PERSONALITY TYPES AND MEGABYTES: STUDENT

ATTITUDES TOWARD C0MPUTER MEDIATED

COMMUNICATION (CMC) IN THE LANGUAGE
CLASSROOM
Margaret Healy Beauvois, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
and Jean Eledge, Lee College

ABSTRACT

This article describes the results of a pilot study to examine the attitudes of university
students toward the use of computer mediated communication in their French
Conversation and Composition course. Student perceptions are examined in the light of
their personality types as determined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
Quantitative and qualitative data validate that both I (introvert) and E (extrovert)
personality types generally perceive the use of LAN (local area network) as a beneficial
experience.

KEYWORDS
Computer mediated communication (CMC), computer assisted language learning
(CALL), local area network (LAN), InterChange (a software module used in this study),
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

INTRODUCTION

Imagine a classroom full of intermediate French students communicating in the target

language-responding to questions on the readings assigned for homework; interacting
with each other and with their instructor-all the students, not just a few, actively
involved in meaningful conversation during the entire class period — and in French! Is
this only the dream of the weary foreign language teacher still trying to create ways to
engage every student, even the reluctant ones, in the class discussion and activities?
Fortunately, the answer is now "no." The dream has indeed become reality in some
CALL (computer assisted language learning) classrooms through the use of a local area
network (LAN) and a facilitating software package that allows synchronous, real-time
discussion. What is happening in such classrooms is exactly the scene described above:
every student engaged in reading and responding in the target language, creating
meaningful communication with the other members of the class on a variety of topics
through the computer network (Beauvois 1992a, 1992b).

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 27

This article describes a pilot study conducted at a large public university in the
southeastern United States. The course was French 342: Conversation and Composition,
an intermediate course with a focus on conversation and composition. Students in the
two sections of this course went to the computer lab once a week for 8 weeks during the
spring semester, 1994, to "discuss" in French using the local area network (LAN), and a
software writing program which, as one option, allows participants to 'converse" with
each other in real-time synchronous conferencing. In response to a stimulus question on
a given I topic (created by the instructor), students compose their responses in an edit
box on their computer screens. After typing their greetings, comments, responses, etc.,
students "send" their messages. All messages then appear on all the computer screens
on the network. A dialogue or "polylogue" is carried out as students read and respond
in writing not only to the discussion questions of the day, but also to each others' and
the instructor's questions, comments, and ideas scrolling on the screen in front of them.
See Appendix A for a sample transcript.

Following extensive use of a LAN in the teaching of English (Batson 1988, Bump 1990,
Faigley 1990, and Slatin 1991), foreign language researchers are beginning to validate
this computer assisted interaction as an effective teaching/learning element in the
language classroom (Beauvois 1992a, 1993, and 1994, Kelm 1992, Cononclos and Oliva
1993, Nicholas and Toporski 1993). These studies have shown increased student
motivation as well as student participation in target language discussion on the LAN as
opposed to regular in-class oral discussion, a general lowering of the affective filter,
greater in-depth exploration of the conversational topic, and a highly positive response
to communication in the LAN environment. However, no previous research has
focused on students' individual personality types as it bears on their response to this
untraditional method of discussing texts. This article will therefore provide a first look
at this correlation in the teaching of foreign languages.

Following a brief description of the software and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI), this article will examine the reactions of students in two sections of
Intermediate French at the university level to their experience in the LAN lab in light of
their MBTI personality types. The study will focus specifically on the personality types'
responses to an attitude questionnaire distributed to students of intermediate French as
a part of the evaluative process in the course. See Appendix C for a copy of the pre-
study instrument.

USE OF A LAN AND SPECIFIC CONFERENCING SOFTWARE:

According to Fred Kemp, one of the authors of the software program, (The Daedalus
Integrated Writing Environment) “this writing instruction software is based upon the

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 28

concept that we can't tell people how to write... All we can do is put student writers into
writing situations... and then allow them to improve themselves” (Kemp 1993).

The software module that is pertinent to the research described in this study is called
InterChange. Through this conferencing module, students can “converse in real-time
with their classmates or with the instructor. Messages are typed and "sent" by the
student to appear on the other computer screens joined by the network. Other options
for classroom discussion are the "conference" and 'pseudonym" features which allow
the instructor to form smaller discussion groups of students within the class and/or to
let students' messages appear under pseudonyms rather than under their own names. It
is important to note that the process is neither strictly speaking -writing nor speaking,
but rather a hybrid of the two. Because of the very conversational aspect and rapid
movement of synchronous computer conferencing, the students and instructors refer to
the process as "discussion" or even "talking" - but it is electronic talking which is done
with a keyboard and therefore can also be called writing.

MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR

According to Gordon Lawrence (1991), knowing something about the mental processes
that go along with each of the possible sixteen personality types, reveals much in
determining how the various personality types prefer to learn and work. An awareness
of student personality types allows teachers to have a better understanding of the
classroom dynamic and to be better able to determine what kinds of classroom activities
and strategies would be most effective with a majority of students in the class. In recent
years the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator QABTI) as well as other personality
instruments have become tools in providing insight for teachers seeking to relate
instructional strategies to the individual differences of their students (Ely 1988; Moody
1988; Oxford 1996)

The MBTI is an instrument developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs to
determine and label an individual's personality profile based upon C. G. Jung's theory
of psychological types (Myers 1980). Responses to the objective questions of the
instrument produce a four-letter type profile for the individual respondent. The first
letter of the type profile is either an E for "extroversion" or I for "introversion." Letter
two indicates one's dominant perception process with S or N, for "sensing" or
"intuition," respectively. The third letter identifies the dominant judgment process as T
for "thinking" or F for "feeling." The final letter of the profile, either a J or a P, identifies
the personality type preference of "judgment" or "perception." In all, sixteen different
combinations of the letter characteristics are possible, thus indicating sixteen distinct
personality types.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 29

PARTICIPANTS

The participants in this first look at the MBTI/LAN communication correlation were
students enrolled in two sections of second semester Conversation and Composition.
This third year (300 level) course focused on a review of grammar, the reading of texts
designed to stimulate conversation/discussion, and an extensive writing component in
which students produced a total of eight papers with a minimum length of 3 pages. As
part of their course work, the students in one section worked in the computer lab once a
week for eight weeks of the semester, while the other section worked in the lab on six
occasions. Since the data revealed no noticeable difference in the attitudes of all the
students, the student participants from the two sections were treated as one group in
this study. Of the 26 students who completed the course for credit, only nineteen are
included in this study since the pre and post-study evaluation data on the other seven
was incomplete for various reasons i.e., illness, absence, etc.

The MBTI, which each student took at the beginning of the -semester, revealed the
following group profile of the nineteen students studied:
Preferences of students:

E I S N T F J P
11 8 7 12 5 13 8 11

Eleven of the sixteen possible MBTI types were represented in the two classes, with five
of the types characterizing more than one student, as indicated below:

Type # of Students
INTP 3
ENFJ 3
ENFP 3
INFJ 2
ESFP 2
ISFJ 1
ESTP 1
ESFJ 1
INFP 1
ISFP 1
ESTJ 1
Total 19

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 30

METHODOLOGY

The students enrolled in the two sections of French 342 took the MBTI at the beginning
of the spring semester. In addition, the instructor asked the students to keep journal
entries in English on their impressions of the computer network sessions after each
session in the lab. These journals were read and responded to at regular intervals by the
instructor. The students also completed demographic and evaluation instruments at the
beginning of the course and once again at the end of the semester (See Appendix D for
the post-study questionnaire). The results of the MBTI and of all other instruments
previously indicated became part of a portfolio on each student. At the conclusion of
the course, two independent French teachers (not the instructor) interviewed all the
students (in English) on their attitudes toward the computer mediated instruction in
their French class. See Appendix B for a description of interviews.

All LAN sessions were also saved on disk to provide a record of the discussions of the
sessions as well as data on the participation of each student. The software program has
the capability to sort each student's individual contributions to the discussion. Copies of
these individual student messages, with vocabulary and grammar errors highlighted by
the instructor, were returned to the students for correction after each network session.

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Data analysis began by charting the objective information: MBTI results, class grade,
and responses on the pre and post-study evaluation instruments. The researcher then
assigned numerical values to the alphabetical responses on the evaluation instruments
in order to obtain a mean score on those sections deemed pertinent to this study i.e.,
student attitudes toward using CMC in the language classroom. Where students were
asked to respond alphabetically from "A" or "strongly agree" to "E" or "strongly
disagree," an "A" was assigned a value of 5; a "B" became 4, "C" was worth 3, a "D"
received a 2, and an "E" was valued as a 1. Of particular interest to the researcher were
those categories on the evaluation instrument established in previous research
(Beauvois 1994) under the headings of 'Perceived Linguistic Benefits," "Perceived
Affective Benefits," and 'Perceived Interpersonal Benefits." (See Appendix D for post-
study questionnaire.) The "perceived" benefits are the result of student self-report to
questions concerning their attitudes regarding their own learning process. For example,
items I. 2 and I. 5 respectively state "I understand the texts better [after discussion on
the LAN]" and "I find that I participate more in the lab class than in oral discussion in
class." The analysis of the items on the student evaluations concerning perceived
benefits of using a LAN to communicate in French and their positive response to the

