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CHAPTER ITHE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

IntroductionThere is no doubt that Communication has gone through a lot of changes in the past few years. We started off with telephones and beepers and later on it developed further in computers and smart phones. With the development of technology came a continuous innovation for the medium of communication. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Internet Forums became very influential nowadays because people have easy access to it. These dramatic changes have of course sparked much discussion of the shifting (and sometimes even "collapsing") of cultural discourse practices and identities (e.g. AL-SAGGAF & WILLIAMSON, 2004), very often framed in terms of debates about globalization (see BACHMANN's, 2007 review of BLOMMAERT's, 2005,and FAIRCLOUGH's, 2006, approaches to the study of discourse and globalization). Discourse analysis offers a broad range of options designed to investigate a language and the context by which it is used. This study will apply the Conversational Analysis Approach to try and identify the common styles being used by forums members in a familiar, yet complicated context which is the internet. One of the central concerns in CA is with the operations of culture in action; that is, the accomplishment of culture through "talk in social interaction" (HESTER & EGLIN, 1997; SCHEGLOFF, 1997). CA shares with its "sister discipline" ethnomethodology (EM), an interest in the ways in which societal members display and make "accountable" their actions in relation to the culture-in-action. Accountable, means something like "intelligible" or "understandable" (TEN HAVE, 2002), so EM and CA are directed towards the investigation of how members create "understandability" in social action. CA is particularly concerned with the ways that conversational machinery is used to this end. An Online Forum or a Newsgroup is just like a giant electronic bullet where messages are posted for everybody to read and respond to. There are different news groups on different topics of interest where questions and opinions can be raised and responded to via email. The main agenda of this research is to give readers a glimpse of online forums discussions in the Philippines. This will serve as a way to make more people appreciate a particular aspect of our present culture and our growing interest in advanced form of entertainment. In turn this will also make individuals realize that Filipinos can be at par with other countries when it comes to the use of technological innovations.

Statement of the ProblemThe research sought to find out the ways on how people make discussions in an online forum. Specifically, the following attempts are made to discover:1. What is the nature of conversations in the forums?2. What is the structure of conversations in an online forum?3. What conversational strategies do the participants utilize in making discussions?Significance of the StudyThis research that studied the discourse of an online forum discussion is fueled by two main agenda. The first is to give readers a perspective view of an online forum discussion in the Philippines. This will serve as a way to make more people recognize a particular aspect of our culture and our increasing interest in advanced forms of technology. In turn, this will make individuals realize that Filipinos are at par with other countries when it comes to use of technological innovations. The second goal is to develop other peoples interest in what this research considers as the new form of communication in our country today. This is significant because people could have a better understanding of how this kind of conversational discourse comes to affect our communication. The researchers believed that this study would be helpful to the following sectors:For Teachers, getting students to participate in classroom discourse can be a painful process the blank stares or worse students absorbed with their laptops or Smart Phones, which is disconcerting to say the least. Yet online discussion forums present further challenges due to its virtual space.From a Student's perspective, poorly designed forums can feel like busy work, a pointless exercise. Is it really worth the effort to develop effective discussions? Yes online class dialogue is essential to developing engagement and most importantly cognitive presence, which builds critical thinking skillsOnline community feedback options increase Citizen's participation rates by providing flexible access to participate whenever and wherever convenient. Online forums are accessible 247, anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Public gatherings are not. The competition for time is tough. Everybody has lots to do. Its hard enough getting someones attention, let alone convincing them to prioritize your issue above all of the other things they have to get done in a day. Convenience is a crucial strategy. Online participation, like online learning, is the most convenient form of citizen participation.

Scope and Delimitation of the StudyThis research was limited to the discussion regarding conversations taking place in the Pinoy Exchange website under the academe sub-topic education forum which is The English Grammar and Usage Tutorial Thread. The study also demonstrated the adequacy of Conversational Analysis as a method for analyzing the language used in communication. However, certain features of conversation are to be modified since online interaction is not as immediate talk-in-interaction. Communication sequences are not as clear cut as those in oral discourse and overlapping statements can happen. Still, the language of online discussion employs generic organizational structures in maintaining conversation within the forum.

Definition of TermsFor further understanding of the study, the researchers defined the following terms operationally.Computer Mediated Communications (CMC) the use of computers and computer networks for communications purposes (Cyber Business Center 2003)Conversation Analysis (CA) is an approach to the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal conduct, in situations of everyday life.Discourse Analysis is a general term for a number of approaches to analyze written, vocal, or sign language use or any significant event.Forum is a public meeting or lecture involving audience discussion.Internet is an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.Netizen is a user of the Internet, especially a habitual or avid one.Online Forum Discussion/ Newsgroup is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.

Theoretical FrameworkDiscourse analysis offers a broad range of methodological devices designed to investigate language and the context by which it is used. Over the years, there has been an increased focus on diversities than commonalities in discourse. Thus there are those who set forth discussions on how differences and problems in understanding could be addressed before they become full-blown communication breakdowns. Discourse analyst Emmanual A. Schegloff for his part considers that formal accounts in conversation analysis are some sort of inventory of methods form which transpires in interaction (Schegloff 1999:415). George Psathas, on the other hand, believed that Conversation Analysis represents a methodological approach to the study of mundane social action (Psathas 1995:01). In any case, both posited that this particular method could provide an analysis of social interaction with reproducible results. The presence of generic organizations in conversation is necessary because they serve as guides to communication. He considers 1) turn-taking mechanisms as the first type of generic organization or phenomenon operating within talk-in-interaction, an issue concerning how participants allocate signals to address turns. The second one is 2) sequence organization or adjacency pair, a system which regards actions as doing topic talk, that a series of utterance is related to a specific topic where further utterances are shaped by the previous one. 3) Repair Mechanisms is the third type of organizational system which is used in case of errors and violation, Schegloff mentions that they are some sort of intervention procedures designed to address understanding problems (Schegloff 1999:411). 4) The Overall structural organization on the other hand, is the last type of generic system used to maintain an effective conversation. Single episodes of interaction can be distinctive to particular speech-exchange systems or classes, such that there is a significant difference between oral discourse and online discussion conversations.

OUTPUTPROCESSINPUTUnderstanding how communication works in an Online Discussion Forum and get insights with the way participants engage in this type of interactionSelecting sample conversations that would demonstrate the concepts to be revealed in the study and conducting a discourse analysis with the collected data Conversations extracted from the English Grammar and Usage Tutorial Thread under the Academe sub topic of the Education Forum from the Pinoy Exchange website.

FIGURE 1: Research Paradigm

CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThis chapter contains conceptual literature and related studies which serves as enlightening background and framework of reference for this study. A review of literature and studies are to further enrich the study.

Pinoy ExchangeA website for Forum Discussion offers a wide range of information which is segmented based on your interests: whether academic or non academic. The PinoyExchange (PEX) website alone offers a wide range of interests to its subscribers. On the website there are main topics listed according to the nature of interest. Under each main topic, there are subtopics which are segmented based on a specific subject. There are many different threads here that could interest anyone. In this website you can do things like sharing your thoughts about a wonderful book that you have just read, getting suggestions on what movies to see the next weekend or you could even seek some love advice from people who might know better than yourself.

