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The Dynamics of Electronic Mail as a Communication Medium
Hadina Habil
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Shameem Rafik –Galea
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Abstract
Written e-mail communication carries a notion that it represents written medium. As such, there
are those who expect e-mail communication to follow writing conventions. However, with the
increased use of computer-mediated communication (CMC), e-mail written communication has
now assumed a new role in that it resembles the spoken discourse and informality in writing is
more accepted. At the same time computer technology has given the composing process a new
dimension because writing is made easier and faster but with e-mail communication formal
writing conventions flies out of the window! On the other hand people are encouraged to write
using “correct language” and convention. The composed e-mail messages convey different
meanings and evokes a variety of emotions depending on who the writer is and the perception of
the receiver through the spoken-written mode. Thus any e-mail message could be confusing.
This paper presents findings of an ongoing research on electronic mail communication in
organizations. It will discuss instances of the email messages being ‘formal’ or ‘conversational’,
what are the factors that differentiate them, how and when are they used and implied meanings
attached to them. An awareness of the factors that determine the choice of language style would
enable email users to make informed choices of the spoken or written medium when writing email.
Implications for classroom instruction will also be discussed.
Area: New role of writing as a tool for communication via computers.
Introduction
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) refers to the communication that
takes place between human beings via the instrumentality of computers (Herring,
1996).
Electronic mail (e-mail) communication is one type of CMC and
specifically, it is a text-based CMC whereby participants interact by means of the
written word that is typed on the keyboard of one computer. This message is read
by others on their computer screens either immediately (synchronous CMC) or at
a later point in time (asynchronous CMC). Computer-mediated communication
(CMC) is different from face-to-face communication in many respects and this
gives rise to the emerging popularity of electronic communication, for instance, email. The lack of eye contact and intonational cues to regulate exchanges, the
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
2
lack of nonverbal information about others’ attitudes to the communicator and the
possibility of reflection before responding are some of the plus points of
electronic communication (E. McAteer, A. Tolmie, C. Duffy & J. Corbett, 1997).
Since its inception, CMC has emerged as an important new communication
medium and it is increasingly permeating everyday life in industrialized societies
(Herring, 1996). The increasing popularity of CMC has drawn many researchers
to investigate the uses, the effects, and the influences, among others, of this new
medium.
Other CMC studies include how computer networks are used for
human-to-human social interaction, a comparison of computer-mediated and faceto-face behaviour, research on CMC in organizational and business settings, and
the implications of networked classrooms for teaching writing (for more
information, refer Herring, 1996: 3).
Electronic mail (email) communication “uses computer text-processing and
communication tools to provide a high speed information exchange service”
(Sproull and Kiesler, 1986, p. 1493, cf. Markus, 1994). It is an asynchronous
medium in which a user can communicate with one or many other people in the
form of a note or document, typewritten on computer terminals (Culnan and
Markus, 1987). Even though email is written, its use of computer technology
makes it much faster then paper-based communication (Sproull and Kiesler, 1986,
Trevino et al 1987).
According to Huckin and Olsen (1991), the style of much electronic mail (e-mail)
is not that of formal communication. It is more of conversation even though it
lacks the politeness inherent in normal conversation. Email is used often to
convey short notes or responses to readers. The messages are not very carefully
composed or edited for style and image. Angell and Heslop (1994) write that
email is emerging as the mainstream form of written communication in the
1990’s. As a new medium, it makes different demands on writing style and has
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
3
its own unique conventions. This is so because the fast-paced email medium
demands a writing style that is clear and concise without sacrificing speed.
Angell and Heslop (1994:2) list several advantages of communicating via email
that include:
a)
it eliminates the problem of unsuccessful telephone connections, improves
response times and cuts telephone charges
b)
it breaks down the distance and time barriers of telephone calls and
traditional written communication
c)
it shortens the cycle of written communication
d)
it empowers individuals by flattening out corporate and sociological
hierarchies and allowing for more direct interactive communication
e)
it improves productivity by speeding up the decision-making process. It
also facilitates meeting planning and preparation
f)
it creates flexibility in the workday by reducing telephone interruptions. It
also allows people to work at home or at any location with a computer.