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 31

lab experience revealed the following about each of the nineteen individuals in the
French Conversation and Composition course:

I II III
Personality Perceived Perceived Perceived General Avg.
Type Linguistic Affective Interpers. Positive I – III
Benefits Benefits Benefits Response
INTP 3.57 3.6 2 3 3.06
INTP 4.63 4.4 3 4 4.01
INTP 2.38 2.6 3.17 2 2.72
ENFJ 4 4.4 3.43 5 3.94
ENFJ 4 4.4 4.14 5 4.18
ENFJ 4.25 4.6 3.86 5 4.24
ENFP 3.88 3.6 3.86 4 3.78
ENFP 4.75 4.6 4.43 5 4.59
ENFP 4.13 5 4.14 5 4.4
INFJ 3.25 4 3 4 3.42
INFJ 4.5 5 4.14 5 4.42
ESFP 5 5 4.29 5 4.76
ESFP 3.38 3.6 3.71 4 3.71
ISFJ 4.5 4 5 5 4.5
ESTP 3.5 4.4 4.29 4 4.06
ESFJ 4.63 4.8 4.43 5 4.62
INFP 4.25 4.4 4.23 5 4.29
ISFP 4.25 4.4 3.43 5 4.03
ESTJ 4.38 5 3.57 5 4.32

The class mean of the averages of the combined linguistic, affective, and interpersonal
benefits scores was 4.06, a score lying midway in the range with ten scores above 4.06
and nine at or below 4.06, as illustrated in the chart below.

Averages of perceived linguistic, affective, and interpersonal benefits scores

ESFP 4.76
ESFJ 4.62
ENFP 4.59
INFJ 4.55
ISFJ 4.50
ENFP 4.42
ESTJ 4.32
INFP 4.29
ENFJ 4.24

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 32

 ENFJ 4.18 (median)
ESTP 4.06
ISFP 4.03
INTP 4.01
ENFJ 3.94
ENFP 3.78
ESFP 3.71
INFJ 3.42
INTP 3.06
INTP 2.72

It is important to recall that a value of 4 indicates 'agreement' with the benefits of the
use of InterChange in the computer lab, a value of 3 is neither positive nor negative, and
a value of 2 is relatively negative.

A second phase of the data analysis involved the reading and analysis of the students'
portfolios which, in addition to objective information, contained the journal entries, and
the two pre- and post-study evaluations. In examining these data, the researcher was
looking for emerging themes in the students' reflections on their computer lab
experience in their French course. Students were very candid and most informative
about their learning process in their journal entries. Some particularly interesting quotes
were:

'In the lab, we all talk and read actively. In class, we're just there to get out. It's blah." —
a male student. And another: "I never communicate in English in the lab because that is
too easy. I like thinking, writing, and speaking in French. I even dream in French
sometimes. I love reading everyone's comments on the transcripts. I laugh out loud
sometimes... Because of the computer lab, I see the structure of sentences in my mind. I
visualize them as if they were on a computer screen. . . However, it did not help my oral
skill except that I think of answers more quickly. . ." — a female student.

Finally, the audio taped interviews conducted at the end of the semester served
primarily to confirm the findings surfacing in the written data. These interviews
provided the researcher with additional clarification of student responses to the
attitudinal questionnaires.

RESULTS

Two important findings emerged from the analysis of the data: 1) In general, both the E
(Extroversion) and the I (Introversion) personality types perceived their communication
on a LAN as "beneficial" linguistically, effectively, and interpersonally; and 2) students
with the 1NTP personality profile, as a group, viewed the computer lab experience
somewhat less positively than did their peers.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 33

PERCEIVED LINGUISTIC BENEFITS

In response to the questionnaire items concerning possible linguistic benefits derived

from "writing messages on the LAN," the average score of the student responses was
4.05, indicating general "agreement" or "strong agreement' to the questionnaire
statements listed below:
"I monitor my use of grammar and vocabulary."

"I understand the texts better."

