Buckling down : Initiating an EFL reading circle in a casual online learning group

Ritsumeikan University djgizmoe@hotmail.com Despite increasing interest in online virtual worlds as possible sites for language teaching and learning, there is little information on education in existing non-profi t EFL communities. is paper introduces Cypris Chat, a casual online EFL learning group in Second Life (SL). It follows several Cypris members as they attend a special, more traditional reading circle class online, and observes how they adapt to their new roles in that class. rough research journals, fi eld notes, video recording and interviews with all participants, the author provides a constructivist perspective on how diff erent participants interpreted and reacted to this shift in roles and class structure and examines course feedback. Results suggest presumptions that participants in casual, social, self-directed online communities somehow lack academic self-discipline are ill-founded. ey also illustrate the benefi ts of qualitative methodology in studies of virtual world communities.

Buckling down: Initiating an EFL reading circle in a casual online learning group

Jean-Paul DuQuette
Ritsumeikan University djgizmoe@hotmail.comDespite increasing interest in online virtual worlds as possible sites for language teaching and learning, there is little information on education in existing non-profi t EFL EFL communities.is paper introduces Cypris Chat, a casual online EFL EFL learning group in Second Life (SL SL).It follows several Cypris members as they attend a special, more traditional reading circle class online, and observes how they adapt to their new roles in that class.rough research journals, fi eld notes, video recording and interviews with all participants, the author provides a constructivist perspective on how diff erent participants interpreted and reacted to this shift in roles and class structure and examines course feedback.Results suggest presumptions that participants in casual, social, self-directed online communities somehow lack academic self-discipline are ill-founded.ey also illustrate the benefi ts of qualitative methodology in studies of virtual world communities.

Alternative education in virtual worlds
e gradual spread of aff ordable Internet access worldwide has opened up a multitude of new venues for second language learners.Although certifi cation of language ability remains the domain of accredited, profi t-based institutions, learners wishing to improve their language independent of institutional recognition are now privy to free language learning websites, streaming radio and video and authentic interaction with native speakers through both synchronous and asynchronous chat and webcams (Felix and Askew, ).Since the early s, autonomous learners have also arguably the most popular English language learning community in Second Life.Classes at all levels are routinely full, and there are volunteer staff and learner-driven events scheduled fi ve days a week.Although research on learner motivation at Cypris is still underway, interviews and fi eld notes of interactions so far suggest that the social, casual nature of Cypris classes and between-class chat and activities are contributing factors to Cypris' popularity, as well as voluntary attendance and the ability for learners to run their own study groups.A brief explanation of typical classes at Cypris is warranted here.All activities (and indeed even casual interactions) at Cypris take place using headset-based voice chat.ough volunteer instructors have been free to propose any sort of activity or class they like, Cypris offi cers voted to standardize lessons to some extent in .Lessons are weekly, hour sessions, usually held at the Chat Ring in the Cypris Village sim, or virtual neighborhood, in Second Life (Figure ).ere is usually a warm-up activity of some sort, a theme, grammatical or pragmatic point introduced, small group work and, often, a guided travel activity to another SL SL location in the last half-hour.Lessons are not coordinated between teachers, and content is not assumed to be cumulative.Attendance is not mandatory and classes are not streamed by profi ciency (although teachers often inform students beforehand regarding the diffi culty level of upcoming classes -beginner, intermediate or advanced).Homework is rarely assigned, as learners vary from week to week.e format has more in common with RL RL community-based learning networks like the Boston and Seattle Free Schools than with other SL SL schools like Languagelab (Holt, ; Seattle Free School, ), and Professor, the owner and head instructor of Cypris, continually asserts that it is not a school.

