A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Learners’ Participation Strategies

Abstract

Once upon a time there were four learners of French and their names were Fleurie, Laura, Eleanor and David. They hopped onto the Internet from Britain and the US and clicked their way across Le Monde (more precisely its online discussion pages). Fleurie and Eleanor, who were good little students, looked for penpals in order to improve their French, whilst Laura and David were much more concerned by vigorous debates about racism and cultural imperialism. In fact, David didn’t even manage to write in French. Yet of the four, Laura and David were those who were warmly welcomed to stay and contribute, whilst Fleurie and Eleanor left, apparently discouraged.