Email is a durable form of linguistic representation in which email is typed, can
be stored and can be printed out. However, senders of email typically behave as
if the medium is like speech. The popularity of email is supported by the fact that
even though it can be instantly transmitted, it is frequently stored for later
retrieval and attention. This is highlighted by Ferrara et al (1991) who posit that
the increasing popularity for email short messages lies in the fact that email does
not require attention in real time but can be stored. Thus, email actually does not
guarantee feedback. Another feature that adds attractiveness of email is the fact
that it can be sent to one recipient or to a mass mailing list.
The success of email as a technology has been enormous and the ongoing trend at
least in American English is for writing to approximate the structure and
conventions of speech rather than functioning as a discrete form of linguistic
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
4
representation (Baron, 1998). Email has some characteristics of writing and some
of speech, and some emergent qualities that belong to neither.
Baron (1998) further presents examples of the trend in the United States for email
to follow the style of speech. Firstly, emails typically undergo little or no editing.
Secondly, users of email adopt casual style in their email that is more akin to the
informality of their speech than to the relative formality of writing. The relaxed
tone in email can be found in terms of address – with the use of first name or no
salutation at all. Thirdly, email is used for communication with individuals whom
you would ordinarily have no contact or whom you would hesitate to interrupt.
Spoken and Written Language
Formal language is the language used in formal situation following prescribed
conventions for either spoken or written medium. A formal voice is appropriate
for business correspondence, reports, research papers and articles in scholarly
journal. These are documents in which writers distance themselves personally
from readers (Carter and Skates, 1993). Informal language, on the other hand,
refers to the informal language or expressions used in informal situations or
materials in which writers try to establish a personal relationship with readers.
According to Carter and Skates, a writer should use a formal style if he wants to
establish a polite, professional relationship with a reader and an informal style if
he wants to establish a friendly, conversational relationship.
The use of clipped forms or abbreviations are more informal than full forms and
likewise, contractions (can’t, isn’t) are more informal than uncontracted forms
(cannot, is not).
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
5
The use of first person (I, we) and second person (you) pronoun makes the
writing/text less formal than the third person (one, the writer etc.) pronoun. Slang
is usually used in informal situations.
The following table summarizes Halliday’s (1989) description of the written and
spoken languages.
Written language
Spoken language
Fewer clauses, greater lexical density (more
Use of contractions, ellipsis,
content word)
Use more nouns and noun phrases
Use more grammatical words
Focus more on noun-phrase groups
Focus more on the clause and verb phrases
Represents a synoptic view, phenomena as
Represents a dynamic view, phenomena as
product
process
Carter (1997) reports that the emergence of faxes, email communications, and
word-processed texts has changed the ways in which written language normally
works. The informal nature of those communication mediums reinforces the
notion that certain forms of the written language can be process-like and dialogic.
Thus, the language derived at will most likely be closer to spoken discourse. He
cites an example of an advertisement whereby features associated with the more
informal interactive styles of spoken exchange are inscribed in it even though the
main orientation is towards formal written English. Discourse markers such as
you know, so, like, sort of, I mean, what’s etc. are common features of spoken
English. Those markers allow the maintenance of informal interaction and a
symmetrically interpersonal communication.