"I like the increased writing practice."

"I can express my thoughts better orally after using this conversational writing
practice."

“I find that I participate more in the lab class than in oral discussion in the
regular class."

'I like the conversational aspect of the lab exercise."

"I think I have improved my ability to express myself using common phrases and
expressions in the lab automatically."

In addition to the overall positive ratings most of the students assigned to the
questionnaire section entitled "Perceived linguistic benefits," this study uncovered one
specific linguistic benefit mentioned so consistently that it merits attention as a major
theme. In all data sources the majority of both introverts and extroverts in both sections
expressed "greater participation" in class discussion when working on the LAN in the
computer lab.

To understand the significance of "greater participation” on the part of both the E and
the I personality types, it is necessary first to understand something of each type's
general work "preferences." Lawrence (1991) describes the E personality type as an
individual who "likes action and variety, likes to do mental work by talking to people,
acts quickly, sometimes without reflection, likes to see how other people do a 'ob, and
to see results, wants to know what other people expect of him or her" (p. 2). In contrast,
he states that the I type "likes quiet and time to consider things, likes to do mental work
privately before talking, may be slow to try something without understanding it first,
likes to understand the idea of a job and to work alone or with just a few people, wants
to set his or her own standards" (p. 2).

When asked to reflect upon comparisons between their experience with electronic 'talk"
and their participation in regular French class sessions, E personality type students in
this study offered the following written observations:

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 34

 "I participated more than I would in regular class."

"I participate well in both environments. I like both and believe both are useful in
learning a language."

"I always feel compelled to participate [in the computer classroom]."

The I personality type written responses to open-ended questions on the post-study

evaluation not only echoed the theme of greater participation in the computer lab, but
underscored it with intensity in responses such as:
"I participate a heck of a lot more than I do in class. I like to sit quietly in class
and listen. I like to type in the lab."

'In class with no written record, it is much easier to slide by...”

"I participate much more in the Interchange class."

An important finding of this preliminary study is that communication on the LAN

seems to appeal to both E types, who tend to participate in the face-to-face interaction of
the traditional class discussion, and to I types, who are often reluctant to interact with
their peers because of their specific work preference.

Concerning the possible affective benefits of 'discussion" in the computer lab, the
perceptions of students in the two French sections showed “agreement,” i.e., an overall
average of 4.31, with the questionnaire items:
"I feel less stress in the lab than in the classroom;"

“I have time to think and compose my messages;"

“I feel in control of the conversation;"

"Everyone in the lab always has a turn to speak;" and

“I have enjoyed the lab experience."

The positive response from the majority of both the E and the I personality types is very
meaningful to the language instructor interested in meeting the needs of all the students
in a course.

The written, open-ended questionnaire responses supported the above positive findings
concerning perceived affective benefits and produced comments such as the following
from the E personality types:
"On the computers, it is easier to express yourself and your ideas without
anxiety.”

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 35

 "It's easier to participate on the computers because you don't get as nervous. I
was able to express my own ideas at my own pace without the pressure of the
whole class watching me.”

“There is no one who is shy about their opinions because of the impersonality of
the computers."

The researcher found it interesting that even the E's, who as a type group are generally
gregarious, expressed some anxiety about speaking a foreign language in the classroom
in front of their peers, of being put “on the spot.”

The I types, quite predictably, reacted positively to perceived affective benefits of the
LAN conversation, since it removed them from the face-to-face interaction with people
and allowed them more quiet think time before having to respond. Their written
responses included comments such as:
"I am most at ease when we are on the computers."

"It's [computer conversation's] more open and everybody is at ease.”

"Students communicate more freely and humorously in the less stressful lab
situation. It's relaxed, not graded, and we have fun while learning.”

Clearly, the majority of students, of both E and I personality types, felt at ease using the
target language in "conversation" in the computer lab via the LAN. Their responses to
the questionnaire item 'I have enjoyed the experience in the lab" produced "agree" or
"strongly agree" responses from all but two of the students, whose responses will be
addressed in a later section of this article.

PERCEIVED INTERPERSONAL BENEFITS

Student responses to the post-study questionnaire items concerning their perception of

the interpersonal benefits of French class conversation via the LAN produced an overall
average of 3.8, an average very close to a positive response. It is interesting to note that
the majority of E types and the majority of I types responded similarly to post-study
questionnaire statements such as:

"I feel I got to know my classmates better because of our lab interchanges.”

"I feel I got to know my teacher better through communication in the lab.”

