Student Perceptions of Virtual Exchanges for L2 Practice: A Comparison of Two Platforms

Abstract

While comprehensible input is the focus of most current approaches to language acquisition, gradually aiding the students to push themselves to produce oral language is also critical.  Whereas children learning their first language and learners in immersion settings have constant opportunities to test their hypotheses about the language via output, students in a second language (L2) classroom have very limited exposure to input and even more limited oral practice opportunities. In addition, many oral activities, even those that supposedly require creative speech and a negotiation of meaning, fail to provide learners with authentic, spontaneous, and extended speaking practice. This study will compare two of the more popular conversation services, discuss the advantages of using them for a variety of classes and levels, share specific pre and post speaking assignments designed to target all 5 Cs, and report findings from class surveys on student perceptions regarding the benefits of using partner chat services for improving oral proficiency and overall communicative competence.