In the context of email, it is a common belief that the language use is a mixed
features of speech and writing and Crystal (1997) has identified major points of
contrast between speech and writing caused by the different constraints of each
mode and the cultural expectations surrounding them. This is summarized in the
following table:
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
6
Speech
Writing
Speech happens in real time with participants
Writing is spacebound ; static and permanent
usually present
Spontaneity and speed make it hard to plan
It allows careful re-reading and tends to promote
talk, leading to looser expression and re-
more compact expression and complex grammar
phrasing
Clues such as facial expression and gesture
Lack of visual contact means that participants
can
cannot rely on context to make their meanings
aid
meaning
and
allow
vague
expressions such as those and that (deictics)
clear
Prosodic
Some more difficult grammatical constructions
features
such
as
intonation,
loudness, tempo, rhythm, pronunciation and
are more likely in writing
tone are part of the effect of speech and can
be only approximated by writing
Certain types of informal language such as
Writing can act as a record to be revisited and re-
obscenity and slang are more likely in speech
read at leisure
Speech is suited
Writing can be re-drafted later
to
social or phatic
conversations where opinions and nuances
can be expressed by prosody and extralinguistic features
Once something is said it cannot be unsaid or
Writing includes many spatial features, some of
altered – speech is an event
which cannot be spoken (tables, graphs), but has
limited prosodic features
(Cited in Shortis, 2001: 86)
How about the language used in email communication in the context of workplace
communication?
The study
This study is part of a larger on-going study and investigated patterns of email
communication of two organizations in Malaysia. It examined samples of email
texts provided by the informants. The emails were selected by the informants
based on the types of mails commonly written and based on the subject matter
that is not considered too confidential to be released to the researcher. Thus, the
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
7
names and places used in the samples presented in this paper have been changed
to protect the confidentiality of the organization. The emails collected represent
the upward, downward and horizontal flow of information in the organization.
The findings of this study could provide valuable insight in the areas of workplace
communication and writing in the workplace, at the very least.
Data analysis
Data was analysed for features of formal and conversational language by using
content analysis technique. The writing features were identified in terms of
formal and/or informal language used. In this paper, conversational language
represents the informal language used in the emails.
Findings and discussion
The purpose of this part of the study was to identify and discuss instances of the
email messages being ‘formal’ or ‘conversational’, the factors that differentiate
them, how and when they are used and the implied meanings attached to them.
The analysis revealed that email written language can be divided into formal and
conversational language having interesting patterns which is discussed below.
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
8
Conversational language in email
Three different samples of conversational language in email communication are
presented and discussed below.
Sample 1
good morning!…
Are you sure you need only packing list for A? Anyway, I don’t have it yet
coz other doc. prepared by production side. At the moment what I have is
the invoice!!!…regarding the soft copy…no problem.
Regards
Sample 1 represents email which was sent in response to an earlier email in which
the sender of this email is one of the indirect recipients. An indirect recipient is
someone who receives a courtesy copy of an email and not the direct recipient.
Sample 1 is sent by A and the email is copied to one other person (who is a direct
recipient of the earlier email).
The message starts with a greeting – ‘good morning’ and it is written in the same
way as in the previous email. However in this case, lowercase letters are used and
dots are used at the end of the greetings.
The message begins with an
interrogative mood asking for confirmation. The writer reports that he did not
have the document needed as mentioned in a previous email. Exclamation marks
are used in the email perhaps as a form of emphasis, and trailing dots are used to
indicate running thoughts and thus, the closing sequence sounds conversational.
The use of the abbreviation ‘doc’ (for document) also suggests a conversational
style or tone.
The last sentence is spelt using the lower case letters, and is
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
9
viewed as an incomplete sentence. This sentence is also known as a minor
sentence and thus it is not considered a formal convention.
Sample 2
Dear Dolly,
I’ve gone thru your attachment.
Comparing with my minute on the meeting:
item no 7 is unnecessary – as item no 9 already serves the purpose.
item no 10 – fax I ) invoice - XYZ only
ii) ABC bill
okay! Thanx…
Sample 2 differs from Sample 1 in that it is a one-to-one email sent within the
department. It represents a horizontal communication, written by a male to a
female colleague. It is a reply to a previous email sent to inform of the decision
made and recorded at the minutes of meeting. It is hoped that the decision made
at the meeting would solve the problem presently faced by the department. The
sentences used to communicate the information in sample 2, is clearly of the
incomplete type suggesting the conversational style of writing.
Sample 3
Just following up. Any good news? Would appreciate if you could do it
soonest. I’ll check with you again on 28/10.