A reading circle in Cypris
How then would students attracted to Cypris for its casual learning atmosphere perform in a more traditional classroom atmosphere?In early , Professor, himself a university instructor in Japan in RL RL, developed an online reading and discussion course as a reward for participation in the group (as measured by a scoring system he had developed with the SL SL-Moodle bridge application SLOODLE SLOODLE (SLOODLE SLOODLE, n.d.).He had been interested in piloting use of a new textbook in SL SL, Oxford's Bookworms Club Bronze: Stories for Reading Circle (Furr ) in recognition of the eff orts of longtime member Himiko, who had tried, but failed to generate interest in a reading circle two years previous.is collection of short, graded short stories is designed for groups of six learners who each take responsibility for a unique role in class discussion: . Discussion Leader -Asks basic warm up questions and keeps the conversation moving during lulls. .Summarizer -Summarizes the story. .Connector -Makes connections to the learners' real lives. .Word Master -Chooses fi ve words that are important to the story. .Passage Person -Chooses three passages to discuss that are important to the story. .Culture Collector -Discusses and compares any examples of culture in the stories and draws parallels with the learners' own cultures (Furr, ).
ere was enthusiastic competition amongst the most motivated of Cypris members to be named one of the six class participants.

Research questions
Having been involved in fi eldwork at Cypris since its inception in , I had several questions regarding the class.Just how would a reading circle function in Second Life?Would students, many of who had earlier indicated negative experiences and poor performance in their RL RL classes, have the discipline to adapt to a more traditional, formal class requiring regular attendance, homework and the purchase of a physical textbook?Would there be student resistance in the face of the instructor's comparatively authoritarian new role, especially from confi dent students older than the instructor?Or would their position as Professor's most motivated and conscientious students (as evidenced by their SLOODLE SLOODLE rewards scores) ameliorate a smooth transition?
I was also interested in overall feedback from the learners and the instructor.Would all participants be satisfi ed with the class?What suggestions would they off er for improvement?Would they want to take similar "university-style" courses at Cypris in the future?In their minds, did it provide opportunities for learning that the typical Cypris lesson did not?ese questions were the impetus for this research project, with an aim towards providing insight into the community as a whole; this in turn might shed further light on the appeal and utility of Cypris as a future alternative model for cost-free education.

Method eoretical framework
Qualitative inquiry in virtual worlds is valuable in that it may trigger insights that survey research might overlook; through participant observation, for example, the researcher not only observes but experiences the environment, which may trigger more insights than other methods (Bainbridge, ). is study is part of a larger ethnography, framed by social constructivist theories as articulated by Lincoln and Guba ( ) and Hatch ( ); conclusions are drawn through the interaction between researcher and participant perspectives.is is appropriate for the research focus, in this case, a synthesis of the disparate perspectives on the course that individuals from vastly diff erent backgrounds would bring.
is follows in the footsteps of Boellstorff ( ) and Pearce ( a; b) who have found an ethnographic approach ideal for studying communities and subcultures in virtual worlds.Despite the aforementioned questions related to class design, adaptation to new roles, and learner and teacher feedback, I followed a primarily interpretive framework for data analysis (Hatch, ), utilizing ongoing data analysis and learner histories to shape inquiries rather than simply confi rm or deny presuppositions.

Participants
e study involved seven main participants, Professor, the instructor, and six students (Table ).Oral consent from all participants was acquired the fi rst day of class, stipulating that only fi rst SL SL names would be used, and afterwards written consent was obtained via email in February .I have interacted with all the participants, both in-world, through the exterior Cypris Ning website (now defunct) and Facebook; I have also met with three participants in person.Although concerns with identity fraud in online studies do exist (especially in virtual environments like SL SL well-known for role-playing), participant background information was verifi ed to the extent possible.Vamp was the only native speaker in the group; he explained that he had wanted to practice his reading ("Honestly, I don't read books.I don't get into books").Lora (Poland), who had enough participation points to attend, was initially interested in observing but only attended the fi rst lesson; she later reported that her self-perceived English level was insuffi cient for the demands of the class.Kazy (Japan), Cacy's RL RL niece, also observed one class, but did not participate.
Six diff erent data sources were used in this study: fi eld notes from observations, videos (taken with the motion-capture software FRAPS FRAPS), researcher journal entries and past observations and participant interviews (Table ).Classes took place in early ; all eight weekly sessions were observed (one introductory class and seven proper lessons), and fi ve out of eight classes were recorded on video.Semi-structured interviews (also using FRAPS FRAPS) were necessarily brief, minute chats in my virtual offi ce in Cypris; all participants were interviewed in the week between the penultimate and fi nal classes.Follow up emails and brief interviews were conducted with two participants as well.Multiple, qualitative sources were used to ensure a rich, complex understanding of participant feedback.Data was analyzed in three stages.First, fi eld notes and FRAPS FRAPS recordings were reviewed, and additional notes taken.All interview data was then transcribed and coded for commonalities, in this case focusing on diff erences between the reading circle and their usual classes at Cypris.Finally, follow up questions and interviews in SL SL and through email were conducted when clarifi cation was required.

