Innovation in Language Learning

Communication skills are an important component of using English as a Second/Foreign Language (L2) [1]. However, effective utilization of L2 does not only presuppose the four basic skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing, but also implies the enactment of interpersonal communication skills in diverse contexts (for instance, see: [2]). It is the latter set of skills that are investigated in our paper in the context of (a) the knowledge-motivation-skills theoretical approach [3] and (b) asynchronous online communication in both the private and educational sphere. A survey was conducted among university students (N=170) who attended two undergraduate L2 courses in which the respondents were asked to evaluate the importance of the following specific components that contribute to effective asynchronous L2 interaction: knowledge, motivation, composure, self-disclosure, verbal expressivity, and conversational skills. All the components of the aforementioned constructs were predominantly evaluated as having “average”, “much” or “very much” importance in asynchronous online L2 communication. Having in mind the survey results, the authors have devised several exemplary learning activities with a potential to improve specific online communication skills in asynchronous L2 interaction that can be performed by students using OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot conversational artificial intelligence tools.