O n f e r e n c e

Huifen Lin 
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
[e-mail] 
Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) in L2 Oral Proficiency 
Development: A Meta-analysis
Bio data 
Huifen Lin
is an associate professor in the Foreign Languages and Literature Department 
in National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Her research interests include computer-
mediated communication, instructional animation and web-based instruction.
Abstract 
The ever growing interest in the development of L2 oral proficiency in a Computer-
mediated Communication (CMC) classroom has resulted in a large body of studies looking 
at both the direct and indirect effects of CMC interventions on the acquisition of oral 
competences. The present study employed a quantitative meta-analysis approach to 
investigate such effects by synthesizing (quasi)experimental studies that provide 
empirical quantitative data for effect size calculation. A literature search located 25 
relevant studies for the final analysis. Each study was independently coded for learner, 
design and publication characteristics. Averaged effect size was estimated from the 
included studies. The results of the meta-analysis reveal that communication mediated 
by computer/technologies produced a moderate and positive effect on L2 learners’ oral 
proficiency compared to F2F or no interaction. Furthermore, CMC has roughly similar 
effect on pronunciation, lexical and syntactic level of oral production; however, it might 
have a negative impact on fluency and accuracy. This meta-analysis also found that the 
effect of CMC on oral proficiency depends on several methodological factors such as task 
type, outcome measurement, treatment length, and assessment task. Future research 
suggestions are provided taking into consideration the limitations of this meta-analysis..