Affordances in The Online Interaction of English Language Learners in Distance Education

Abstract: The main objective of this research was to describe the mechanisms for engagement with affordances that help to sustain written interpersonal interactions of students in online discussion forums of a virtual learning environment while they were learning English as a foreign language. The notion of affordance was discussed in this study according to three dimensions: (i) environmental, (ii) technological, and (iii) linguistic, associating a pragmatic theory to the latter (GREENO, 1994; VAN LIER, 2000; LAMY & HAMPEL, 2007). The research findings showed that the environmental and technological affordances contributed to the construction of students’ presence as well as of a learning community. New forms of online interactions afforded new forms of language learning, especially by the movement of relexicalization and gap-filling.

摘要：本研究的核心目标为阐明可供性（affordance）的参与机制，该机制可助力以英语作为外语的学习者在虚拟学习环境的在线讨论论坛中维持书面人际互动。本研究从三大维度对可供性概念展开探讨：其一为环境维度，其二为技术维度，其三为语言维度，其中语言维度结合了语用学理论（GREENO, 1994; VAN LIER, 2000; LAMY & HAMPEL, 2007）。研究结果显示，环境可供性与技术可供性有助于构建学生的个体在场感与学习共同体。在线互动的新形态为语言学习提供了新路径，尤其体现在再词汇化（relexicalization）与补全空缺（gap-filling）两种实践过程中。