Previous research on network-based foreign language study has primarily focused on: a)
the pedagogy of technology in the language curriculum, or b) the linguistic
characterization of networked discourse. In this paper, I explore socio-institutional
dimensions of German-American telecollaboration and the ways in which they may
shape foreign language learning and use. Telecollaborative partnerships represent
particularly productive sites for the examination of social aspects of foreign language
study since, by definition, they entail tight sociocultural and institutional interface.
Within the theoretical framework of social realism (e.g., Carter & Sealey, 2000; Layder,
1993), any human activity is thought to be shaped by both macro- and micro-level
sociological features. These include socia l context and institutional setting, situated
activity and individual agency, respectively. In this analysis, I intertwine the socially and
institutionally contingent features of language valuation, computer know-how, Internet
access, and learning accreditation and the micro features of situated classroom interaction
and individual psycho-biography in order to provide a rich and multi-faceted
characterization of foreign language learning and use on both ends of a GermanAmerican
telecollaborative partnership