Researching Learner Self-Efficacy and Online Participation through Speech Functions: An exploratory study

Oct 15, 2026

This study explores how Eggins and Slade’s Speech Functions can describe learner participation patterns in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC). The analysis links learners’ self-efficacy—judgments of second-language performance capability—to the discourse roles they display online. A small corpus sampled from a larger study compares one face-to-face interaction and one synchronous text chat between a high-self-efficacy (HSE) learner and a low-self-efficacy (LSE) learner.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages24

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Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

calico journal (online) issn 2056–9017 Article Researching Learner Self-Efficacy and Online Participation through Speech Functions: An exploratory study Olga Sánchez-Castro1 and Antonella Strambi2 Abstract This study explores the potential contribution of Eggins and Slade’s (2004) Speech Functions as tools for describing learners’ participation patterns in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC). Our analysis focuses on the relationship between learners’ self-efficacy (i.e. personal judgments of second language performance capabilities) and discourse roles displayed in the online medium. A small corpus of data was selected as a sample from a larger study, comprising one face-to-face interaction (FtF2) and one synchronous text-based chat interaction (SCMC2) between two participants: Celine, a high-self-efficacy (HSE) learner, and Concetta, a low-self-efficacy (LSE) learner. The chat-log and conversation transcript were analyzed by employing: (a) quantitative measures of participation; namely words and turns produced by the participants, (b) Dörnyei and Kormos’s (1998) taxonomy of Communication Strategies, and (c) Eggins and Slade’s (2004) classification of speech functions. Our results suggest that speech functions are indeed effective at describing the social roles enacted by learners during interaction across the two media, in terms of discourse dependence or independence, as well as dominance. Therefore, by complementing other methods, such as quantitative measures of participation and qualitative analyses of communication strategies, speech functions can contribute toprovid- Affiliations 1Flinders University, Australia. [email: olga.castro@flinders.edu.au](email: olga.castro@flinders.edu.au) [2](2Flinders University)[Flinders University](2Flinders University), Australia. [email: antonella.strambi@flinders.edu.au](email: antonella.strambi@flinders.edu.au) calico journal vol 34.2 2017 219–242 [https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.26389](https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.26389) ©2017, equinox publishing 220 Researching Learner Self-Efficacy ing a comprehensive picture of the relationship between SCMC, learners’ selfefficacy, and participation patterns. Keywords: computer-mediated communication; self-efficacy; speech functions; communication strategies; second language learning 1. Introduction This study explores the contribution of Eggins and Slade’s (2004) Speech Functions to research into learners’ participation patterns in second language (L2) interaction, with a focus on the relationship between learners’ self-efficacy and social roles enacted in the online medium. Eggins and Slade’s (2004) Speech Functions have been referred to previously in studies investigating the opportunities for interaction and collaboration afforded by Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) . Some of the variables that have been studied from a systemic-functional linguistic perspective include: • the construction of social presence and community building, including uses of humor (e.g. Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 2007); • the dynamics involved in argumentation and, more generally, features of CMC as a medium for communication (e.g. Bock, 2013; Coffin, North, & Martin, 2009); • interactants’ roles in academic discourse, especially in expert–novice relationships (e.g. Jones, Garralda, Li, & Lock, 2006; Yim, 2005) . However, very few of these studies have focused on L2 learners. Furthermore, to our knowledge, Eggins and Slade’s (2004) Speech Functions have never been used to describe learner participation patterns with a view to clarifying the relationship between L2 self-efficacy and CMC. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap, in an attempt to arrive at a better understanding of this relationship, for the benefit of L2 learners and practitioners. 2. Literature Review According to interactionist perspectives on Second Language Acquisition (SLA), active participation in L2 interaction is a fu

FAQs

How does the study use Speech Functions in analyzing online participation?

It applies Eggins and Slade’s Speech Functions to describe learners’ participation patterns by examining how discourse roles are realized in the online medium.

What data sources are compared in the exploratory study?

The study compares one face-to-face interaction and one synchronous text-based chat interaction between two participants with different self-efficacy levels.

What relationship does the study propose between self-efficacy and participation patterns?

The study examines how learners’ self-efficacy relates to discourse dependence/independence and dominance, using participation measures and discourse-role classifications.

Oct 15, 2026

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