Task II………………………. 143
Functions of the Postings in Task II…………………………. 148
Comparison of the Functions of the Postings Between Task I
and II………………………………………………..……….. 153
Multiple Voices in Task II………………………………….. 155
Intersubjectivity in Task Engagement………. …… 155
Alterity in Task Engagement……………………… 158
Conclusion of Research Question # 1……………………………….. 160
Word Appropriation Strategies……………………………………… 161
WASs Employed for Inferring Meanings…………………… 166
Arguments in Postings…………………………….. 167
L1 transfer…………………………….……………. 168
Prefixes and Word Roots…………………………… 168
Inference from the Assigned Reading……………… 168
Word Association………………………………….. 169
Dictionary Consulting……………………………… 169
WASs Employed for Composing Responses……………….. 170
Avoidance………………………………………….. 171
Conscious Copy…………………………….……… 172
Paraphrase………………………………………….. 173
Task Engagement Strategy…………………………. 174
Conclusion of Research Question # 2.………………………………. 175
Conclusion.………………………………………………………….. 175

CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS…………………….. 177

Introduction………………………………………………...…………. 177
Social Interaction Emerging in a Threaded Discussion Forum………. 178
Roles of Expert/Novice……………………………………… 178
Functions of the Postings to Maintain the Flow of Interaction 181
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Multiple Voices for Task Completion ……………………… 188
Word Appropriation Strategies……………………………………….. 190
Summary……………………………………………………………… 193
Recommendation for Future Research..………………………………. 194
Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 196

APPENDIX A…………………………………………………………………. 197

APPENDIX B..…………………..……………………….………………...….. 198

APPENDIX C..……………………………………………….…………….….. 199

APPENDIX D.……………………………………………………………...….. 200

APPENDIX E………………………………………………………………….. 203

APPENDIX F………………………………………………………………….. 204

APPENDIX G………………..………………………………………………… 206

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………. 209

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………… 218

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LIST OF TABLES

2.1 A Comparison Between Synchronous and Asynchronous Modes……………………… 20
2.2 Previous Studies………………………………………………………………………… 24
3.1 Task procedures, data collection, & preliminary data analysis………………………… 55
3.2 Codes of Functions of the Postings…………………………………………………….. 75
3.3 WASs Employed for Developing Meanings of Unknown Words……………………… 82
3.4 WASs Employed for Composing Responses…………………………………………… 83
4.1 Threads and Initiated Messages Emerging in Task I…………………………………… 90
4.2 Individual Participants’ Contribution to Task I………………………………………… 99
4.3 Individual Participants’ Word Knowledge Regarding the Four Words………………… 101
4.4 Uses of Unknown Words in Task Engagement………………………………………… 103
4.5 Codes of Functions of the Postings……………………………………………………… 106
4.6 The Functions of Postings for Argument in Task I……………………………………… 107
4.7 Explicit Intersubjectivity Within One Group…………………………………………… 126
4.8 Implicit Intersubjectivity Within Group Members……………………………………… 127
4.9 Partial Agreement for Intersubjectivity Between Groups……………………………… 129
4.10 Evidence of Incorporation and Transformation between Groups Both Within and
Across Thread in Task I……………………………………………………………………. 131
4.11 Voices in Conflict for Meaning Construction of Unknown Words…………………… 134
4.12 Multivoicedness for Meaning Construction Across Threads…………………………. 136
4.13 The Distribution of Threads in Task II………………………………………………… 140
4.14 Roles of Participants Contributing to Completion of Task II………………………… 143
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