An exploratory study on second language learner engagement in different types of interactive tasks in video-chat and text-chat communication
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Xuyan Qiu
Dr Xuyan Qiu is currently an assistant professor in Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include second language teaching and learning, task-based language teaching, English for academic purposes, and English-medium instruction.
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Haoyan Ge
Dr Haoyan Ge is currently an assistant professor in the School of Education and Languages at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Her research interests include language development in typical and atypical populations, bilingualism, and autism spectrum disorder.
Dr Jinting Cai is currently a professor in School of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. His research interests include interlanguage, crosslinguistic influence, and individual differences in second and third language learning and teaching.
Abstract
This study investigated 48 Hong Kong English as a second language (ESL) learners’ engagement in three types of interactive tasks conducted via video chat or text chat. The learners, paired with their university friends, completed a descriptive task, a narrative task, and a decision-making task. They were randomly assigned to either the video-chat or text-chat group and were interviewed about their emotional engagement in each task immediately after task performance. The findings revealed that both groups of learners were behaviourally the least engaged but cognitively the most engaged in the decision-making task. They experienced positive emotions during the descriptive task, but fewer reported positive emotions in the other two tasks. The text-chat group was the most socially engaged in the decision-making task. Furthermore, the video-chat group was behaviourally and emotionally more engaged than the text-chat group. These findings have implications for task design and selection in computer-mediated communication.
Funding source: Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Award Identifier / Grant number: UGC/FDS16/H18/21
About the authors
Dr Xuyan Qiu is currently an assistant professor in Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include second language teaching and learning, task-based language teaching, English for academic purposes, and English-medium instruction.
Dr Haoyan Ge is currently an assistant professor in the School of Education and Languages at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. Her research interests include language development in typical and atypical populations, bilingualism, and autism spectrum disorder.
Dr Jinting Cai is currently a professor in School of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. His research interests include interlanguage, crosslinguistic influence, and individual differences in second and third language learning and teaching.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (UGC/FDS16/ H18/21).
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Ethical approval: Ethical approval for this study was sought from the Research Ethics Committee of Hong Kong Metropolitan University (REC Reference No.: HE-RGC2021/EL03).
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Supplementary Material
This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2024-0096).
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