Online DiscussionsAnonline discussion in the online communityis a conversation in avirtual communitywhose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Those who wish to be a part of an online community usually have to become a member via a specific site and necessarily need an internet connection. An online community can also act as aninformation systemwhere members can post, comment on discussions, give advice or collaborate. Online communities have become a very popular way for people to interact, who have either known each other in real life or met online. The most common forms people communicate through arechat rooms,forums, e-mail lists or discussion boards. Most people rely onsocial networking sitesto communicate with one another but there are many other examples of online communities. People also join online communities throughvideo games,blogsandvirtual worlds.The idea of a community is not a new concept. On the telephone and in the online world, social interactions no longer have to be based on proximity; instead they can literally be with anyone anywhere. The study of communities has had to adapt along with the new technologies. Many researchers have usedethnographyto attempt to understand what people do in online spaces, how they express themselves, what motivates them, how they govern themselves, what attracts them, and why some people prefer to observe rather than participate. Online communities can congregate around a shared interest and can be spread across multiple websites.There is a set of values known as netiquette (the online version for etiquette) to consider when developing an online community. Some of these values include: opportunity, education, culture, democracy, human services, and equality within the economy, information, sustainability, and communication. A developer's main focus is to create a technology that adheres to the interests, as well as the social and basic needs, of the community. An online community's main goal is to serve as a common ground for people who share the same interests and goals.People may use online communities as a calendar to keep up with events, such as upcoming gatherings or sporting events, which is going on in or out of their local communities. Online communities also form around activities and hobbies. They have become an important part of education; students can take classes online or produce hard copies, and they may communicate with their professors and peers online. Businesses have also started using online communities to communicate with their customers about their product's and service's and ways on which improvements can be made as well as to share new information about the business. Many online communities relating to health care help inform, offer advice and support patients and their families. Other online communities allow a wide variety of professionals on individual topics to come together to share their thoughts, ideas and theories on certain areas of the chosen subject or issues.For people with very specific hobbies or passions, the fandom has been an example of what online communities can grow and evolve into. Modern fandoms, which have strong online community bases, thoroughly portray these displays of development, communication, and connection within their realms of influence (e.g. social media sites like twitter or Tumblr, or television shows). A study in 2013 by Alexis Lothian in the International Journal of Cultural Studies, Lothian describes fandoms are amorphous, as can be seen from the diverse communities (from music to sports to soaps), and fandoms, to the established groupings of media fans whose norms and expectations around production and discussion of fan fiction, art, and remix video which OTW (Organization for Transformative Works) has sought to represent. There are a vast number of sites which allow for users to share and read articles and reviews of the hobbies or chosen subject. International Communication, is a simple way of describing the types of interaction that fandoms/communities do. They create ideas, share opinions, report up-to-the-minute events, and create original content for viewers to see.Online communities have grown in influence in shaping the phenomena around which they organize according to Nancy K. Baym's work. She says that: More than any other commercial sector, the popular culture industry relies on online communities to publicize and provide testimonials for their products. The strength of the online communitys power is notably displayed through the season 3 premiere of BBCs Sherlock. Online activity by fans seemed to have had a noticeable influence on the plot and direction of the season opening episode. Mark Lawson of The Guardian recounts how fans have, in a way, directed the outcome of the events of the episode. Compared to most shows, Lawson states that Sherlock has always been one of the most web-aware shows, among the first to find a satisfying way of representing electronic chatter on-screen. Though ideal for the fan base, Lawson worries of the narrowing of approach when creating the show, and how this approach may affect other shows in the future.Whether it is for a grassroots campaign or a creative direction for a television series, online communities have become a significant force for change in todays culture. Many major events in current news can be pinpointed to origins within online communities.When developing an online community, it is important to have the technologies necessary to keep members interested, manage assets, and uphold community relations. Developers take into consideration whether all the online community members are good at using technology. If an online community is not workable for some users, they may be discouraged. Surveys and discussions where members may post their feedback are essential in developing an online community.Online communities are developed to encourage individuals to come together to teach and learn from one another. They encourage self learners to discuss and learn about real-world problems or situations as well as focus on things such as teamwork, collaborative thinking, personal experiences, et cetera.Online communities are dynamic by nature and researchers and organizations work to classify them. For example it is important to know the security, access, and technology requirements of a given type of community as it may evolve from an open forum to a private and regulated forum.A number of authors have looked at classifying online communities and those within them to better understand how they are structured. It has been argued that the technical aspects of online communities, such as whether pages can be created and edited by many, as is the case with wikis includingWikipedia, or whether only certain users can post entries and edit them, as is the case with mostblogs, can place specific online communities into types ofgenre. Another approach argues that 'online community' is a metaphor and that contributors actively negotiate the meaning of the term, including values and social norms.Some research has looked at the users of online communities.Amy Jo Kimhas classified the rituals and stages of online community interaction and called it the 'Membership life cycle'. Clay Shirky talks about community of practice whose members collaborates and helps each other in order to make something better or improve a certain skill. What makes these communities bond is love of something as demonstrated by members who go out of their way to help without any financial interest. Others have suggested character theoriesto break particular patterns of behavior of particular users into certain categories.A 2001 McKinsey & Company study showed that only 2% of transaction site customers returned after their first purchase, while 60% of new online communities users began using and visiting the sites regularly after their first experiences. Online communities have changed the game for retail firms, forcing them to change their business strategies. Companies have to network more, adjust computations, and alter their organizational structures. This leads to changes in a companys communications with their manufacturers including the information shared and made accessible for further productivity and profits. Because consumers and customers in all fields are becoming accustomed to more interaction and engagement online, adjustments must be considered made in order to keep audiences intrigued.It may be beneficial to introduce a term described by Ray Oldenberg in the great good place called athird placeto help classify online communities. A third place is a generic designation for a great variety of public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realm of home and work (Oldenburg, p.16). An online community can take on the role of a third place. Third places have characteristics that many online communities exhibit, for example: they provide neutral ground for all parties; they are levelers, easily accessible and highly accommodating; conversation is the main activity; allow people to keep a low profile, and a few others. While these may be characteristics to help classify online communities, they may not all apply to an online community nor does an online community need to embody each of these characteristics.The four requirements of virtual settlement include: interactivity, a variety of communicators, and a common public place where members can meet and interact, and sustained membership over time. Based on these considerations, it can be said that micro-blogs, such as Twitter, can be classified as an online community.Not everyone is drawn to participate and engage in online communities, and age and lifestyle often discourage people from getting involved. According to Dorine C. Andrews, author ofAudience-Specific Online Community Designthere are three parts to building an online community: starting the online community, encouraging early online interaction, and moving to a self-sustaining interactive environment. When starting an online community, it may be effective to create web pages that appeal to specific interests. Online communities with clear topics and easy access tend to be most effective. In order to gain early interaction by members, privacy guarantees and interwoven content discussion are very important. Successful online communities tend to be able to function self-sufficiently.There are two major types of participation in online communities: public participation and non-public participation, also called lurking.Lurkersare participants who join a virtual community but do not contribute. In contrast, public participants, or posters, are those who join virtual communities and openly express their beliefs and opinions. Both lurkers and posters frequently enter communities to find answers and to gather general information. For example, there are several online communities dedicated to technology. In these communities, posters are generally experts in the field who can offer technological insight and answer questions, while lurkers tend to be technological novices who use the community to ask questions as opposed to offering advice.In general, virtual community participation is influenced by how participants' view themselves in society as well as norms, both of society and the online community. Participants also join online communities for friendship and support. In a sense, virtual communities fill the social voids in participants' offline lives.

Approaches to DiscourseDeborah Schifrrins Approaches to Discourse (1994) discusses the scope and the application of discourse analysis. According to her, discourse is defined in three ways: 1) language above the sentence which is about functional relations with the context of which discourse is a part 2) language in use-thus, it cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions which these forms are designed to serve in human affairs and as 3) utterances this definition suggests that discourse arises not as a collection of decontextualized units of language structure , but as collection of inherently contextualized units of language use (Schiffrin 1994:20). In Chapter III of her book, Schiffrin outlines several methods in discourse analysis. One of the methods is Conversation Analysis (CA), an approach concerned with the problem of order and how language both creates and is created by social context (Schiffrin 1994:232). Simply put, CA rejects the idea that the meaning of every utterance is the same for every context. It regards meaning as dependent on specific context and purpose.

