5. Conclusions

We have explored the relationship between the use of new technology and changes in language use in the case of the use of a Bulletin Board by groups of pupils collaborating cross-linguistically in three tasks. By means of theoretical and methodological triangulation, we have analysed the same discourse data in three ways. We showed that patterns of language choice in the discourse reflected considerable differences in levels of activity between the anglophones and the francophones pupils. We documented the fact that many dimensions influenced the way participants achieved co-ordinated action and that the conditions and constraints under which they used language in WebBoard were more important in the mediation of meaning than the features of WebBoard itself. We argued that groups might be involved in different activities even though they might be doing the same tasks and presented evidence that groups were learning to use the resources afforded by the technology creatively. We suggested, even when it is carried out in an educational context, CMC research may be more productive if it is not carried from an educational perspective until the affordances of the new technology for learning are better known.

The study is exploratory and would have gained a lot from independent evidence obtained by means of questionnaires and interviews to confirm or disconfirm interpretations. However, carrying out multiple analysis of the WebBoard collaborative discourse record has given us a better understanding of the complexity of its textual density.