Implementation of Computer-Mediated Communication

This paper reports on the use of Multiply.com, a social network service (SNS) on the Internet, as acomputer-mediated communication (CMC) tool for pedagogical purposes in ‘English as a Foreign Language’(EFL) classes. The general outcomes reported by the educators were positive. Some of the benefits observed were improvements in participation, motivation, student autonomy and authentic student-to-student communication. The registration process, individual utilization of the site and the teachers perceived out comes and observations of classes at a private Japanese university are described. It was found that the use of CMC was beneficial for teachers and students and adaptable for different teaching styles and environments. It is suggested that CMC could be easily incorporated into a variety of teaching contexts