Conversation AnalysisA number of studies have used CA's concern with the examination of the operations of common sense understanding within conversational practice to look at the intersections of different cultures in a common language. Schegloff's, Jefferson's and Sacks' (1977) early work in CA, and their observations about the organizational structures of American English conversations led to a number of studies looking at the variation of these practices across different language contexts, (e.g. Bowles & Palloti, 2004; Sifianou, 1989, Hosoda, 2006) as well as in contexts of intercultural common language communication. Halmari (1993) analyzed the differences between Finnish and English speakers in the context of business meetings conducted in English in the U.S. and showed that there were marked differences in the organization of the speech encounters. English speakers used a "how are you" sequence as part of the formal opening of the talk, and as a brief sequence used to get to the "business at hand" (see BUTTON & CASEY, 1984, on the organization of topics in conversation). In contrast, Finnish speakers treated such "introductory issues" as more lengthy topical sequence in their own right, requiring quite detailed exploration. It is easy to imagine comedy sketches playing on this subtle difference and the difficulties it may create for the hapless participants. This is not by any means intended to trivialize the matter: the apparently "minor" problem of "doing introductions" has serious consequences for basic communicative exchanges. Indeed, YOUNG (1994) has looked at the ways in which Chinese communication strategies and their "translation" into English as a second or other language have impacted on the perceptions of the Chinese by U.S. Americans. YOUNG shows that these simple cultural "ways of doing" create very tangible problems for communication that result in very real cross-cultural misunderstanding. There is also a growing body of work that looks at the interaction between second language and native language speakers, often in educational contexts. MORI (2003) examined the achievement of intercultural discourse and the ways in which it is worked through in the moment-by-moment shifts of discourse. MORI explored co-presence question-answer sequences between first and second language Japanese speakers in multi-party conversations and analyzed the ways that cultural differences were organizationally dealt with. MORI showed that the strategies used by first language speakers when asking questions served to categorize the intended answerers (the second language speakers) as linguistic novices. More generally, MORI's work illustrates that cultural differences as represented in linguistic ability are visible aspects of talk, that are used by participant's to structure their conversations in orientation to their understandings of the "others" they are orientating to. A similar point is made by PARK (2007), who looks at the ways that the categories Native Speaker (NS) and Non-Native Speaker (NNS) are made "procedurally relevant" to and in conversational interaction. Park shows that NS and NNS are related to identities (categories) of "expert" and "novice" that are treated as emergent sequentially realized and negotiated feature of the talk. CHOO, AUSTIN and RENSHAW (2007) looked at the ways in which Chinese and Vietnamese teachers and parents used cultural categories as a means of accounting for everyday educational decisions about children. The aim of the analysis was to see the types of categories that were relevant to the participants, and how they put them to use. The authors showed the nuanced ways in which different categories were used as tools for reasoning. For example, the authors illustrate how the association of students with particular nationalities was used as a means of giving explanations for perceived differences between students, e.g. how students' behavior as "fitting in," "answering back" and "speaking English" were related to the category of "Australian." In these sorts of ways, the category(s) of "nationality" were put to work as mechanisms for explanation of differences between students. Studies such as these, with their focus on the mechanisms of conversational structure as manifestations of a "stock" of knowledge, help to reveal some of the issues that can emerge through intercultural negotiations. In this way the problematic of cultures coming together in intercultural exchanges gains definition as the investigation of contexts for conversational praxis reveal distinctive issues that are a property of distinctive "speech communities" (FISH, 1978) working through discourse together.

Etiquette in TechnologyThis governs what conduct is socially acceptable in an online or digital situation. Whileetiquetteis ingrained into culture, etiquette in technology is a fairly recent concept. The rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over the Internet or social networks or devices are different from those applying when communicating in person or by audio (such as telephone) orvideophone(such asSkype video). It is a social code of network communication.Communicating with others via the Internet without misunderstandings in theheat of the momentcan be challenging, mainly becausefacial expressionsandbody language cannot be interpreted oncyberspace. Therefore, several recommendations to attempt to safeguard against these misunderstandings have been proposed.Netiquette,colloquialportmanteauofnetworketiquetteorInternetetiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging fromUsenetand mailing liststoblogsandforums.Like the network itself, these developing norms remain in a state of flux and vary from community to community. The points most strongly emphasized about Usenet netiquette often include using simpleelectronic signatures, and avoiding multi-posting,cross-posting,off-topicposting, hijacking a discussion thread, and other techniques used to minimize the effort required to read a post or a thread. Similarly, some Usenet guidelines call for use of unabbreviated English while users ofinstant messagingprotocols likeSMS occasionally encourage just the opposite, bolstering use ofSMS language. However, many online communities frown upon this practice.Common rules for e-mail and Usenet such as avoidingflame warsandspamare constant across most mediums and communities. Another rule is to avoid typing inall capsor grossly enlarging script for emphasis, which is considered to be the equivalent of shouting or yelling. Other commonly shared points, such as remembering that one's posts can easily be made public, are generally intuitively understood by publishers of Web pages and posters to use net, although this rule is somewhat flexible depending on the environment. On more private protocols, however, such as e-mail and SMS, some users take the privacy of their posts for granted. One-on-one communications, such as private messages on chat forums and direct SMSs, may be considered more private than other such protocols, but infamous breaches surround even these relatively private media. For example,Paris Hilton'sSidekickPDAwascrackedin 2005, resulting in the publication of her private photos, SMS history, address book, etc.More substantially, a group e-mail sent byCernerCEONeal Pattersonto managers of a facility inKansas Cityconcerning "Cerner's declining work ethic" read, in part, "The parking lot is sparsely used at 8 A.M.; likewise at 5 P.M. As managersyou either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing; or YOU do not CARE... In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you." After the e-mail was forwarded to hundreds of other employees, it quickly leaked to the public. On the day that the e-mail was posted toYahoo!, Cerner's stock price fell by over 22% from a high market capitalization of US$1.5 billion.Beyond matters of basic courtesy and privacy, e-mail syntax (defined byRFC 2822) allows for different types of recipients. The primary recipient, defined by the To: line, can reasonably be expected to respond, but recipients ofcarbon copiescannot be, although they still might. Likewise, misuse of the CC: functions in lieu of traditionalmailing lists can result in serious technical issues. In late 2007, employees of the United StatesDepartment of Homeland Securityused large CC: lists in place of a mailing list to broadcast messages to several hundred users. Misuse of the "reply to all" caused the number of responses to that message to quickly expand to some two million messages, bringing down their mail server.In cases like this, rules of netiquette have more to do with efficient sharing of resourcesensuring that the associated technology continues to functionrather than more basic etiquette. On Usenet,cross-posting in which a single copy of a message is posted to multiple groups is intended to prevent this from happening, but many newsgroups frown on the practice, as it means users must sometimes read many copies of a message in multiple groups.When someone makes a mistake whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a foolish question or an unnecessarily long answer be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else. If you do decide to inform someone of a mistake, point it out politely and preferably by private email rather than in public. Give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they just don't know any better. And never be arrogant or self-righteous about it. Just as it's a law of nature that spelling flames always contain spelling errors, notes pointing out Netiquette violations are often examples of poor Netiquette.Digital citizenshipis a term that describes how apersonshould act while usingdigital technologyonline and has also been defined as "the ability to participate in society online." The term is often mentioned in relation toInternet safetyandnetiquette.The term has been used as early as 1998 and has gone through several changes in description as newer technological advances have changed the method and frequency of how people interact with one another online. Classes on digital citizenship have been taught in some public education systems and some argue that the term can be "measured in terms of economic and political activities online."