Role of the researcher
Before continuing, it is important to clarify my own role in the group.I am a charter member of Cypris and a senior instructor in the group.Since Cypris' inception, I have routinely made my position as researcher clear both inside and out of my classes; my role as researcher (and since , ethnographer) is also spelled out clearly in my Second Life profi le.Researchers and observers are a regular part of daily life at Cypris, and learners quickly become aware that the free lessons they are receiving are often piloting runs for RL RL classes or part of a tutor's research project.
Although classroom exchanges occasionally referenced my presence as observer, and I made some comments in text chat, minimal intrusion into class discussion during the observations was the rule, and I took a purposefully disengaged position in the classroom.After observing video from the fi rst class, I decided that my avatar's presence, though silent, was still unnecessarily distracting; from the second full class, I assumed a small butterfl y avatar and hovered in a far corner of the virtual learning space in order to make my presence as innocuous as possible.

A reading circle in Second Life
My initial research concern was mainly a question of description: how would a reading circle class in a virtual world function?As each class followed the same basic routine, an account of the fi rst class proves an exemplar.After logging into Second Life, I proceeded to the SLOODLE SLOODLE rewards building in the Cypris sim.After changing my group tag (which displays group affi liation in text above my avatar's head) to one specially created for this class, I was able to enter the SLOODLE SLOODLE building.Once inside, an ATM ATM-like device acted like a punch-card machine, taking attendance.I and the learners then clicked on a small green circle in the fl oor, and our avatars were instantly teleported to an enclosed space high above Cypris Village.
e space contained a holodeck, which, when clicked, would rez (materialize) the reading room we would use.Once we entered the room, we were greeted with a vaguely Victorian style drawing room with a desk and several couches arranged in a circle.e Discussion Leader for that class, Mystie sat at the desk, Professor stood off to her left, I stood to one side of the room near a virtual fi replace and the learners sat on the couches (Figure ).e fi rst minutes were spent by Professor discussing the homework.Homework assignments were from the textbook and were to be submitted to a Moodle website.e fi rst day there were no serious diffi culties related to homework (though later problems in format, confusion about folders and problems accessing the exterior site later became minor issues).After this discussion was over, each learner prepared to present their role and keep discussion active during their presentation for exactly minutes.A large timer loomed over the fi replace to remind everyone of how much time they had left.Mystie began as Discussion Leader.
Mystie's handling of the Discussion Leader role here later became representative of her attempts to negotiate and clarify roles in the class.e syllabus as explained by Professor always had the Discussion Leader present fi rst.Mystie, however, did not at fi rst feel this made sense; she reasoned the Summarizer should lead things off , because, she thought, learners would be able to better discuss the story if it was fresh in their minds.Accordingly, after only a minute, Mystie attempted to push the conversation over to the Summarizer for that class, Vamp.Immediately, Professor interrupted with, "Whoah, whoah, whoah…you still have minutes…" Mystie protested that she hadn't fully understand the instructions, but later she confi ded in the interview: Well because of the discussion leader's role was kind of hard to understand by the way the book…or the Professor explained because it sounds like you start off the discussion, questions about the story, but then next comes the summarizer to remind you of the story, I thought it's like, you know, the other way around.You should be reminded of the story fi rst? en we can start discussing about it.So I still feel very strange about it.
Mystie would later go on to try to confi rm how much of their presentation could be read and how much should be extemporized; this incurred the annoyance of Professor when she posted a request for clarifi cation in an inappropriate public forum on the Ning website.
After Mystie asked some general questions about the story, " e Horse of Death", it was Vamp's turn to summarize.e story is about a sick boy who becomes obsessed with riding a sinister hobby horse in a toy store across the street from his home.In the end, he sneaks out, rides the horse, and dies on it.Christine, as Connector discussed measles, the illness the boy has, and a discussion of childhood illnesses begins.Himiko, as Word Master, gave us her fi ve words that she had chosen, though she neglected to explain how they were important to the story, eventually running out of things to say.
Ann, as the Passage Person, chose passages that yielded discussion, but had not prepared discussion questions as per Professor's instructions.Luckily, he brought up an interesting point about the boy's grandmother that led to a continuation of discussion.Finally, Cacy as Culture Collector brought up the tradition of giving gifts for New Year's in the story, so conversation shifted to guesses about where the story took place.
After each member had minutes to present and lead the discussion, Professor returned and gave feedback to each member.is fi rst day, feedback was vague and positive, but as the classes progressed, he would become considerably more critical.He also made daily reference to grades without giving specifi c scores, to remind them the class was being evaluated holistically; overall class grades (A, B, C, D, F scale) were eventually handed out after the fi nal class on the Moodle site.
Professor's Second Life reading circle utilized work both in SL SL and RL RL, combining a textbook, exterior website and discussions in Second Life.As Second Life note cards are too small and infl exible for extended reading and writing activities, integration of an RL RL text and Moodle provided ways that Professor could circumvent current SL SL software limitations.Purchase of a text, though a ¥ , expense (the fi rst such educational expense these student had ever incurred at Cypris), did strengthen pressure to participate; learners who paid felt they had invested themselves seriously in the class.Use of the Moodle site for written homework allowed learners to submit their homework in a variety of diff erent formats; Christine once even handwrote her assignment, photographed it with her smartphone and sent it as a jpeg fi le.

