CALICO 2016, East Lansing, Michigan – May 13, 2016

1. CALICO 2016 – East Lansing, Michigan – May 13, 2016
1
Fabrizio Fornara
Florida State University
Exploring the Factors that Promote L2
Learner Participation and Interaction on
WhatsApp

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• According to the sociocultural theory of L2
acquisition, social interaction is the matrix in which
acquisition takes place, a primary source of learning
(Ellis, 2005).
• Ellis (1999) suggests that interaction is beneficial to
acquisition when students have control of the
discourse topic.
• “To foster interpersonal interactions […] CMC partners
may be left with adequate access and time to
develop” (Walther, 1996).
Interpersonal Interactions

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WhatsApp is a cross-platform instant messaging application for
smartphones. It enables users to send and receive location
information, images, video, audio and text messages in real-time
to individuals and groups of friends at no cost. […] The nature and
intent of WhatsApp messages tend to be social, informal and
conversational in nature (Church & de Oliveira, 2013).
WhatsApp has more than 1 billion users worldwide (Forbes,
February 2016).
WhatsApp

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“Text messaging […] [is]
the most widely-used basic
feature or app […] [and]
the feature that is used
most frequently” (Smith,
2015)
Text Messaging

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WhatsApp has been used in secondary and higher education to:
• Communicate with students;
• Foster a positive social atmosphere and cultivate a sense of
belonging and community;
• Enable students to share information and work as a team;
• Improve student access to learning materials (Bouhnik &
Deshen, 2014)
WhatsApp promotes social interaction and knowledge
construction through spontaneous discussions and enables
students to assume control and ownership of the learning (Rambe
& Bere, 2013).
WhatsApp for Education

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Rationale for the Activity
• Engage students in social interactions that model
the interactions that they carry out daily on their
mobile phones.
• Having a real audience, students may be
encouraged to use the target language for
authentic communications rather than only for
practice (Chapelle, 1998).

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Fornara (2015, November). Factors Influencing Second Language Student Production on Twitter.
AECT 2015
Previous Studies

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Fornara (2016, January). Promoting L2 Interpersonal Written Communication Using WhatsApp. MLA
2016
Previous Studies (cont.)

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Rationale
This study is based on two other studies:
• Lee, J., & Bonk, C. J. (2016). Social network analysis of
peer relationships and online interactions in a
blended class using blogs. The Internet and Higher
Education, 28, 35-44.
• Stockwell, G. (2013). Tracking learner usage of mobile
phones for language learning outside of the
classroom. CALICO Journal, 30, 118-136.

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Characteristics of MALL
• Spontaneous access: What is the stimulus to post a
message / interact?
• Temporal flexibility: When students are posting /
interacting?
• Spatial flexibility: Where students are posting / interacting?
Speed of typing: How much time do students spend typing?
Are they faster while interacting synchronically than while
posting at a later time?

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Purpose of the Study
This study aims to track information about learner
relationships and identify patterns of student
mobile use to shed light onto student behavior
when completing a semi-structured activity on a
mobile instant messaging application.

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Implications for Instructional Design
Design activities that encourage students to
practice the target language in a mobile
instant messaging environment outside the
classroom.

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Research Questions
1. Is there a relationship between peer relationships
and online interactions?
2. Which are the student usage patterns of mobile
phones for completing the activity on WhatsApp?
3. Which is the prevalent interactional time frame?

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Methods
• Relational study (RQ1):
 Perceived closeness: Social network analysis
(SNA)
 Online interactions: Content analysis + SNA
• Descriptive study (RQs 2 and 3):
 Mobile phone usage: Paper surveys, chat log
with time stamps, daily recall survey, screen
recording

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Sample:
• Third level Italian language students: N = 33
• 4 groups:
• N = 7 (Summer 2015, 19 days)
• N = 11 (Fall 2015, 15 days)
• N = 6 (Fall 2015, 15 days)
• N = 10 (Spring 2016, 16 days)
Spring 2016:
• Messages: N = 305
• Students: N = 201
• Instructor: N = 104
The Activity

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Research Questions – RQ1
1. Is there a relationship between peer relationships
and online interactions?
2. Which are the student usage patterns of mobile
phones for completing the activity on WhatsApp?
3. Which is the prevalent interactional time frame?

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Data Collection – RQ1
“An instructor is as much a part
of classroom dynamic as the
students”

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Data Analysis – RQ1

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Data Analysis – RQ1 (cont.)

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Data Analysis – RQ1 (cont.)
N = 9+1

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Results – RQ1

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Results – RQ1 (cont.)

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Research Questions – RQ2
1. Is there a relationship between peer relationships
and online interactions?
2. Which are the student usage patterns of mobile
phones for completing the activity on WhatsApp?
3. Which is the prevalent interactional time frame?

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How often do you have your mobile phone with you?
Almost always Always
Is there any specific time that you do not carry your mobile phone?
Late afternoonNight I always have my phone
Results – RQ2

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How often do you send texts?
Frequently All the time
Do you message in chat groups?
Occasionally Frequently All the time
Which application with
MIM features do you use?
iMessage 100%
Snapchat 70%
GroupMe 30%
WhatsApp 30%
Messenger 10%
Results – RQ2 (cont.)

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N = 171
Results – RQ2 (cont.)

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Results – RQ2 (cont.)
N = 167

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Did you receive notifications on your phone when other
people posted on WhatsApp?
• Yes: 8
 Only sound: 0
 Only vibration: 3
 Only light: 2
 A combination of sound and vibration: 2
 A combination of sound, vibration, and light: 1
• No: 1
N = 9
Results – RQ2 (cont.)
Results – RQ2 (cont.)

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Research Questions – RQ3
1. Is there a relationship between peer relationships
and online interactions?
2. Which are the student usage patterns of mobile
phones for completing the activity on WhatsApp?
3. Which is the prevalent interactional time frame?

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Results – RQ3
N = 153

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34. 34N = 33
Student Reaction

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What did you like most about the activity?
 Being able to actually apply what we’ve learned to real life.
 Using Italian in a conversational setting. / Talking with classmates.
 Seeing Italian used in everyday context.
N = 33
Student Reaction – Advantages

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What did you like least about the activity?
 My classmates posted a lot, to the point it was annoying.
 Sometimes it was hard to find a way to insert myself in the conversation.
 It was one big conversation so side conversations between a few people blew up my
phone.
N = 33
Student Reaction – Challenges

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• It was essentially doing small Italian activities throughout the day,
which really helped retain and extract knowledge.
• Great way to build relationships, practice the language, and earn
credit.
• Using WhatsApp helped me learn vocabulary that I regularly use in
English in an Italian context.
• Best language learning activity I've participated in. Gets the class
involved throughout the day.
• Maybe different groups based on likes and dislikes.
• It was an interesting activity, though I felt a little excluded at times.
Student Comments

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• Interactions are distributed across the network, they are not
concentrated around influential actors – not even the
instructor. However, the more a student participates, the closer
other students feel about her.
• Learners tend to complete the activity in stable learning
environments (i.e., home and university) at a range of times
(Stockwell, 2013).
• Learners tend to react to a previous message in the first five
minutes that the message is posted (40% of messages). Their
speed of typing does not depend on the type of interaction in
which they engage – synchronous, quasi-synchronous, or
asynchronous.
Conclusions

39. ff11@my.fsu.edu @ffornara
CALICO 2016 – East Lansing, Michigan – May 13, 2016
39
Fabrizio Fornara
Florida State University
Questions?