Standard EnglishIn the entry forStandard English"inThe Oxford Companion to the English Language(1992), Tom McArthur observes that this "widely used term . . . resists easy definition but is used as if most educated people nonetheless know precisely what it refers to." For some of those people, Standard English (SE) is a synonym for goodorcorrectEnglishusage. Others use the term to refer to a specific geographical dialectof English or a dialect favored by the most powerful and prestigious social group. Somelinguistsargue that there really isnosingle standard of English.What counts as Standard English will depend on both the locality and the particular varieties that Standard English is being contrasted with. A form that is considered standard in one region may benon-standardin another, and a form that is standard by contrast with one variety. For example thelanguageof inner-city African Americans may be considered nonstandard by contrast with the usage of middle-class professionals. No matter how it is interpreted, however, Standard English in this sense should not be regarded as being necessarily correct or unexceptionable, since it will include many kinds of language that could be faulted on various grounds, like the language of corporate memos and television advertisements or the conversations of middle-class high-school students. Thus while the term can serve a useful descriptive purpose providing the context makes its meaning clear, it should not be construed as conferring any absolute positive evaluation (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, 2000).There are many grammar books, dictionaries and guides to English usage which describe and give advice on the Standard English that appears in writing. These books are widely used for guidance on what constitutes Standard English. However, there is often also a tendency to apply these judgments which are aboutwritten English tospoken English but the norms of spoken and written language are not the same; people do not talk like books even in the most formal of situations or contexts. If you cannot refer to a written norm to describe spoken language, then as we have seen, you base your judgments on thespeechof the best people - the educated or higher social classes but basing your judgments on the usage of the educated is not without its difficulties. Speakers, even educated ones, use a variety of different forms (Linda Thomas, Ishtla Singh, Jean Stilwell Peccei, and Jason Jones,Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. Routledge, 2004).If Standard English is not therefore a language, an accent, a style or a register, then of course we are obliged to say what it actually is. The answer is, as at least most British sociolinguistsare agreed, that Standard English is adialect. Standard English is simply onevarietyof English among many. It is a sub-variety of English.Historically, we can say that Standard English was selected though of course, unlike many other languages, not by any overt or conscious decision as the variety to become the standard variety precisely because it was the variety associated with the social group with the highest degree of power, wealth and prestige. Subsequent developments have reinforced its social character: the fact that it has been employed as the dialect of an education to which pupils, especially in earlier centuries, have had differential access depending on their social class background (Peter Trudgill, "Standard English: What It Isnt," inStandard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999).In countries where the majority speak English as their first language one dialect is used nationally for official purposes. It is calledStandard English. It is the national dialect that generally appears in print. It is taught in schools, and students are expected to use it in their essays. It is the norm for dictionaries and grammars. We expect to find it in official typed communications, such as letters from government officials, solicitors, and accountants. We expect to hear it in national news broadcasts and documentary programs on radio or television. Within each national variety the standard dialect is relatively homogeneous ingrammar,vocabulary,spelling, andpunctuation (Sidney Greenbaum,An Introduction to English Grammar. Longman,1991).Thegrammarof Standard English is much more stable and uniform than itspronunciation or word stock: there is remarkably little dispute about what is grammatical in compliance with the rules of grammar and what is not.Of course, the small number of controversial points that there are - trouble spots likewho versuswhom - get all the public discussion in language columns and letters to the editor, so it may seem as if there is much turmoil; but the passions evinced over such problematic points should not obscure the fact that for the vast majority of questions about what is allowed in Standard English, the answers are clear (Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum,A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2006).The so-callednative speakersof Standard Englishs are those people who have somehow espoused a particular set of conventions that loosely have to do with the way English has been codified and prescribed in dictionaries, grammar books and guides to good speaking and writing. This group of people includes a large number of those who, having espoused the conventions, nevertheless do not consider themselves to be excellent users of those conventions.For many of these so-called native speakers, the English language is a unique entity that exists outside or beyond its users. Rather than considering themselves owners of English, users often think of themselves as guardians of something precious: they wince when they hear or read uses of English that they consider being sub-standard and they worry, in their letters to newspapers, that the language is becoming degraded.Those who do feel they have rights and privileges, who have a sense of ownership of the English language and who can make pronouncements about what is or is not acceptable, as well as those to whom these attributes are accorded by others, do not necessarily belong to aspeech communitywhose members learned English in infancy. Native speakers ofnon-standardvarieties of English, in other words, the majority of native speakers of English, have never had any real authority over Standard English and have never owned it. The actual proprietors may, after all, simply be those who have learned thoroughly how to use a Standard English to enjoy the sense of empowerment that comes with it.So those who make authoritative pronouncements about a Standard English are simply those who, irrespective of accidents of birth, have elevated themselves, or been elevated, to positions of authority in academe or publishing or in other public areas. Whether or not their pronouncements will continue to be accepted is another matter (Paul Roberts, "Set Us Free from Standard English."The Guardian, January 24, 2002).It is in fact a great pity that the Standard English debate is marred by the sort of conceptual confusions and political posturing no matter how poorly expressed. For I think there are genuine questions to be asked about what we might mean by standards in relation to speech and writing. There is a great deal to be done in this respect and proper arguments to be made, but one thing is clear for sure. The answer does not lie in some simple-minded recourse to the practice of the best authors or the admired literature of the past, valuable though that writing is. Nor does the answer reside in rules for speech laid down by either the educated of any official body held to be able to guarantee spoken correctness. The answers to the real questions will be found to be much more complex, difficult and challenging than those currently on offer. For these reasons they might be more successful (Tony Crowley, "Curiouser and Curiouser: Falling Standards in the Standard English Debate," inStandard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999).

Elements of Good CommunicationPeople who feel good about themselves produce good results. Kenneth Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager.Good communicators have three critical elements which are ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is essentially your credibility that is, the reason people should believe what youre saying.In some cases, ethos comes merely from your rank within an organization. More commonly, though, todays leaders build ethos most effectively by demonstrating technical expertise in a specific area (which helps convince people that you know what youre talking about), and by displaying strong levels of integrity and character (which convinces them that youre not going to lie to them even though, since you know more than they do, you might get away with it). Pathos is making an emotional connection essentially, the reason people believe that what youre saying will matter to them.Giving people your undivided attention, taking an active interest in your team members career development, and being enthusiastic about both the organizations progress and the individuals who enable it are ways that leaders do this well. At the end of the day, pathos has the greatest influence on followers perception of their leaders effectiveness as a communicator. But all the authority and empathy in the world wont really help you if people dont understand what youre talking about or how you came to your conclusions. Logos is your mode for appealing to others sense of reason, ergo the termlogic. Employing strengths in strategic thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills are how today leaders expresses logical ideas in clear and compelling enough terms to influence outcomes. While some people can get by on gut feel, as Steve Jobs famously tried to convince us he did, most leaders are required to provide some kind of analysis to make clear their decisions. This is where many leaders feel on the firmest ground when assembling and analyzing data to address organizational problems.Effective leaders know the effort and time spent making explicit the connections theyre drawing from the data to the analysis to their conclusion are well worth it. These three elements of communication reinforce one another. You may rely heavily on data and analysis (logos) to make a point and in so doing create a perception of expertise and authority on a topic (ethos). And while all three are necessary to excellent communication, improving your ability to do any one of them will help you become a better communicator and so a better leader. Combining them is the path to achieving the greatest success.Effective communication plays a vital role in the success of every professional and personal relationship. Becoming a skilled communicator requires you to learn the roles of every element of communication. You can use these elements in many ways, including public speaking, interpersonal relationships, media development and business relations. The basic communication model consists of five elements of communication: the sender, the receiver, the message, the channel and feedback. Effective listening is akey to communication.The sender plays the specific role of initiating communication. To communicate effectively, the sender must use effective verbal as well as nonverbal techniques. Speaking or writing clearly, organizing your points to make them easy to follow and understand, maintaining eye contact, using proper grammar and giving accurate information are all essential in the effectiveness of your message. You will lose your audience if it becomes aware of obvious oversights on your part. The sender should have some understanding of who the receiver is in order to modify the message to make it more relevant.The receiver means the party to whom the sender transmits the message. A receiver can be one person or an entire audience of people. The receiver can also communicate verbally and nonverbally. The best way to receive a message is to listen carefully, sitting up straight and making eye contact. Dont get distracted or try to do something else while youre listening. Nodding and smiling as you listen to the sender speak demonstrate that you understand the message.The message may be the most crucial element of effective communication. A message can come in many different forms, such as an oral presentation, a written document, an advertisement or just a comment. The message isnt necessarily what the sender intends it to be. Rather, the message is what the receiver perceives the message to be. As a result, the sender must not only compose the message carefully, but also evaluate the ways in which the message can be interpreted.The message travels from one point to another via a channel of communication. Many channels, or types, of communication exist, from the spoken word to radio, television, an Internet site or something written, like a book, letter or magazine. Every channel of communication has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, one disadvantage of the written word, on a computer screen or in a book, is that the receiver cannot evaluate the tone of the message. For this reason, effective communicators word written communications clearly so they dont rely on a specific tone of voice to convey the message accurately. The advantages of television as a channel for communication include its expansive reach to a wide audience and the senders ability to further manipulate the message using editing and special effects.The last element of effective communication, feedback, describes the receivers response or reaction to the senders message. The receiver can transmit feedback through asking questions, making comments or just supporting the message that was delivered. Feedback helps the sender to determine how the receiver interpreted the message and how it can be improved. As a result the model has a cyclical appearance, as the original receiver becomes the sender and vice versa.Communication may be defined as a process concerning exchange of facts or ideas between persons holding different positions in an organization to achieve mutual harmony. The communication process is dynamic in nature rather than a static phenomenon.Communication process as such must be considered a continuous and dynamic inter-action, both affecting and being affected by many variables.