Sample 3 is a good example of a one-to-one, interdepartmental email. It is a
horizontal communication, written by a male to another male colleague. The two
participants in this email exchange assumed functional authority. The sender
actually wrote to check his previous request of getting email accounts from the IT
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
10
department for his staff. In his previous email, the sender wrote that he expected
to be informed if his request for email accounts could not be fulfilled. He wrote
this email to find out the status of his request since there has been no reply or no
news after five days. This sample shows the use of short sentences without
subjects and resembles spoken communication as in the case of a person who is in
a hurry.
The
samples above showed different conversational styles found in email
communication.
Formal language in email
Sample 1
Dear Sam/Muni
We are looking to ship out 2 containers to Bangkok. Depending on how
quickly the distributor pays us, we are looking at the middle of next week
to send the shipment out.
Best regards,
Sample 1 was sent to two people and copied to another two. This is an interdepartment email and it was sent to the people at the same level indicating a
horizontal flow of information. Sample 1 and 2 deal with the same subject. This
chain of email uses formal language style even though there are evidences of
abbreviations (info) and short form (b4) that are not normally used in the formal
written medium.
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
11
Sample 2
Gentlemen,
To avoid any delay, pls. advice Finance and Logistic dept. the necessary
info for invoice and Excise preparation.
Please confirm whether the purchased term is maintained as b4 Ex-factory
plant.
TQ
Sample 2 represents an email sent to three direct recipients and copied to three
people. It is an inter-department email, sent by a male to other male colleagues.
It is an example of a horizontal communication in the organization. This email is
a response to the email in Sample 1.
The salutation Gentlemen indicates that the email is addressed to more than one
person and that the sender and receivers have been in contact or communicating
for a period of time. Full sentences are used interspersed with abbreviated forms.
Sample 3
dear all…
please complete the sales summary by Tuesday, 7/9 @ 10 am and forward
to the respective departments.
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
12
Mr. Ali….Could you please attend the meeting on behalf of finance since I
on half day leave (pm) tomorrow (7/9).
Thank you
Sample 3 is an intra-department email, sent by a male superior to other staff in the
department. It represents a one-to-many email, sent to subordinates indicating a
downward flow of communication. This sample illustrates that although the
language style is formal, the first letter of the first word is not capitalized and
trailing dots are used instead of coma after a vocative and thus, suggesting a
mixture of both conversational and formal language styles.
Summary of findings
In the context of workplace communication, the data revealed that the language
style used in most emails is formal even though the language in some emails
carried conversational tones. This might be due to the fact that people regard
email communication as resembling spoken communication because of the
interactivity nature of emails. Thus, writers of emails often write in the way that
they speak, resulting in email messages written in conversational tones or styles.
The analysis further revealed that the conversational language of email is
characterized by the use of conversational tones (Sample 1: regarding the soft
copy…no problem), the use of minor sentences (Sample 3: Just following up. Any
good news?), trailing dots to indicate a switch from one point to another (Sample
1:…regarding the soft copy…no problem) and the use of a subject as an
understood reference to a past event (sample 3: Would appreciate if you could do
it soonest) which indicate a shared understanding among email interactants.
The formal language of email, on the other hand, is characterized by the use of
formal tone (Sample 2: To avoid any delay, pls. advice Finance and Logistic dept.
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
13
the necessary info for invoice and Excise preparation), complete sentences
(Sample 1: Depending on how quickly the distributor pays us, we are looking at
the middle of next week to send the shipment out), and detail descriptions of the
content (Sample 3: please complete the sales summary by Tuesday, 7/9 @ 10 am
and forward to the respective departments). However, there are instances of the
use of common abbreviations and trailing dots at the end of the sentence which
are ‘shared conventions’ of electronic language or e-language (Sample 3: dear
all…). The conventions used are the electronic medium convention shaped by the
interactive nature of the medium and the users’ perception of the medium’s
informality rather than the traditional written convention. .
