Computer Mediated Communication Literature Review

Various attempts have been made to produce an appropriated CALL definition. A commonly cited by other authors (Fotos & Browne, 2004) definition of CALL has been proposed by Levy (1997, p.1), who claims that Computer Assisted Language Learning is “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning”. CALL refers to using computer software to a teaching and learning environment (Chun, 2001). CALL includes a wide range of information and communication technology applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages. CALL was the traditional drill-and-practice programs during the 1960s and 1970s (Levy, 1997). However, more current representations of CALL are those used in a virtual learning

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a process in which human data interaction occurs through one or more networked telecommunication systems. Interaction in CMC occurs through various types of networking tools, including wiki, email, Chat, instant messaging (IM), and forum (Baym, 1996). CMC is divided into synchronous and asynchronous modes. Forum is a kind of CMC helping people to interact with each other and save money and time. In the forum, the interaction is formed asynchronously.

Language learners can communicate directly, inexpensively, and conveniently with other through CMC. It can be carried out in several forms; it can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-one. The present study used two first types of communication.

1.8.3 Willingness to Participate in Class Activities

Participation has been defined as “the number of unsolicited responses volunteered” (Burchfield & Sappington, 1999, p. 290). The more they participate in different classroom activities, such as asking questions, taking part in the class discussion, the less they memorized; consequently, they engage in higher levels of thinking, including interpretation, analysis, and synthesis

154) defined writing as “the production of thought for oneself or others under the direction of one’s goal-oriented metacognitive monitoring and control, and the translation of that thought into an external symbolic representation”. Zhu (2004) asserted that writing is an important productive skill that can be applied in learning other receptive and productive skills. Thinking and learning can be refreshed with writing; it can motivate communication; moreover, writing can make thought available for reflection (Mekheimer, 2005). Olshtain (2001, p. 207) presented the importance of writing skill by stating that “…the skill of writing enjoys special status–it is via writing that a person can communicate a variety of messages to close or distant known or unknown readers ”.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

Obviously any research has some limitations. The present study has some limitations, too. First, the sample of the study was small groups of Iranian EFL learners. It is suggested that include more participants from different areas of the country. Also, the present research was done in EFL context and examined writing skill so ESL context and other language skills were ignored in this study. Lastly, the participants in the present study were intermediate learners; it is offered to include intermediate, advanced, and elementary learners in the next studies.

1.10 Organization of the