Other Studies Related to Conversation AnalysisThe study conducted by Fox-Turnbull (2013) titled "The Nature of Conversation of Primary Students in Technology Education" makes a significant contribution to understanding how students learn in technology education. It develops current understanding of the nature of talk and the role it plays in learning technology. It also presents new findings on the Funds of Knowledge students bring to technology and it challenges existing findings on students ability to transfer knowledge from one domain to other. Finally, it identifies a gap in existing research into students abilities to investigate and select appropriate materials for intermediate and final outcomes. This also served as a good reference for some of the findings from this research is true to the current study the researchers conducted.On the other hand, the research titled "Intercultural Communication Online: Conversation Analysis and the Investigation of Asynchronous Written Discourse" by Gibson (2009) works through the methodological issues involved in treating "culture" and "interculturality" as interactionally demonstrable and observable phenomena in written online asynchronous discourse. In particular, the research also explores the ways that conversation analysis (CA) and its focus on sequential and membership categorization analysis that aids the analysis of culture as a textural interactional achievement. The research argued that, while there are some clear differences between sequential talk and written asynchronous discourse, there are still interesting ways in which CA's analytic foci may be worked through in relation to online discourse. Both the concern with sequentiality and with membership categories helped its researchers to see how the construction of visible and recognizable intercultural discourse practices are accomplished through written modes in online forums. Another helpful reference to this research is Conversation Analysis of Online Chat by Zaferanieh (2012). This research examined some dominant discourse features of online chat. Using the methods of Conversation Analysis (CA), it examined the discourse strategies chatters used to maintain conversation and manage turn-taking, repair and adjacency pairs. These principles were quietly effective in the situation of online chat while sometimes problematic especially due to absence of extra linguistic features. So, interactions in this context needed specific discourse skills different from that of written or spoken discourse.

Communities of InquiryOriginating out of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) research, and in particular analysis of online discussion forums, the community of inquiry (CoI) model developed by Garrison et al. (2000) has been used extensively. The model focuses on a community of inquiry consisting of teachers and students. Learning occurs within the community when three key prerequisites are sustained: cognitive presence, teaching presence, and social presence. This framework is often used as a basis to derive coding templates for analysis of online discussions, used to develop student evaluations of learning contexts (Arbaugh et al., 2008) and is particularly powerful when triangulated with methods such as critical recall and social network analysis (De Laat, 2006; De Laat et al. 2006).

Communities of PracticeAlthough originating from a different research context (social anthropology and the analysis of work-based community practices), Wengers communities of practice (CoP) framework (1998) has also been extensively applied to understand networked learning and it shares a number of similarities to the CoI model. It is very much an example of a socially situated theory of learning where learning is seen as social participation and consists of four aspects: learning as community, learning as identity, learning as meaning, and learning as practice. Wengers theory is valuable in that it considers the ways in which communities of practice are formed and developed; notions of trajectories of belonging, legitimate participation, and boundary objects/crossings have provided useful lenses to describe many interactions observed in online spaces. However, it does not lend itself as easily to direct codification or participant assessment as the CoI framework does; rather, it provides a generic, descriptive approach for contextualising community formation and identity.

Activity TheoryFirmly derived from socio-cultural perspectives, activity theory (AT) provides a descriptive framework for considering online interactions (see for example Daniels, Cole, & Wertsch, 2007; Engestrm, Punamki-Gitai, & Miettinen, 1999). The central premise is that activities occur in a context and that this context needs to be taken into account if we are to make meaning of the situation and appropriately interpret the results. One of the most common ways of representing activity theory is as a triangle diagram, showing a subject-object nexus of mediating artefacts (MAs) intended to achieve an outcome; around this are rules and regulations, divisions of labour, and community. Both the broader contextualisation that AT enables and the foregrounding of mediating artefacts are useful in terms of understanding interactions in online environments (see Conole, 2008, for a description of the use of mediating artefacts in learning design). Enablers and constraints can be identified by focusing on questions such as what environment is the activity occurring in, how is this influencing it, who is involved, and what are their roles? In addition, the focus on mediating artefacts helps to identify and crystallise the role of the tools in the process.

Actor-Network TheoryLatour (1997) argues that instead of thinking in terms of surfaces or dimensions, actor-network theory (ANT) focuses on nodes and connections. The central concept is the notion of an evolving, dynamic actor-network. A second key aspect of ANT is that it combines the basic properties of a network with actors (or actants) who do some work; these actors include both human and non-human entities. Actors and networks are mutually constitutive, meaning that there is no actor without action; that is, relationship with other actors, and the network is built on the mutual influences and intermediaries that actors exchange between each other (Esnault, 2007). The inclusion of non-human actants is one of the attractions of using ANT in a networked learning context as it enables researchers to foreground technological mediating artefacts and to describe their interactions with other actants within the networked context. ANT is also useful because of its focus on networks and connections instead of on physical distances, which arguably is a more appropriate metaphor to apply to technological communication and interaction environments.

SynthesisThe literature enumerated in this chapter all contributed to particular aspects of this research. Online articles and books on Discourse Analysis and Conversation Analysis in particular provide a framework for the analysis of the language in Online Conversation Forums from the Pinoy Exchange website. The first two parts talk about the Approaches to Discourse and Conversation analysis which served as the framework of the whole study. The next two parts talked about the online discussions and the manner of conversing in that specific context. The next three sections talk about the Language and its complexity as participants posts in the Forums. This also included Elements of Good Communication which is an important aspect of this research. The other sections namely: The Nature of Conversation of Primary Students in Technology Education, Intercultural Communication Online: Conversation Analysis and the Investigation of Asynchronous Written Discourse, Conversation Analysis of Online Chat are researches which all served as a guide as the whole research is drafted.On the other hand, those that discussed the nature of online conversations and the language of cyberspace would serve to contextualize the area of the study in a way that it differentiates this particular conversation from other types of discourse. The examples described Communities of Inquiry down to Actor-Network Theory gives an indication of some of the different approaches that have been used to study and understand networking learning contexts. Of course each emphasizes different aspects of the network: CoI focuses on individuals and types of presence; CoP focuses on the group or community; AT foregrounds the context within which the event occurs; and ANT emphasises connectivity and privileges of both human and non-human actants within the network.

CHAPTER IIIMETHODOLOGYThis chapter discusses the instruments, research method used, and data gathering procedures.

