Comparing face-to-face and online students’ oral interaction in an L3 german classroom task

The synchronous practice of foreign language speaking skills in the context of tasks in online teaching environments has developed rapidly thanks to technological advances. In this article we present the design and results of a pilot project and subsequent study comparing the oral interaction of 6 face-to-face students of L3 German with the interaction of 6 online students via a web conferencing tool, performing an oral task developed for the purpose of this study. This qualitative analysis focuses on discursive aspects such as pauses, overlaps and interruptions, as well as discursive complexity and design competence, paying special attention to collaborative task performing. The results of the study indicate no significant differences in the analysed data between the two groups performing the tasks, either face-to-face or online, via web conferencing, except for the greater number of pauses, interruptions and slight overlaps in the interaction.