At the intersection of telecollaboration, learner corpus analysis, and L2 pragmattics: Considerations for language program direction

Abstract

The research on Internet-mediated intercultural foreign language education to date has examined a variety of topics ranging from the development of L2 grammatical competence to intercultural tension to networked models for language teacher education.The theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches applied in such examinations have been equally wide-ranging, including socio-cultural theory, interactionist approaches to language learning, intercultural communicative competence, appraisal theory, cultural studies, action research, and grounded theory.Very few studies, however, have explored the application of the burgeoning field of contrastive learner corpus analysis to networked intercultural foreign language instruction.The aim of this essay is to encourage language program directors and foreign language teachers to consider the inherent synergy between telecollaborative pedagogy and learner corpus analysis as well as the ways in which their interillumination may influence the development of L2 competence in general and L2 pragmatic competence in particular.