Integrating Naturalistic Digital Interaction in Foreign Language Programs

Abstract

Interaction by textual means, also known as chat, remains the most popular form of interaction for young people (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Statista, 2022b). In foreign language programs, chat tools allow language learners to connect with multiple L1 speakers of the target language in a variety of technological-interactional configurations (Tudini, 2020). Access to age-peer L1 speakers of the target language is also known to be highly motivating, especially in one-to-one chat interactions (Tudini, 2010). Given these advantages, it is, therefore, appropriate to incorporate chat in foreign language programs, to adequately prepare learners to engage in this form of social interaction in the target language. This chapter presents one model for integration of chat interaction which was adopted at an Australian university to promote the inclusion of regular digital target language interaction practice through assessment. The language learner interconnectivity framework and support nodes presented here promote a balance between digital and face-to-face, and formal versus informal interaction contexts, to assist foreign language learners in consolidating their linguistic and pragmatic repertoires. This chapter focuses on affordances and constraints of real time chat for language learning. It then proposes examples of suitable assessment tasks for online text chat, mainly at the B1/B2 (CEFR) level, with brief consideration of suitably scaffolded chat assessment tasks for language learners at the A1/A2 level. Various chat tools are also examined to differentiate between those which are likely to promote form and accuracy rather than pragmatic and intercultural orientations. The chapter concludes with suggestions for further research on the use of chat in the language classroom.