Synchronous communication

[mbarek]

Synchronous communication assumes different forms, among them
chat, "a two-way form of computer-mediated communication (CMC),
a dialogue in real time as we keyboard or speak our words, an online conversation between two or more people by means of a computer" (Almeida d'Eça, 2002)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous communication ?

[claudiom]

As far as I am concerned, the main advantages of synchronous communication is the fact that no matter where a person is around the world communication takes place, there is no more the aspect of a limitation imposed by distance.
The aspect of people interacting on a global scale is also relevant, I am in Rio de Janeiro and can easily interact with a teacher in a remote village in Subsaharan Africa with the same purpose in mind. On the other hand, when there is not a two-way preoccupation and responsability of providing immediate response to the other part, this is a problem. For instance, we cannot delay on giving a response to a topic or conversation which is under discussion.

[mariabossa]

Hi!

I cannot agree more with Claudio! For the time being the only disadvantage I find is the time difference!!! The rest is... ok!!
Smiles, M

[nataliya]

I use Skype, but I haven't tried it for educational purposes yet. The problem is that our schools are not equipped with proper computer labs.
However, the benefits of such tools are obvious. They can be used for practising listening and speaking, as well as writing. Students will be able to arrange their thoughts quickly and clearly.
Synchronous communication tools can be used for holding different presentations and workshops. The only problem here is that the participants need to download the tools and be familiar with them.

Nataliya

[submauricio]

I also think that one the disadvantages is the time difference, but if the idea is to do a listening activity I guess that an audio file could be uploaded to a blog so learners that missed the session have the chance to listen to it and make comments, it wouldn't be as interactive but at least they wouldn't miss the information contained in the session. This is if we are talking about distance learning.

If your school or institute has a computer lab then the activity could take place there because even though you are in the same room with your learners they'd be practicing other skills and the assessment would have a different approach.

I guess that if you get creative and tweak what you want to do a little bit then you will find more advantages than disadvantages when using synchronous communication.

[cioccas]

A few brief thoughts on Synchronous (online) communication:

Advantages:

• real time, able to negotiate meaning with others immediately
  
• Adv. over face-to-face in that everyone can answer a question simultaneously and results can be seen by all (more than a 'hands up' question)
  
• Can be social
  

Disdavantages:

• real time - need to be available right here, right now, so time zones and 'life' can get in the way
  
• can be difficult to know the other participants
  
• the interface can restrict and/or deter some from participating - eg, unable to access, not able to use voice tools, slow typing speed or language barriers
  

Relative advatanges of Asynchonous communication over Sync:

• time to think & reflect before responding
  
• can read/listen and respond in your own time
  
• can read/listen and respond in your own place (mobile rather than seated at a computer)
  

Lesley

[nmprofozic]

I agree with all that has already been said, will just add a couple of my thoughts. I use Skype almost every day to talk to my friends and family (as I am so far from nearly everyone) but I haven't used it yet for educational purposes. i can see its advantages for language learners, particularly in developing fluency in spoken language. On the other hand, as Lesley noted, there may be some disadvantages which, I think, can be overcome by some kind of planning or really good time-management. In my opinion, planning and good management are some of the most important things when dealing with anything that is being done online. Maybe even more, when synchronous communication is concerned. Unfortunately I don't have great organisational skills but am trying to do my best:)
When you think of, let's say, just a couple or a bit more years back, when you would need to spend so much money on phone calls (if you wanted to have them) and now you can talk to someone on the other side of the world for free, have a synchronous discussion, get to know people... to me it seems amazing!
One more thing, which just came out through these readings is the notion of noticing for language learners - but there is another thread which I should probably add to some of my thoughts.

[olenacrawford]

Lesley has outlined the pros and cons very succinctly. I could not agree more.

[obenausova]

I must say I agree with Lesley most. I am not a big fan of synchronous communication and I wonder if I ever use it in education. Time difference would not be a problem since all my students are Czech and live here, yet there is a problem of timing, what looks good when planning it may be a problem when it comes to it. On the whole, I prefer email to telephone, it gives me time to think about the answer.
I teach fully online classes as well as blended learning. My students know each other because most of their subjects at the university have face-to-face tutorials. So there is not even a need to use synchronous discussions for socialising. Yet, I can imagine I will once (when I finally learn how to do it) use Yahoo Messenger for mini "conferences" replacing tutorials. I imagine I could offer some time and if people have questions arising from the material they study, they can have this type of consultation. I think this could work nicely. I only need to learn how to organize a mini conference in YM. I have done it in Skype but it seems to me YM has more features.

[remaricris]

Synchronous communication tools are extremely valuable for language teaching and learning as well as for professional development. Anyway, they also have certain disadvantages.

Advantages:

- People from all over the world can work collaboratively on a real time basis no matter the distance between them.
- They enhance autonomy and responsibility encouraging a learner central role in the learning process.
- People can create groups to work and discuss shared interests.
- Discussions and interactions are natural and fluent.
- People can attend and/or give presentations, asking/answering direct questions to experienced professional in the field.
- The four skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) can be practised and developed.

Disadvantages:

- Though they generate fluent communication, the use of language becomes simple and abbreviated, which may not be considered advisable for FL learners who also need to manage the use of formal language.
- Distant members might find if difficult to meet because of time zone differences.
- Even when forseen, technical problems might spoil discussions or presentations.
- The length of the connection might be a problem for people without a broadband connection and/or expensive internet fees.