Neither the E nor the I personality types seemed prone to elaborate on the extent of
computer influence on the class' interpersonal relationships. Those lines provided for
additional responses remained blank on many questionnaires. When interviewed
concerning class interaction via the LAN, both personality types strongly confirmed
their increased participation in this setting. This would seem an important element in
considering the interpersonal benefits of this type of discussion.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 36

The students' narrative responses to questions concerning perceptions of their network
discussion in French support the picture painted by the numerical averages of their
post-study evaluations. The average of the three categories of perceived benefits" of the
use of LAN for communication for the E personality types was 4.24 - above the "agree"
response category. While the I personality type responses averaged only 3.73, it is
important to remember that these students, in general, expressed less anxiety and
greater participation in the computer conversation setting than they would experience
in the classroom discussion. It is also very important to note that the average for the I
types was considerably lowered by the scores of two INTP students. The students
clearly appear out of the norm in terms of class response to the LAN, and without their
scores, the I personality type average of perceived benefits would be 4.13, or above the
"agree" response category and nearly equivalent to the perceived benefits average of the
E personality types.

In their responses to the open-ended questions concerning the use of the LAN, the two
INTP students made remarks such as the following:

"The lab would be a nice supplement to or diversion from class, but should not
displace much classroom time. I gained very little information from the lab —
(but) the exercises to prepare for the lab were of value.”

“They (the lab sessions) forced me to prepare. Once the class started the sessions,
however, we usually went off on tangents that had little to do with the readings."

What can account for the lower averages and the more negative responses of these two
INTP students? The "Brief Descriptions of the Sixteen Types" created by the MBTI offers
some insight into the INTP personality type. This person is described as "an inquisitive
analyzer; reflective, independent, curious; more interested in organizing ideas than
situations or people" (Lawrence 1991 p. 15). Further research has revealed the INTP to
be "logical to the point of hairsplitting; interested mainly in ideas, with little liking for
parties or small talk" (Myers 1980). In a work on relating type to instructional strategies,
Morgan characterizes the INTP learner as a global learner who “needs help coming to
closure;" one who "wants to consider theory first, then applications;" "enjoys working
alone" and “likes autonomy" (Lawrence 1991, 53).

It seems then that the response of the two INTP students to the use of network
discussion is indeed one consonant with their personality type. Their reluctance to
participate in classroom discussion is perhaps due to their personality preference for
autonomous projects or activities in which they focus on ideas rather than on people.
The rapid interaction on the LAN seems to compel the students to focus on the situation
at hand, on the computer screen, and on the continuing conversation on the monitor
before their eyes. Furthermore, because there is little instructor control and relatively

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 37

free-flowing, stress-free conditions, the process does create a natural environment for
off-task talk. And while some theorists would argue for the merits of any meaningful
communication in the target language, the 1NTP students tend to perceive such
communication as "off on tangents" and therefore a waste of time. 'I don't think it is
valuable enough in and of itself to take so much of our time," stated one of the INTP
students. It is obvious then that the freedom to express themselves as they
communicated via the LAN was perceived by some members of this personality type
not to be linguistically beneficial even though French was still the language of
communication.

Finally, the data reveals that the INTP students, in particular, were not accustomed to
"learning' and "enjoyment' as simultaneous events in the process of language learning.
In response to an open-ended statement “I have found that the secret to successfully
learning French is. . .," the INTP's as a group responded that the secret resided in "drill
on grammar;" "patterns," “verbs," and "vocabulary." Again, the preference of these INTP
learners leans definitely toward the structural framework of the language, rather than
toward the more free-flowing interaction of computer assisted discourse. The less than
positive response from the two INTP students to the use of this open-ended medium is
therefore understandable.

CONCLUSION

The use of the LAN in the Conversation and Composition French course was definitely
perceived as a beneficial experience, linguistically, effectively, and interpersonally by
seventeen of the nineteen students in this pilot study. The data validate these
perceptions both quantitatively and qualitatively. That students of varying personality
profiles as identified by the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory respond favorably to the
computer lab communication attesting to greater participation than in the regular
classroom confirms the compelling power of LAN communication for introverted as
well as extroverted language learners.

