Investigating an Online Community of Self-Directed Language Learners at The Mixxer
type: CreativeWork
description: The present study investigated The Mixxer language exchange site (https://www.language-exchanges.org/) as a typical informal online community of self-directed language learners with a focus on how learners interact with each other. Learners’ perception was also studied regarding how their language learning was impacted by their participation in the community. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was adopted for this work. Data collection started with the iterative feature analysis of The Mixxer website and document analysis of website posts and records, along with an interview with the website administrator. Eight English learners and eight native speakers of English were then interviewed regarding their language learning experiences at The Mixxer after an initial understanding of The Mixxer environment was obtained. Data from interviews with learners were analyzed thematically to inform the development of the survey questionnaire for the last stage of data collection. During the last phase, a survey was distributed to over 12,000 users of The Mixxer. Importantly, more than 500 total responses were received. Of that total, 396 responses were analyzed in SPSS and MS Excel to reveal the interaction patterns and related experiences of all learners at The Mixxer. Analysis results showed that learners conducted conversational language exchange and writing corrections at The Mixxer. The user profile and search system as well as the messaging/chat tool of The Mixxer facilitated the connection of language partners. Learners used Skype or other communication tools to meet with their partners. Meanwhile, a smaller group of learners engaged in writing correction activities in the forum-style Writing section of The vii Mixxer. The Mixxer learners had one to four language partners on average. Among the 71.21% learners who had language exchange experiences at The Mixxer, they typically had one to four 31- to 60-minute exchanges each month. Ordinary learners attempted to…
abstract: The present study investigated The Mixxer language exchange site (https://www.language-exchanges.org/) as a typical informal online community of self-directed language learners with a focus on how learners interact with each other. Learners’ perception was also studied regarding how their language learning was impacted by their participation in the community. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was adopted for this work. Data collection started with the iterative feature analysis of The Mixxer website and document analysis of website posts and records, along with an interview with the website administrator. Eight English learners and eight native speakers of English were then interviewed regarding their language learning experiences at The Mixxer after an initial understanding of The Mixxer environment was obtained. Data from interviews with learners were analyzed thematically to inform the development of the survey questionnaire for the last stage of data collection. During the last phase, a survey was distributed to over 12,000 users of The Mixxer. Importantly, more than 500 total responses were received. Of that total, 396 responses were analyzed in SPSS and MS Excel to reveal the interaction patterns and related experiences of all learners at The Mixxer. Analysis results showed that learners conducted conversational language exchange and writing corrections at The Mixxer. The user profile and search system as well as the messaging/chat tool of The Mixxer facilitated the connection of language partners. Learners used Skype or other communication tools to meet with their partners. Meanwhile, a smaller group of learners engaged in writing correction activities in the forum-style Writing section of The vii Mixxer. The Mixxer learners had one to four language partners on average. Among the 71.21% learners who had language exchange experiences at The Mixxer, they typically had one to four 31- to 60-minute exchanges each month. Ordinary learners attempted to…
author: Xu, Shuya
language: en
keywords: online language learning community, self-directed online learning, informal online language learning, language exchange
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
date published: 2019-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:40:09Z
provider: Indiana University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2022/22983