Research Method UsedConversations in an Online Discussion Forum is a study which frames its structure to Conversation Analysis (CA) which is an analytic approach used in linguistic Discourse Analysis. The online thread studied in this research has more than a thousand posts. To limit the conversations to be analyzed, the researchers carefully read back on the thread and carefully picked posts that could be used as an example to present conversation styles and common issues to misunderstanding in the discussion. The research could also be categorized under Descriptive studies in which the researcher does not interact with the participants. This includes observational studies of people in an environment and studies involving data collection using existing records (in this case, the Forums). Descriptive studies are usually the best methods for collecting information that will demonstrate relationships and describe the world as it exists. These types of studies are often done before an experiment to know what specific things to manipulate and include in an experiment. Bickman and Rog (1998) suggest that descriptive studies can answer questions such as what is or what was.

Content Analysis, on the other hand, is a research technique for the objective, systematic, and qualitative description of manifest content of communication Berelson (1990). This helped the researchers in inferring the conversations in Online Discussion Forums as well as analyzing the way of communication within the given context.Overall, this research is heavily qualitative in nature. With qualitative research, the process is often iterative, containing many disparate paths. As Creswell (2003) stated, qualitative research is emergent rather than tightly preconfigured (p.181). As previously mentioned, discourse analysis is an emergent type of research method that permits researchers to take text and image from seemingly neutral representations and explore the nature of the interaction between the two that form Discourse. This is appropriate for exploratory research, such as the current study, as a means to describe, analyze, and interpret textual and visual representations at local, institutional, and societal levels (e.g., Askehave, 2007; Chiper, 2006; Fairclough, 1995, 2001; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Hall, 1997).

Research ToolThe researchers are to use Discourse Analysis for this kind of study. This will help the researchers reveal the way people communicate in Online Discussions.

Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyze written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event. The objects of discourse analysisdiscourse, writing, conversation, and communicative eventare variously defined in terms of coherent sequences of sentences, propositions, speech, or turns-at-talk. Contrary to much of traditional linguistics, discourse analysts not only study language use 'beyond the sentence boundary', but also prefer to analyze 'naturally occurring' language use, and not invented examples. This researchers main tool for the study is Emanuel Schegloff's Conversation Analysis which is one of the specific theoretical perspectives and analytical approaches used in linguistic discourse analysis.

SamplingPurposive sampling technique was used to generate the sample for the study. This form of sampling technique is the intentional selection of a sample that allows the researcher to focus in great detail on a certain issue, subject, or phenomenon (Flick, 2009; Patton, 2002; Silverman & Marvasti, 2008). The logic and power of purposeful sampling lie in selecting information-rich cases for study in depth (Patton, 2002, p. 230, emphasis existing). Purposeful sampling is appropriate for researchers who want to investigate online material such as websites and web pages (Creswell, 2003; Flick, 2009; Gee, 2005).

Source of Data The source of data would be actual conversations from the Pinoy Exchange website which were initially extracted into text documents through the notepad program in a personal computer. The timeframe for data gathering spreads for at least a year, dating back to the first day the research was started in July 2014. This study covers about 80 months of data from July of 2011 to March 2015. This data is composed of 40 pages, each page containing at least 10 posts to be reviewed by the researchers. The materials for analysis will exclusively come from samples of posts within the said forum.

Data Gathering ProcedureAfter reading through the samples, the researchers extracted all samples and categorized each conversation in accordance to the finding of the research. An advantage of analyzing the forums is that every utterance or statement is properly documented. Every posts show the time and the date of its occurrence. This could prove to be significant to the study because the researchers can now access the turn-taking techniques in the conversation by analyzing the time gap between utterances. Other modes of communication like files shared, sound effects and use of emoticons will not be tackled. All of the data used in this study were available on publicly accessible websites. The unit of analysis is a website that is available for public consumption on the Internet. The data were not collected through interventional or interaction with the individual and did not provide identifiable private information; therefore, the data did not pose a risk to human participants. Moreover, since there was no personal information or participant involvement, ethics approval was not necessary for the study (Strong & Gilmour, 2009).

CHAPTER IVPRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATAThis chapter deal with the result of the study, analysis and interpretation of data which were organized in accordance to the sub problems presented in the first chapter of this research.

The Nature of Conversations in an Online Discussion ForumMaking interactions online is an example of a written communication in which involves writing the words which a person wants to communicate. Written communication is practiced in many different languages. E-mails, reports, articles and memos are some of the ways of using written communication. The written communication can be edited and amended many times before it is communicated to the second party to whom the communication is intended.Online communication email, instant messaging, chat rooms, etc. does not replace more traditional offline forms of contact face-to-face and telephone. Instead, it adds on to them, increasing the overall volume of contact. (Wellman, 2014) Wellman's research has shown that the use of social media has augmented, rather than undermined, our personal relationships. More specifically, people with a great deal of on-line conversations have just as many offline conversations as those who decline to participate in the former. The Internet just increases the overall frequency of communication.What is more is that the on-line world is not truly distinct from the off-line one. People use the Internet and social media largely to stay in touch and make plans with whom they already know from face-to-face relationships. Email and social media communications are not better or worse than in-person ones; they are just different and they complement each other.Asynchronous Nature of Conversations Written communication is often asynchronous (occurring at different times). That is, the Sender can write a Message that the Receiver can read at any time, unlike a conversation that is carried on in real time.In the context of Discussion Forums, at times, the person raising a question might not get an immediate response. By looking into the example presented in Figure 2, it could be observed that there are time lapses between the responses. This reveals that conversations in Online Discussion Forums are asynchronous in nature. Compared to phone call or face to face meetings, most people tend to just write simple facts or conclusions, instead of trying to explore the complete meaning and context of others. And that's why many of the online "discussion" fail (Liuxuehui, 2012).

Figure 2: Screenshot of an Asynchronous Online DiscussionTurn-TakingAn essential observation of the following figure based on Conversation Analysis is that, when conversing, participants obviously switch their roles of speaker and hearer, i.e., they take turns in the process named turn-taking. How the system of turn-taking (TT) operates (Schegloff and Jefferson, 1974) however, is far from obvious: interlocutors use a variety of turn-taking strategies to indicate that they are ready for a reply.

Figure 3: Turn-Taking as a Nature in Online DiscussionsThe second Figure is a question posted by cretinous00 about run-on sentences. The conversation flows smoothly as the time lapse between the replies is short enough to maintain a continuous flow of replies without other members posting anything in between. The question was again answered by SUX2BU which is then acknowledged by the former. SUX2BU seemed to keep track of the forum that is why this person replies to almost every question in the thread.

Adjacency PairsAnother phenomenon studied under the rubric of Conversation Analysis is adjacency pair (AP) a paired sequence of turns in which the second turn is conditionally relevant on the first e.g., question-answer (Q-A), greeting-greeting, request-accept/turn down, etc. Figure 4 shows a typical example of this phenomenon which is also much observable as a form of socializing within the 1forums.

Figure 4: Greetings as a sample for Adjacency PairsRichness of InformationA distinction between face to face and online interactions is the richness of information that is communicated and which influences the continuity and immediacy of interaction. For example, a significant aspect of this is how emotions are communicated in an online environment. In face to face interaction, the presence of the body (eye contact, tone of voice, posture, movement, proximity, etc.) communicates complex information about how one feels and understands the others emotions. In online interactions, elements of face to face communications, such as non-verbal cues, are lost.However, as a nature of online conversation, new elements are being used to replace the absence of non-verbal cues. It was observed that users in the forums would use emoticons as an alternative. Emoticons are symbols created by the keyboard characters and used to convey emotions. An example of an emotion is the smiley face which is formed by combining the symbols : and ) which is then automatically transcribed by the website to form the smiling images just like the ones being shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Richness of Information

Repair MechanismsClarification, Request for Explanation and Elaboration another observable nature in online interaction in which the repairable is expounded or described in detail (Ten, 1999). Repair sequences allow participants to solve potential problems (lack of quality information, slip of the tongue, error) and prevent misunderstanding; since repairing others (other-repair) is socially a very sensitive activity with potential destructing effects on partners face, it is generally preferred to repair oneself (hence self-repair). In the given examples, a way to do the repair sequence or repair mechanism is via clarification. In the Pinoy Exchange forum, there would not be an option to make edits on the posts once it is already posted. One way to address this problem is by reposting, or by asking follow up questions and just like the way it is shown in the next two figures.