While the INTP personality type responded somewhat less positively to the computer
lab conversation, this information should serve as a challenge for the creative language
professor to become aware of possible difficulties for this “type.” The objective is to
have every student actively engaged in using the target language to communicate
his/her ideas, thoughts and feelings even in the most common place of topics in the

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 38

foreign language class. While never a replacement for oral communication in the
foreign language classroom, use of the LAN can be an important addition to classroom
instruction aided by technology. With appropriate access to a networked laboratory on
campus, a language class could have a computer mediated discussion as often as once a
week or as infrequently as three to four times during a semester (see Note for
information on the facilitating software).

The potential of this area of CALL and the implications for Second Language
Acquisition research are only beginning to be examined. It is the finding of this study
that student response to the medium is generally positive and its use effective in
stimulating student interaction in a meaningful context.

LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

While setting forth some interesting results and findings, this study must be considered
as preliminary and not conclusive as to the response of all personality types to
computer assisted discussion in the foreign language class. It is to be hoped that this
initial study will open the door to more thorough and extensive research in this area.
The need certainly exists for further investigation of student response to LAN discourse
using a larger population and including representatives of all sixteen MBTI types and
multiples of each type. Research should also be conducted on students using the LAN
for synchronous real-time communication at the beginning and advanced levels of
language learning. Further research could and should be extended to include other
languages in addition to French as each language presents its own particular set of
challenges which may evoke different, language-specific student reactions. More
studies on specific areas of investigation as well as longitudinal projects will determine
long-term effectiveness of the medium.

NOTE

The Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment (DIWE) can be purchased or ordered for
a 30-day demo. Contact: Daedalus, 1106 Clayton Lane #280 W, Austin, TX 78723. Phone:
(800) 879-2144

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 39

APPENDIX A. PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF A NETWORK LAB SESSION USING
THE DAEDALUS MODULE INTERCHANGE
Lucy: Bonjour tout le monde!!
J’aime cet histoire beaucoup. Il est tres interessant et il y a beaucoup d’action. Des images sont belles
aussi.

Roger: Je m’en reve que j’ai pu vivre aux ces annees.

Nancy: Bonjour!

Leigh: Le plus grand contrast que je vois dans le conte est avec la description de le moulin. Le
ligne 7 le decrit comme une vraie gaiete, et par le fin Zola a dit “le pauvre moulin” ligne 938. C’est une
grand changement dans le tone.

Susan: Le message de Zola est la brutalite de la guerre. La guerre destruit tout, meme ce vieux
moulin et la vieux nature.

Sara: Dans le debut du texte, Zola parle beaucoup de la nature et le moulin. Il parle de la
beaute et le tranquillite de le village de Rocreuse. Mais a la fin d’histoire, ses descriptions sont tres court.
Il n’y a rien a dire. Labeaute et le tranquillite ont disparu.

Roger: Il a parle comme il etait un moulin pitteresque et maintenant, il brulera au sol.

Roberta: Je ne comprendre la derniere histoire tres bien. J’etais un peu perde a la fin. Je sais que
Dominique est fusille, et que le pere Merlier est tue, mais je ne comprends exactement qui. C’est qu j’etais
un peu perde.

Ellen: Au debut de l’histoire, l’auteur presente le moulin et Rocreuse comme une site
enchantee; cependent, la guerre detruit la magique du moulin et l’amour de Francois et Dominique. Le
ligne 26 decrit le <<parc enchantee>> et le ligne le contrastee et il dit <<le pauvre moulin!>>

Lucy: On penserait que les deux textes sont de contes differents. Le premier n’est pas serieux. Il
y a une fete. Tout le monde est heureux et content. Les images sont tres belles. Le deuxieme esst tres
violent. Les images sont des images de mort et de distruction. On peut comparer le moulin dans les deux
textes.

Instructor: Roger—vous auriez voulu vivre a cette epoque? Pourquoi. ? Quest-ce qui vous attire?
Oui, Leigh—tout le ton change—et en quoi consiste ce “ton”?

Susan: Au debut du texte, on voit une veille nature, qui est tranquille et dure longetemps. Le
moulin est un batiment tellement vieux et il a une personalite. Zola le compare avec une femme. A la fin
du recit la beaute est disparu. La nature et le moulin est destruit. Meme le temps fair mal. L’orage nous
montre la destruction et le fin dramatique.

Lucy: Cet histoire compare la paix et la guerre. L’autour utilisait les images de nature pour
juxtiposer les deux.

Instructor: Oui, Susan—Zola veut qu’on pense a la destruction de la guerre—quelles images de ces
deux parties du texte vous frappent le plus?

