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Using Instant Messaging for Collaborative Learning: A Case Study

In the spring of 2003, I became intrigued by the use of instant messaging (IM) when one of my English as a Second Language (ESL) students urged me to buy a webcam and sign up for Yahoo! Messenger so that we could chat and see each other during her night shift at work where she processed orders online. Encouraged by studies in corporate settings that showed the extensive use of IM for quick task-related consultations among co-workers (Poe 2001), and as a means of manipulating social distance between subordinates and superiors (Quan-Haase, Cothrel, and Wellman 2005), I spent time learning how to communicate effectively with colleagues and students using the text, video, and audio components of various IM applications. I soon realized the potential pedagogical benefits of the various modalities of IM for ESL and foreign language learning by enabling instructors to interact with and provide immediate feedback to students in the second language.