Figure 5: Clarification on the Use of an Expression

Figure 7: Clarification on Sentence ConstructionThe example in figure 5 with the member named "SUX2BU" answered the question by quoting the actual question followed by the response. "silvergold" then acknowledged the response. With the acknowledgement, silvergold posted another question to clarify the response.In figure 6 the user named "magnabash" raised the question to check if the two sentences posted were correct. "alegn" answered the question stating that the only problem on the first one is the punctuation. The second sentence on the other hand is correct as per alegn. Magnabash then quoted the answer and wrote the revised sentence to clarify the answer. Alegn came back to check the revised sentence and gave tips to make the sentence better.

The Structure of Conversations in an Online Discussion ForumOne of the main goals of this research is to identify the structure of conversations posted in the "English Grammar and Usage Tutorial Thread" of the PinoyExchange.com discussion forums.

SenderReceiverMessage ChannelFigure 8: Linear Communication DiagramThe fore coming figure represents linear conversation in a diagram wherein a conversation starts from a member posting a question using the forums as a message channel, and then another member receiving the message. The idea of a linear conversation is that once the topic is set, that is what people would talk about. Conversations begin, and sometimes the forum becomes something entirely different from what it is supposed to be. In a linear thread a reader is forced to read everybody else, which means the community revolves around its specific members. In a threaded conversation, things are less focused. A specific topic attracts like-minded audience. Members remember whether or not to respect a name, and often disagree with the same people, but there's still very little personality in those cases. "SUX2BU" answered a lot of questions in the thread and is known and respected by other members who read through the responses of this user. In the forums, discussions revolve mainly around question and answer and partly because when a member is not linear there is no reason to get to know other people. A member you can just skip over their strand of conversation.In the first few examples that will be shown in Figures 9 to 10, the threads demonstrated a Linear Structure which starts off from a Question followed by an Answer from another member. The former then expresses gratitude for getting an answer to the question. If the first member is lucky, the other member who answered the question acknowledges the gratitude by saying Youre Welcome.

Figure 9: Linear Communication SampleIn the ninth figure, the user named ardieLlauder included multiple questions in the post. The first question raised is about the proper usage of the articles A, An, and The. The second question raises a concern about the use of comma in the sentence "Stop, Look, and Listen". The third question is about the usage of hyphens in "Editor-in-Chief". The last question checks for the Capitalization rules for article titles. The questions were again answered by SUX2BU via the "Multi Quote" option. This way, SUX2BU would be able to include the questions individually in the reply as the questions are being answered one by one. ardieLlauder's acknowledgement in the answer started off with an "up" ^ sign indicating that the reply was intended for the earlier post. This could be done if a user is able to reply to another member quickly before someone else posts about a new topic.

Figure 10: Linear Communication SampleFigure 10 shows a user named bebechan confirming if the sentence "Should you need help, please go the information booth" is correct. SUX2BU again answered the question by saying what the phenomenon is called and later mentions that the question was already previously answered. In cases like this, people could use the search button of the page to check on a specific topic that they need to read on so they could find it. The thread again ended with an acknowledgement by bebechan.The researchers also observed that when a member asks a question, various other members provide an answer. But there is little back and forth among the members. Rather, each responder simply makes a declarative statement that represents his or her own position. Responders may not have even read others answers before stating their own position. This reveals another form of structure which is demonstrated on the following figures.

Tree Structured Communication Threaded DiscussionsIn the early days, researchers have talked about this a lot - making a distinction between "tree" type discussions and linear ones (Kimball. 2012). A Linear form of conversation is a structure in which each topic has a simple chain of consecutive responses attached to it. This form is easily understood by most people because it closely resembles "real life" conversation.

Figure 12: Diagram of a Tree Structured Conversation

Figure 11: Tree Structured ConversationSample

Figure 11.2: Tree Structured Conversation Sample Threaded discussions take the form of a tree structure like the image shown in figure 12. Tree Structure Conversations is a phenomenon in which each topic is the starting point for a branching tree of responses. Figures 8 10 are basic examples of a linear discussion which involved only two members while figures 11.1 and 11.2 show an example of a tree type discussion in which at least five people participated. But although a hierarchical tree is a good way to organize static information, it does not work as well for conversation. It is easy to get lost in the tree, and it's often hard to figure out where to attach a response. Discussions tend to fragment and dissipate. In the given example however, the members managed to converse successfully given the fact that every other member acknowledges the answer of another.

Overall Organization of Online ConversationsConversation Analysis also studies the Overall Organization of Speech Events: the openings, main bodies and closings. In ordinary conversation these structural features include specific located activities such as openings and closings and slots for first topics (Schegloff 1968, 1986; Schegloff and Sacks 1973; Button 1987; Button and Casey 1984, 1985) whose absence may be noticeable and accountable. However within the body of an ordinary conversation matters are comparatively fluid and free to vary with the inclinations of the participants. In contrast, some kinds of institutional talk have a quite specific internal shape or overall structural organization that is constructed from component phases or activities. The following figure shows a sample of a thread organized to show how the conversation flows in the forums.Figure 12: Overall Organizational Structure of Online InteractionsPhaseActivityIndicator

1Opening1 good day!

2Request2 I dont know if the grammar usage that I will be consulting here is already asked previously3 if yes kindly post the page.

3Interrogative Series4 which is right?5 I could still find better than she or6 I could still find better than her

4Response7 it depends on the use of than (member cites more info)

5Closing8 thank you for the answer its great help

Table 1. Tabular Representation of Figure 4Here, after a truncated opening sequence ( cf Schegloff 1986; Heritage and Clayman 2010; Zimmerman 1992), member "silvergold" launches a description of trouble ( line 4) which in this context functions as a request for assistance, and is so treated by "SUX2BU" ( Wilson 1991). After a series of inserted ( Schegloff 1972, 2007) question-answer sequences the interrogative series ( Zimmerman 1984; 1992) [lines 2-3] SUX2BU grants the request and is thanked as a benefactor (Bergmann 1993).Though other questions may be longer the benefactor may post it as a narrative ( Zimmerman 1992) and the interrogative series may be more extended and problematic ( Zimmerman 1992WhalenZimmerman and Whalen 1988; Tracy 1997; Whalen and Zimmerman 1998 )this structural pattern is comparatively constant for posts in this section of the forums.

Conversation StrategiesAsynchronous discussions, just like what was discussed in the first sub problem, are typically an important part of learning in online or hybrid courses. Discussions offer a way for students to learn and articulate their understanding of learning through interactions with each other and the instructor (Parker & Hess, 2001).When native speakers and non-native speakers hold conversations, they must generally work together to avoid and overcome communication breakdowns. The strategies and tactics which they use include selecting salient topics, checking comprehension, requesting clarification, repeating utterances, stressing key words, and switching topics (Ellis, 1985). In online discussion forums, people would utilize different strategies for asking questions and giving answers or responses. After going through the whole thread, the researchers were able to pinpoint specific strategies for conversing in this thread.

QuestionsA question is any sentence which has an interrogative form or function. (Cotton, 2001). There are two main ways of seeking information from this forum or support from its members:The first is to search the knowledge base represented in the topics already posted. A member can do this by using the forum's search engine through the search button at the top right of every forum page, or by selecting the Advance Search option. Alternatively, one can use one of the Internet search engines such as Google adding the keyword "pinoyexchange" to the query.The second method is to post a question on the forum yourself. If a member wants to post a question then he/she must first register to accept the forum's Policies and Terms of Use in respect of your submissions, so that others like him/her can benefit from any dialogue. This simple process only takes a few minutes. Before posting any question, it is worth doing a search and also familiarizing oneself with the Survival Guide for the forum. Remember: new question, new topic; old question post on existing topic.

