COMPUTER-ASSISTED CLASSROOM DISCUSSION IN THE FOREIGN-LANGUAGE CLASSROOM - CONVERSATION IN SLOW MOTION

This article explores an innovative use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the form of a computer network used for real-time, synchronous discussion in intermediate Portuguese and elementary French classes. Of special interest to the author am the communicative opportunities offered by a local area network (LAN) in the teaching of foreign languages. She describes how computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD) provides a unique environment for student-student and student-teacher interaction in an experimental networked laboratory established by the English Department at the University of Texas, Austin.