Effects of SCMC, ASCMC and FFC on Korean EFL Leamers Psychological Aspects

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC), asynchronous CMC and face-to-face communication on the psychological aspects of Korean EFL students. The psychological aspects in question include willingness to communication and other affective variables, which prove to be conducive to communication in English. For this purpose, the present study analyzed students' psychological aspects during text-chatting, posting on a bulletin board, and oral discussion and compared the gain scores from pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaires. The results revealed that face-to-face communication promoted students' psychological aspects by providing a real context for direct interaction. In contrast, synchronous chatting did not enhance students' psychological aspects. This might be due to several problems in implementation. Asynchronous posting on a bulletin board did not have much effect on students' psychological aspects. Findings suggest that face-to-face communication can provide a more favorable environment for encouraging positive psychological aspects toward English communication than the CMC modes. Pedagogical implications for the effective use of CMC are further discussed