This study is intended to understand collaborative learning in a context that enables communication by computer text messaging. Particularly, the study seeks to determine the level of collaboration in a classroom that uses computer-mediated communication (CMC), as well as to examine the relationship between the language functions associated with CMC generated messages and the collaborative learning process. In this study, "language functions refer to ways we can use language to achieve a communicative purpose" (Olsen, 1992). It is what people "can do with language" (McDonell, 1992), or "what people want to do with the language" (Finocchiaro & Brumfit, 1983, p.13), such as: requesting information, requesting confirmation, making suggestion, apologizing, etc.
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