[RELC 36.1 (2005) 59-72] DOI: 10.1177/0033688205053482 © 2005 SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks CA and New Delhi) THE MOTIVATIONAL POWER OF INTERNET CHAT Douglas Jarrell Nagoya Women’s University, Japan djarrell@nagoya-wu.ac.jp Mark R. Freiermuth Gunma Prefectural Women's University, Japan mark-f@gpwu.ac.jp ABSTRACT Internet chat was investigated as a potential motivating learning tool in the language classroom. The purpose of this research was to examine the interaction of small groups involved in face-to-face discussions and to compare these texts to interaction that occurred in online groups. Observation and data revealed that students were generally motivated to communicate in English using Internet chat. When the groups were compared, it was found that student participation in online chat groups was more equitable and students showed a preference for chat over face-to-face conversation. Based upon these findings, we conclude here that Internet chat can be used to deliver meaningful and appropriate language tasks in the ESL/EFL classroom. Introduction Co-constructed conversation between interlocutors is a natural phenome- non for native speakers of a language; however, when non-native speak- ers must engage one another in a second language, it can be a different story. For Japanese language learners unaccustomed to interaction in spoken English, conversations in English can be quite troublesome (Brown and Levinson 1978; Varonis and Gass 1985; Porter 1986; Sacks et al. 1974). The task of speaking a foreign language can seem daunting to students due to social and cultural factors such as these mentioned by Brislin (1981: 70):