The Use of Skype as a Synchronous Communication Tool Between Foreign Language College Students and Native Speakers

Abstract

The rapid growth and interest of college students in Computer Mediated Communication and social media have impacted the second language learning and teaching process. This article reports on a pilot project that attempts to analyze the use of Skype as a synchronous communication tool in regard to the attitudes of students in learning a foreign language when interacting with native speakers and engaging in conversation. The participants are Spanish foreign language students at Fordham University in New York City and English foreign language speakers at a Jesuit university in Bogotá, Colombia. Students were paired up and required to set up online conversation meetings. The results of the pedagogical experience of this pilot project suggest that students felt more interested in engaging in conversation with native speakers and exchanging personal and academic information as well as other aspects of their culture using the target language rather than completing language laboratory activities or writing compositions.