Abstract
The study investigated the effects of synchronous online discussions on oral and written skills development for EFL university students in Vietnam after one semester of instruction, using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental approach. One 15-student class of B1-level English participated in oral role plays, whereas another 15-student class engaged in synchronous online discussions after comparable preparation. Results showed no statistically significant differences in oral and written proficiency between the two treatment groups at the end of the semester. However, students in both groups achieved great progress in speaking and writing skills, especially speaking skill after one semester. The fact that there was no significant difference of the groups strengthens the belief that online discussions support the development of the same processes that underlie oral speech. Synchronous online discussions are thus shown to be a valuable addition to the foreign language classroom, in terms of second language acquisition and learners’ language development.
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