Formality: Diff ering learner perspectives
My second concern related to how participants in a casual learning community would cope with a more formal learning environment.In this case, learner cooperation with class demands was high.All participants were able to purchase the text online, save Christine, who was not able to order it in China; Vamp provided PDF PDF fi les of the stories for her.Attendance was perfect from all participants, although Cacy had audio problems during one class and was unable to fully participate.All students, with the exception of Himiko (who did not fi nish one assignment), completed all of their daily homework.With the exception of initial resistance from Mystie regarding class roles, learners performed as per all instructions from Professor.
During interviews, all the learners agreed that the reading circle was a more formal class than they were used to, but most looked at this formality as a positive aspect of the course.Yet the characteristics I had assumed made it more formal (mandatory attendance, homework, a textbook, grades) did not necessarily refl ect the learners' notions, and nearly everyone seemed to have a diff erent conception of what was meant by "formal" (this illustrates the benefi ts of doing qualitative interviews; survey research in this case could have led to misleading conclusions).
Mystie off ered the one negative interpretation of formality, one related to a more stressful learning environment."At the beginning, yes, everyone was tense and didn't know what to do," she said."And…although we haven't paid any actual money or anything…to join the class…everyone was so nervous…" e feeling of tension was demonstrated by Ann at the beginning, when, after a strict word of advice from Professor, there was an uncomfortable silence, and he suddenly blurted out the word, "Tense." is was formality as contrast to the low-stress classes around the chat ring.
Himiko, on the other hand, looked at formality from a diff erent perspective."Because reading circle is my duty, I feel," she said."I should attend every week.So I come by all means."To Himiko formality refl ected not only mandatory attendance but mandatory participation.e group depended on her to be prepared to perform her role and help should other members need assistance. is may refl ect Himiko's situation in the fourth class, where she tried to disguise that she had not in fact done the reading. is was not only embarrassing for her, but it forced the other members to 'pull up the slack' and complete what she hadn't.
Vamp saw formality as writing, and the feeling of accomplishment that accompanies it.It is something Cypris lessons rarely involve, and it brought back memories of his days at high school: It's not something I'm used to doing.It's been a long time since I've had to do something like this…It took me a long time to write down a summary of the book.And I managed it, you know when I was fi nished I was like, 'Ah wow, done it'.
Similarly, Mystie commented on this feeling of accomplishment, saying that "Free lessons at the chat ring (are) a very good way (from) a diff erent…perspective… but (this) organized lesson is diff erent and I think it's important, too…that you feel like you are doing something." is feeling of accomplishment is related to both being graded and having to complete written assignments.
Ann saw formality as a set routine.When asked about formality, he responded, "I think it is good (for a) beginner…because if…all of the schedule is free, I can't follow the conversation because I don't know what should I say."Ann sees formality as in-class scaff olding, something that is occasionally missing from chat ring lessons.
Finally, Christine sees formality as increased learner autonomy: e normal Cypris lesson is maybe more casual.And the reading circle one may be more formal.And more spaces for the learners to discover.
When pressed later about this in e-mail correspondence, she explained that she thinks that less teacher involvement allows the learners to think about the stories for themselves. is was an unusual interpretation of "formality", one in line with Mercer's aforementioned Vygotskian take on "exploratory talk" (Mercer ; Maloch ) in which the role of the teacher is seen as an advisor, leading students into adulthood (or at least adult discourse patterns) through minimal intervention.To Christine, letting the students explore the text on their own was taking the training wheels off of education and allowing them to interact in ways similar to native speakers.
In summary, questions about class formality yielded a variety of diff erent interpretations of the term.Some saw it as increased tension, an obligation to attend, the inclusion of written work, the following of a set in-class routine, increased learner autonomy and a feeling that brings a sense of accomplishment.With the exception of the accompanying tension attendant with the nature of the class, however, all discussions were framed in the context of the positive, motivating aspects of formality.

