Browsing by Subject "Social interaction"
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Item A dynamic approach to social interaction: Synthetic immersive environments & Spanish pragmatics.(2008-05) Sykes, Julie M.In an effort to better understand how innovative technologies can be used to enhance second language acquisition, this study investigates the role that online immersive spaces, specifically, synthetic immersive environments (SIEs), can play in enhancing advanced language learners' pragmatic performance (i.e., their ability to perform requests and apologies in Spanish). SIEs are engineered spaces which integrate the many benefits of online gaming to produce explicitly, educationally-related outcomes in simulated, relevant, interactional contexts. The results of this study address two important components of the use of SIEs for L2 pragmatic acquisition. First, utilizing a synthesis of 120 hours of in-game behavior, survey data, and one-on-one participant interviews, this study analyzed how three potentially beneficial attributes of the SIEs were used and perceived by the participants (i.e., individualized experience, varied participant roles, and "low-risk" practice space). The results demonstrate that in-game behavior can be categorized into four distinct types of individualized experiences. Furthermore, there was not a high level of experimentation with participant roles in this study; however, the data revealed an increased importance placed on experimentation upon completion of the unit. Finally, quest completion was viewed as the primary indicator of success with quest resets carrying a connotation of failure for the majority of the students. In addition, results indicate a marked difference between actual learning outcomes (measured by pre/post DCTs) and perceived outcomes on the part of the learners. In terms of both speech acts, the DCT data revealed little change from pre- to posttest, except in the case of perspective for the apologies scenarios. The perception data exhibited an overall perceived benefit for all eight scenarios surveyed, with statistically significant improvements in the scenarios most closely emulating those that were present in the SIE. Implications for future design, implementation, and research projects are also discussedItem Politeness and social interaction in study abroad: Service encounters in L2 Spanish(2008-06) Shively, Rachel LouiseThis study examines the second language (L2) learning of politeness and social interaction in study abroad within a sociocultural and rapport management framework, reporting on longitudinal, ethnographic research of service encounters recorded in situ between L2 learners of Spanish and local Spanish service providers in Toledo, Spain. Service encounters are defined as interactions between a customer and a service provider in which some commodity will potentially be exchanged. The participants in the study were seven U.S. American students who studied abroad for one semester in Spain during 2007. The data consist of naturalistic digital recordings that participants made of themselves while visiting local stores, banks, information desks, and other service providers. The study was longitudinal with five recordings made at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester by each student, for 113 recordings total. Other sources of data included students' weekly journals describing their service encounters and learning of politeness, interviews with participants and local Spaniards, and the researcher's field notes as a participant observer. The findings indicate that, during the semester abroad, participants learned target language norms of politeness regarding requests, openings, and discourse markers. These developments over time in L2 politeness were connected to students' descriptions about how they learned specific politeness features, namely, through explicit instruction, observation of Spaniards, participation in service encounters, and reactions of interlocutors. Learners managed rapport in service encounters through tone of voice, positive assessments, and other face-enhancing moves.