Computer-mediated communication: a vehicle for field-of-study work and motivation in the Quebec CEGEP second language classroom

The objective of this thesis was to explore a potential computer-mediated communication (CMC) solution to two problems facing English-as-a-second-language CEGEP teachers. Firstly, teachers who are required to have a field-of-study component in their courses often place students in groups for field-of-study projects. Yet, classes contain many students who are alone in their programs. Secondly, some students lack motivation for learning a second language, which affects their ability to achieve successful learning outcomes. Three hypotheses were tested in a quasi-experimental study with three experimental and two comparison groups. They were: (1) Using a CMC bulletin board (BB) will provide students with sufficient partners in their fields to enable them to fulfill the course's field-of-study component. (2) Participants engaged in group tasks by BB will be more motivated than participants engaged in similar group tasks face-to-face. (3) Learning outcomes will be higher for participants engaged in group tasks by BB than for participants engaged in similar group tasks face-to-face. These hypotheses were not confirmed. Nevertheless, CMC provided some students with field-of-study partners they would not otherwise have had. It also connected students from different English classes, who continued to work together. Finally, using CMC in the English-as-a-second-language classroom is a viable alternative to using traditional methods in that it leads to similar levels of motivation and language learning success. However, a CMC modality should be used with sound pedagogical goals in mind, for activities which require it, and it should not be assumed to be more motivating for students than face-to-face work