Learner and instructor evaluations
Although Cacy had hoped for more discussion time and Vamp had expected to have more in-class readings, learner evaluations of the course were otherwise entirely positive.Besides the increase of "formality", several learners were impressed by both the reading circle format itself as well as its inclusion at Cypris: I just recognize this world is amazing -how they can make this kind of special class in (a) virtual world like this? -Ann I never have had classes like this in real life or, or in (a) virtual world.-Cacy It's interesting, because it's not like you're in real life in a classroom facing a real teacher.And actually the reading circle.Um, I never…experienced a class like that.-Christine During the last two classes, Ann began (somewhat comically) bemoaning the fact that the course was coming to an end.Mystie was already discussing the possibility of another class using the next level (Silver) text, and Professor was encouraging them to start their own reading circle in the meantime."Of course I would like to take it again; the course is very good for Cypris," said Cacy. " ere are many people who want to join the reading circle, I think." In the end, Mystie took his advice and started her own version of the reading circle in a secluded garden in Cypris, which now meets every Wednesday.Short text fi les are used instead of the textbook, but otherwise the format is similar.e format has become so popular that Ann, and another Cypris learner, Leee (China), have instigated similar weekly activities.Professor taught the same course with diff erent students later in .All participants have remained active members of Cypris.
Instructor evaluation on the course was equally positive, but for diff erent reasons.On the one hand, Professor downplayed the unique aspects of the course: e actual reading class is -it's just a regular reading class -it's a reading discussion.It's what we do in real life.So it's nothing out of the ordinary.We sit in a room, we talk about the stories.
He admitted that enthusiasm in the class had waned halfway through because the stories had become less engaging in the second half of the book; because of that, he gave the class an " .out of ".For him, the "revolutionary" aspect of the class was its implementation as part of his SLOODLE SLOODLE rewards system, which he credits with providing needed student motivation to take this formal class seriously: I believe that what we've done in the last eight weeks is going to prove that virtual worlds are a defi nite possibility for education.ere's just no doubt about it in my mind whatsoever.We've done it.at's it.By all accounts, the class was successful; however interviews show that participants had diff ering ideas as to why, ideas based on their needs and (by inference) what they fi nd lacking in the more casual lessons around the Cypris Chat Ring.