Preference QuestionsThe most common way of questioning in this forum is the way people would post two different things and ask everyone which among those two is correct. Online forum participants who ask these kinds of questions are usually just confused with the similarity of concepts in grammar that people would commonly interchange which, in turn, ends up with a grammar mistake.

Figure 13: Use to or Used toFigure 13 shows an image of a post by a user named ffca which inquires about the usage of the phrase use to vs. used to. To elaborate on the question, the member showed sample sentences which included the phrases in question. The member also included some personal information.

Figure 14: Usage of she and herThis question by silvergold started off with a greeting followed by a disclaimer. As mentioned, it is the first time that this member asked a question in this part of the forums. Just like in figure 13, the post included sample sentences to compare the usage of the words she and her.

Figure 15: Usage of be and becomeLike in figures 13 and 14, this question by sakiman inquires of the usage of the word be and become directly by writing sentences to be compared. At the end of the sentences stated the question on which sentence is correct and the difference of their usage.

Short QuestionsSome questions may only be composed of one sentence just like the examples given. These are simple questions that often require a short answer too. Sometimes these could only be yes or no questions.

Figure 16: Filipino Word for QuirkyThe member fineartsguy had to ask a question about the Filipino translation of the word quirky. It seemed like the information was not yet available on Google and so the member decided to ask it in forums.Figure 17: Usage of yet and alreadyIn figure 17, renwock posted a one sentence question which is a common way of asking questions in the forums. Things like this are not accessible on Google but since this was already 4 years ago, it could that the answer was not there yet.

Long QuestionsThis is perhaps the most intelligent way of asking questions in an online discussion forum. The person who asks the question would sometimes give a little background of the question so he would b able to get a more specific answer from other participants.

Figure 18: Usage of have had and has hadIn figure 18, the user named Kolmogorov raised this question in a way that other members would have a background on how he/she was confused of the usage of the phrases have had and has had.

Feed backing/ RespondingMaking feedbacks from questions being posted in the forums could be done by simply clicking on the reply link under each post. With this regard, the researchers were able to identify common strategies in answering questions in this forum.

Making PreferencesThis is in response to the preference questions that are being raised in the forums. Members would either choose one of the choices and some would prefer to elaborate on the answer to enlighten the co-member.

Figure 19: Use to or Used toFigure 19 shows a question raised by a member named ffca from Figure 6 who inquires on the usage of use to and used to. Two other members of the forums replied to the question. One of them is a member with the username JoeKano who, instead of choosing one sentence as correct, revised the sentence to fix its structure. SUX2BU on the other hand elaborated on the answer to clarify the proper usage of the two phrases.

Figure 20: The usage of be and becomeThe preceding examples are ways to answer a question which shares the same nature as the question raised in figure 15. Sharing someones answer often requires further elaboration in order to strengthen the point as to why he/she chose one answer over the other (McCarthy, 2008).

Quoted AnswersFigure 21: Usage of her and sheThe reply with quote option found at the bottom of each post allows a participant to choose a part of the post to be included in his/her reply. This way, the quoted part will be emphasized. Participants usually do this when they want to make a certain point off of a previous post or if they want to answer a specific part of that post.

Hyperlinked Answers

Figure 22: Verb Tenses

Figure 23: Proper Pronunciation of the word hourSome answers may also be hyperlinked to redirect a participant to another location in the internet where he/she would be able to find an answer to the question that they raised. The hyperlink may link to another page within the website or to any other sites necessary to answer the given question.

Answering Pronunciation QuestionsFigure 24: Proper Pronunciation of the word Minus

Figure 25: Proper Pronunciation of the word SimilePeople in this part of the forums have their own ways of answering pronunciation questions. In figure 17, JoeKano answers the question in a way that the reader would be able to compare the sound of the word in question to another word that would sound similar in a syllabic level. In figure 18, SUX2BU on the other hand, goes for a phonetic approach separating the syllables with dashes for better understanding.Other Kinds of Posts that can be found in the ForumsApart from the thread of Questions and Answers that are being posted in this Grammar Tutorial Thread, there are other kinds of post that is observable in this section. The following figures show examples that were found during the analysis of this thread.

Figure 26: Additional Information/ Grammar TipsSome posts that may be encountered in the forums are not always part of a conversation. Being a grammar tutorial thread, members would sometimes post helpful information without anyone asking. Figure 23 shows an example of a grammar tip which includes a hyperlink which leads to another website with more information.

Figure 27: Off-Topic PostsSome posts may be deemed irrelevant to the thread. In the context of Discussion Forums, participants should be aware of the restrictions in the conversation. People talking over a thread should always stick with the subject. Otherwise, there are other parts of the forum that they could use for such conversations.

Figure 28: AdvertisementThese posts are some of the other things that a participant would see when reading through the Discussion Forums. Some people would usually stick around the same forum and keeps track of it and so they gain acquaintances over the air (internet). Advertisements are also posted for those who could be interested. Ads should only be relevant to the topic of the thread since the readers are not in the conversation for propagandas.

Category of Thread PostsFrequency of the Thread Post

Questions244

Resolutions232

Acknowledgements125

Others117

Table 2: Categorization of Posts in Online Discussion ForumsDuring the analysis, the researchers categorized a total of 718 individual posts. Out of the 718 posts, 244(33.98%) were Questions and 232(32.31%) were categorized under primary answers and resolutions. 125(17.41%) of the posts showed that members acknowledges answers that are being given to them which in turn reflects as a closing part of the conversation. 117(16.29%) were categorized under Others in which posts does not belong to any of the major categories stated. This includes greetings, helpful tips, advertisements and off-topic posts which also add up to the content of the thread.

This data reveals that 95% of questions posted are being answered by other members of the forum. This means that the members actively participated in the forums within the timeframe of the data collected. And so if any member posts a question, it is most likely that the question would be answered at any time.

CHAPTER VSUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONThis chapter presents the summary, findings, conclusions and recommendations. After looking through the conversations presented in the Grammar Tutorial Thread in the PinoyExchange website, the researchers were able to come up with different findings.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGSAfter the analysis on the contents of the English Grammar and Usage Tutorial Thread of the PinoyExchage website, the researchers found out that the nature of online conversations is asynchronous. An asynchronous conversation is one [that occurs at]any time all parties involved in the conversation have access to the conversation but are not communicating instantaneously.Its a conversation that is persistent, but which can happen in the background and doesnt require right-now attention. The researchers were also able to pinpoint four other natures being demonstrated in the forums.A. Turn-TakingB. Sequence of OrganizationC. Repair MechanismsD. Overall Structural OrganizationFor the structure of conversations, the researchers were able to plot two common phenomenons observed in the conversation threads.a. Linear Structure a structure in which each topic has a simple chain of consecutive responses attached to it.b. Tree Type Structure are threaded discussions which take the form of a tree structure, in which each topic is the starting point for a branching tree of responses.The forums also contained conversation strategies that were observed. The strategies for asking questions include:a. preference questionsb. short/one sentence questionsc. long questionsIn relation to questions, there are also some strategies observed for answering them:a. making preferencesb. quoted answersc. hyperlinked answersd. answering pronunciation questionsUnder each example there were notes attached to further explain & interpret the flow of conversation in each given example.

CONCLUSIONSComputer mediated communication particularly online forum discussions is almost the same as the conversation that we have on other social networking sites. What makes this case different is that the message that a certain member is posting is visible to the public and any other members may respond to it. People who are new to this kind of communication might find it hard to participate at first. As a member, you have to make sure that you are on the right section of the forums first before you start asking questions. To make it easier, this research might serve as a guide to communicating effectively not only on this website but also on other similar websites that we might possibly use in the future. Just like in regular conversations in the real world, being aware of conversational styles in the virtual world of chatting is a must for a better flow of communication.

Implication of the StudyWhen it comes to building an integrated social media strategy, most people are quick to jump