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 40

APPENDIX B. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEWS

The nineteen students participating in the study were interviewed during the week
following the last day of class. An independent researcher and co-author of this article
interviewed 10 of the students and another French teacher (not involved with the class)
interviewed the other 9. All students were asked the following questions:

1. Tell me about your experience in the computer lab—was this a good, bad or
indifferent language learning experience?

2. Do you think you learned anything specifically from participating in the lab
sessions—in terms of reading, writing, oral expressions and/or comprehension?

3. From a social perspective—how did you feel about communicating with your
classmates and teacher using the network?

APPENDIX C. STUDENT PRE-STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE

FRENCH 342: CONVERSATION and COMPOSITION

STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: __________________________

CHECK ONE: MWF 10 a.m. ____ MWF, T/TH 2:10 p.m. _____

Previous experience in French: (Check all that apply)

At UTK Fr. 111 _____; Fr. 112 _____; Fr. 211 _____; Fr 212 _____; Other _____;

French courses taken at an institution other than UTK:

Do you use a computer for word processing? _____yes _____no

If yes, how long have you been using computers?
_____ less than 3 months; _____ 6 months to 1 year; _____ more than 1 year

In an effort to help students in this course succeed in improving their conversation and
composition in French at this intermediate level, we would like you to answer the
following questionnaire as honestly as possible. Your responses will have no bearing on
your grade in this course and will be kept strictly confidential.

I. Please rate your reactions:

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. No Opinion 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree
1. _____ I feel reasonably confident in my written French.
2. _____ I am comfortable speaking French in class.
3. _____ I am comfortable reading French.
4. _____ I can express my thoughts reasonably well in conversational French.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 41

5. _____ I can express my thoughts satisfactorily in written French.
6. _____ I understand spoken French reasonably well.
7. _____ I understand written French reasonably well.
8. _____ I enjoy discussing ideas with my classmates in class.
9. _____ I feel I have ample time to express my thoughts when I am questioned in class.
10. _____ I speak only French in this class and don’t find it necessary to use English to
express my ideas.

II. Complete these statements:

1. In my French class, I am most confident when __________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. In my French class, I am least confident when __________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX D. POST-STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE

Fr. 342 Student Questionnaire (Post-study)

I. Name ____________________________________ Section ___________________

What grade do you think you will receive in this class:

A+ A B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D-

Please complete the sentences:

The best thing about this course is

I would suggest the following way/s to improve this course:

II. Please rate your reactions to the following statements by putting the letter of your
choice in the blank by the statement below:
A. Strongly agree; B. Agree; C. No opinion; D. Disagree; E. Strongly Disagree

After completing this course I can say that generally speaking:

1. _____ I enjoy studying the French language.
2. _____ I am comfortable speaking French in class.
3. _____ I enjoy writing in French.
4. _____ I like listening to French and trying to understand it.
5. _____ I am comfortable reading French.
6. _____ I feel that my pronunciation is good.
7. _____ I like writing on a computer.
8. _____ I can express myself reasonably well in conversational French.
9. _____ I can express my thoughts satisfactorily in written compositions in French.
10. _____ I understand spoken French reasonably well.
11. _____ I really don’t like my compositions to be evaluated.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 42

12. _____ I don’t like re-writing my compositions.
13. _____ I usually get anxious when I have to respond to a question in French class.
14. _____ I am embarrassed to volunteer answers in French class.
15. _____ I am generally tense when participating in French class.
16. _____ I can never understand why other students are so nervous in French class.
17. _____ I usually feel relaxed and confident when active participation takes place in
class.
18. _____ Whenever I have to answer a question out loud, I get nervous and confused in
French class.

Please complete each sentence.

1. In my French class, I am most nervous when
2. In my French class, I am most at ease when
3. I have found that the secret to successfully learning French, or any other foreign
language is

Thinking back on your experience in the computer lab using InterChange, please
answer these questions regarding your use of the network for communication. Use the
same 5 point values: A – strongly agree to E – strongly disagree.

I. Possible Linguistic Benefits: When writing messages on InterChange

1. _____ I monitor my use of grammar and vocabulary.
2. _____ I understand the texts better.
3. _____ I like the increased reading practice.
4. _____ I like the increased writing practice.
5. _____ I can express my thoughts better orally after using this conversational writing
practice.
6. _____ I find that I participate more in the lab class than in oral discussion in the
regular class.
7. _____ I like the conversational aspect of the InterChange.
8. _____ I think I have improved my automaticity, i.e., ability to express my self easily
using common phrases and expressions in the lab.