Sidenote: Use of hyperlinks
One notable feature that I had not witnessed frequently in previous classes was the use of hyperlinks to ameliorate responses or explanations.e use of hyperlinks to provide upto-date, authentic information for online learning has been well documented (Warschauer, ; Deguchi, ; Rosen, ), but most studies have so far focused on the end product of collaborations.Wang & Hsu ( ) go further, indicating that with hyperlinks in SL SL, "each learner has the freedom to discover information relevant to his or her interests and to explore knowledge from the web" (p. ).e assumption here, though, is still that teachers provide the links to choose from.
e learners from the Cypris reading circle class, however, demonstrate a phenomenon I have observed occasionally with group members both in and out of class, the sharing of hyperlinks both for entertainment and for clarifi cation.In the second class, for example, " e Little Hunters at the Lake", a young boy borrows his father's rifl e and shoots a crane by mistake.Some of the learners had never seen a crane, but Christine quickly used a search engine in another window, found a picture of a crane and then shared the link with everyone in text chat.e learners were autonomous and web-savvy enough to be able to share examples and information with each other directly without an appeal to the instructor.

Limitations of the study and methodological concerns
ere are several caveats and concerns related to this project.As part of a larger ethnographic project, this research is subject to the same caveats regarding generalization necessary in interpreting all qualitative research; as Cypris Chat is a relatively unique online community, the focus is more on adequate description of the events and participants in context, the particularity (Greene & Garacelli, ), and readers are allowed to draw their own conclusions.As for possible problems with the interview data, some participants may have been reluctant to open up with criticisms of the reading circle or Cypris in general because of my long time association with the group.Alternately, some may have suspected that publication of this study in some form another was inevitable, and it was important to promote the group they were involved with in a positive light.Finally, the twenty minute interviews were regrettably brief, which inevitably led to more structured questions and less space for emergent concerns to arise than was preferable in a study with a constructivist paradigm and an interpretative analytical framework.However, continued access to participants has allowed for follow-up contact with participants by e-mail and in SL SL when clarifi cation was deemed necessary.

Conclusion
e popularity of this class suggests that among the most motivated students at Cypris there is strong learner interest in a side-curriculum of structured, university-style classes.ough all participants had previously reported dissatisfaction with their own RL RL grades and classes, the pressure of required attendance, participation and (written) homework responsibilities along with the attendant feeling of accomplishment appealed to these advanced learners.Illich ( ) writes about this phenomenon in a prelude to his discussion of casual learner networks: …the fact that a great deal of learning even now seems to happen casually and as a byproduct of some other activity defi ned as work or leisure does not mean that planned learning does not benefi t from planned instruction and that both do not stand in need of improvement.e strongly motivated student who is faced with the task of acquiring a new and complex skill may benefi t greatly from the discipline now associated with the old-fashioned schoolmaster who taught reading.(p. )."Autonomous", "self-directed" and "motivated" do not necessarily imply unwillingness to submit to demanding, intensive study, even in an essentially radical educational organization like Cypris Chat (Holt, , p. ).e learners in this case, the most motivated at Cypris, were more than willing to undergo a formal study regimen that others in the group may not have had the patience for or interest in, while still appreciating the informal nature of the group as a whole.It is only through further longitudinal study that we will be able to determine whether this class represents a shift towards a more traditional, structured teacher-driven side-curriculum at Cypris.Perhaps these more regimented classes will only appeal to the most motivated learners at Cypris, and will remain only as rewards for participation.
is study also illustrates the dangers of assuming an understanding of the predilections of open, unstreamed language learning communities, especially in online virtual worlds.One cannot assume that a general preference for a social, informal learning environment like Cypris and a desire for a more regimented curriculum are mutually exclusive (at least among motivated learners); even an assumption of agreement regarding the defi nition of a "formal curriculum" was, in this case, contentious and multifaceted.Serious, self-directed learners are these days fi nding cost-free ways to practice and learn second languages online, and it is imprudent to assume that those that have found ways to both learn and socialize

Figure
Figure 2. e Reading Circle Room

Table 2 :
Data sources