This document discusses two online groups of educators who participated in online learning communities for five weeks. The communities included members from several countries who engaged in over 1800 online posts. The research analyzed the language and social behaviors in the computer-mediated discussions. Key findings included identifying categories of language used, such as acknowledging and apologizing. Participants also took on roles like dominant participants who actively engaged, and selective participants who only engaged when topics interested them. Overall, the research found that online communities allow participants to develop their identity and consider them valuable spaces that foster socializing and sharing knowledge.

1. ICT in Foreign Teaching
and Learning
Chapter 5: The role of
community formation in
learning process
Marco Antonio Peralta & Javier Alexander Rivera

2.  This experience dealt with two online groups of
professional educators who work as an online
community during five weeks. One of the groups
worked from May 2004 to June 2004, and the
second group from October 2002 to November
2002.
 The community members came from Australia,
Japan, italy, Portugal, Ulster, Ireland, England, UAE
and South Africa and scoped for acquiring more
online learning.
 The main data source came from 1824 postings
from the conference environments and the analysis
of the meSsages and the discourse behaviors from
the groups.

3.  It is to acknowledge the importance of online
communities since they enable the participants to
show certain behaviors as if they were face to face
such as exchange knowledge, express emotions,
gossip, find friends and even fall in love.
 This research explored the CMC (Computer
Mediated Communication) by centering on the
language and language use in computer networked
environments.
 The participants´messages were analysed in terms
of language structure, social behavior and
partcipation patterns.

4.  By analysing these messages, it was easy to
identify certain categories like: acknowledging,
teasing, apologizing, expressing personal needs
and self representation using community concerns
structures.
 This categorization permitted the researcher to
establish some roles of the participants through
their engagement in the community such as:
 The dominant participants: interact actively and
answer or comment other members´postings.
 The selective participants : interact when there is
something relevant for them.
 The little brothers: do not have anything to say
and interact unwillingly.

5.  Not only the e-moderators but also the participants
achieved their goals by interacting with others in
different ways and developing their identity.
Besides, they consider that online learning
communities are spaces which foster sociability
and knowledge.