Title: Electronic foreign language interactions and variations among participants

Authors: Annmarie Gorenc Zoran, Jasmina Starc, Marjan Blazic

Addresses: Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Na Loko 2, Novo mesto 8000, Slovenia. ' Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Na Loko 2, Novo mesto 8000, Slovenia. ' Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Na Loko 2, Novo mesto 8000, Slovenia

Abstract: It is implied that online discussions gives a certain sense of anonymity in that one does not necessarily know the gender, ethnicity or social status, to whom they are speaking. However, online discussions may incorporate characteristics that give away this anonymity. Recent studies have shown that there are differences in discourse among women and men in online communication and that gender plays an important role in determining the use and behaviour in computer-mediated communication. This paper presents results of a replication study examining whether gender differences exist among undergraduate students enrolled in the English for Specific Purposes courses. The data revealed that there were certain statistically significant gender differences. Further research and implications are discussed.

Keywords: CMC; computer-mediated communication; discourse conventions; e-communication; higher education; gender differences; information; open learning environments; online communication; undergraduate students; foreign languages; language learning; e-learning; electronic learning; online learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIOME.2010.034637

International Journal of Information and Operations Management Education, 2010 Vol.3 No.4, pp.356 - 367

Published online: 13 Aug 2010 *

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