4. Conclusion
In this chapter, a collaborative tandem e-mail project in an LSP environment has been outlined. The central issue of finding common ground between two diverse teaching enviroments has been addressed. We have argued that an approach like task-based learning, both from a task design and a methodological point of view, stands out as a flexible framework for task implementation in an environment where communication is computer-mediated and the L2 is being learned for specific purposes. The chapter has presented the results of a quantitative study in which two tandem groups wrote to each other under different conditions, one group with set tasks to perform and the other without them. The results of comparing the two groups have been analyzed, and a series of pedagogical implications have been drawn.
Yet, although some issues related to performance have been addressed, such as the amount of interaction, the regularity of the exchange, and sustainability throughout time, the study of these issues has been limited to a quantitative approach. Moreover, the small number of participants only allows us to point at certain trends. The authors of this study believe that a qualitative analysis is also needed. A qualitative study may provide further answers to what makes computer-mediated interaction of this kind work successfully under certain conditions and not so successfully under other conditions.
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Appel, C., Guerrero, R.G. (2006). Finding Common Ground in LSP: A Computer-Mediated Communication Project. In: Macià, E.A., Cervera, A.S., Ramos, C.R. (eds) Information Technology in Languages for Specific Purposes. Educational Linguistics, vol 7. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-28624-2_5
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