II. Possible Affective Benefits

1. _____ I feel less stress in the lab than in the classroom.
2. _____ I have time to think and compose my message.
3. _____ I feel in control of the conversation.
4. _____ I like not having to wait my turn to “speak.”
5. _____ I have enjoyed the experience in the lab.

III. Possible interpersonal benefits

1. _____ I feel I got to know my classmates better because of our lab interaction.
2. _____ I like the opportunity for “real” conversation (things I want to talk about) in the
InterChange sessions.
3. _____ I think the male students in the class were more talkative and revealed their
true feelings in the lab discussion more often than in oral classroom discussions.
4. _____ I think the female students were more talkative and revealed their true feelings
more often in lab sessions than in oral classroom discussion.
5. _____ I feel I got to know my teacher better through interaction in the lab.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 43

6. _____ Students communicate differently in the lab than in the classroom.
7. _____ The teacher communicates differently in the lab than in the classroom.
Please add any explanatory comment for #6 and 7 that you can here:

IV. Perceived Computer Environment Control

1. _____ I feel compelled to use French exclusively when communicating in the lab.
2. _____ I feel compelled to participate in the computer conversation whereas in class I
can sit and just listen if I like. Please explain your answers below:

REFERENCES

Beauvois, M. H. (1994). “E-Talk: Attitudes and Motivation in Computer Assisted

Classroom Discussion.” Computers and the Humanities 28: 177-190.
_____. (1993). “E-Talk: Empowering Students Through Electronic Discussion in the
Foreign Language Classroom.” The Ram’s Horn 7, 41-47.
_____. (1992a). Computer Assisted Classroom Discussion in French Using Networked
Computers. Dissertation. The University of Texas at Austin.
_____. (1992b). “Computer Assisted Classroom Discussion in the Classroom:
Conversation in Slow Motion.” Foreign Language Annals 25, 455-464.
Cononelos, T., and M. Oliva (1993). “Using Computer Networks to Enhance Foreign
Language/Culture Education.” Foreign Language Annals 26, 525-534.
Ely, C. M. (1988). “Personality: Its Impact on Attitudes Toward Classroom Activities.”
Foreign Language Annals 21, 1, 25-32.
Faigley, L. (1990). “Subverting the Electronic Workbook: Teaching Writing Using
Networked Computers.” Heineman-Boynton the Writing Teacher as Researcher: Essays
in the Theory of Class-based Writing 290-312. Upper-Montclair, NJ.
Kelm, O. R. (1992). “The Use of Synchronous Computer Networks in Second Language
Acquition: A Preliminary Report.” Foreign Language Annals 25, 441-454.
Kemp, F. (1993, Winter). “The Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment.” Educator’s
Tech Exchange 24-30.
Lawrence, G. (1991). People Types and Tiger Stripes. University of Florida: Center for
Applications of Psychological Type, Inc.
Moody, Raymond (1988). “Personality Preferences and Foreign Language Learning.”
The Modern Language Journal 72, 4, 389-401.
Myers, I. B. (1980). Introduction to Type. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
Nicholas, M. A. and Toporski, N. (1993). “Developing ‘The Critic’s Corner’: Computer
Assisted Language Learning for Upper-level Russian Students.” Foreign Language
Annals 26, 469-478.
Oxford, Rebecca (1996). “Style Wars as a Source of Anxiety in Language Classrooms.”
Affect in Second Language Learning, a Practical Guide to Dealing with Learner Anxiety,
edited by Dolly J. Yong (Forthcoming).
Slatin, J. (1991). “Is There a Class in This Text? Creating Knowledge in the Electronic
Classroom.” Socio-Media: Multi-Media, Hypermedia, and the Social Construction of
Knowledge, edited by Edward Barrett, MIT Press. 27-51.

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 44

AUTHORS’ BIODATA

Margaret Healy Beauvois (Ph,D., University of Texas) is Assistant Professor of French at

the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Jean Eledge (Ed.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville) is Assistant Professor of

Education and French at Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee.

AUTHORS’ ADDRESSES

Margaret Healy Beauvois

Department of Romance and Asian Languages
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, TN 37996

Phone: 423-974-2311
Fax: 423-974-2313
E-mail: beauvois@utkvx.utk.edu

Jean Eledge
Language Arts Department
Lee College
Cleveland, TN 37311

Phone: 423-478-7000
Fax: 423-478-7075

CALICO Journal, Volume 13 Numbers 2 & 3 45