The findings presented above illustrate that the fluidity nature of email
communication makes the distinction between written and spoken language rather
vague. The interactivity of the messages, especially those in a chain (for example
Sample 1 and 2) influences the style of writing the emails in such a way that the
interactants assume that they are ‘involved’ in the exchange of the information as
though they are meeting face-to-face. Hence, the choice of language style will be
that which is closer to spoken language or conversation. On the other hand, while
maintaining a formal language style (closer to the written), the email interactants
somehow tend to adopt the conventions of e-language with the use of ‘common’
abbreviations such as pls (please), info (information), b4 (before), to name a few.
The ability to use those ‘shared’ conventions gives a sense of belonging to the
email interactants. It is thus necessary to teach people about such distinctions to
enable them to be part of a workplace communicative culture.
Implications for teaching
Hawisher and Moran (1993), cited in Fung-Kuen Lai and Chi-Keung Jor (1996:
109) warrant that “we need to build email into our discipline because in the future
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
14
there will be more, not less, electronic communication. E-mail, we believe,
deserves a place in the curriculum” (Hawisher & Moran, 1993:643).
The quotation above says a lot about the importance of studying email so that the
findings could be translated into classroom practices. Thus, this study proposes
that awareness of the language style inherent in electronic communication should
be emphasized and highlighted for both teachers and students.
If we are teaching our students to use a formal writing style without highlighting
the common practices of the electronic medium, how would the students fit into
their roles as communicators in the electronic exchange? Thus, we argue that the
use of electronic mail should be incorporated in the ESL/EFL context so that
students could be taught to use email medium and to learn to use conventions
associated with the electronic medium in preparation for the workplace.
In addition, the choice of formal or informal language depends on not just the
situation or context, but also on the relationship between people involved in the
interaction. That is, students should be made aware of the fact that a lot of other
factors – situational, contextual as well as cultural factors – interact in each
communication. Therefore, students should know who they are writing to, for
what purpose, and in what situations in order for them to make an informed
judgement in choosing the right intonation, choice of words and level of formality
when writing.
Furthermore, teachers should generate general language awareness of the
differences between speaking and writing styles. This could be achieved by
working on texts that display features of “speakerly and writerly language”
(Carter, 1997:62) in a wide range of contexts. These can be achieved by looking
at texts such as faxes and emails which provide authentic samples of instances of
spoken and written language. When examining samples of faxes and emails,
students could be asked to identify features of spoken and written language and
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
15
give their reasons for doing so. This could be translated into a group work
activity. Other activities include identifying formal and informal word choices,
and identifying punctuation commonly used in writing as opposed to the
punctuation used as paralinguistic cues commonly used in electronic
communication, carrying a notion of a more relaxed style.
The awareness
generated from the different exercises can illustrate the complex relationship
between knowledge about language, on the part of teachers and students and
literacy skills.
Finally, the medium chosen for the communication also influences the messages
written in the sense that if email is chosen as the medium, a writer can choose to
use paralinguistic cues to emphasize or for special effects in the absence of
nonverbal language inherent in face-to-face communication. However, if the
traditional writing medium is chosen, that is pen and paper, the writer should stick
to the convention of written language with proper use of punctuation, discourse
markers etc. Until there exist an acceptable combination of both features of
electronic language (or e-language) into the written medium, students should be
made aware of the choice they have to make in order to be accepted as a
competent member of a discourse community.
Conclusion
This aspect of the on-going study revealed that despite the general belief that
language used in email is largely informal, other factors that are present in the
context of the communication influence the choice of language use – formal or
informal (conversational). In the context of workplace communication, knowing
who one is writing to, the situation and the purpose that give rise to the email
communication is important in determining the language choice and the
convention to follow. The samples presented in this paper also suggest that
despite the formality of the language used, the medium chosen (the electronic
medium) influences the messages written with its ‘acquired’ convention. Baron
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
16
(2000:259) aptly summarizes the discussion on conventions of email with these
words,
What remains to be seen is whether distinct email conventions will disappear in the face
of existing spoken and written norms or whether traditional speech and writing will
incorporate some of the current characteristics of contemporary email.
It is a common understanding that CMC is currently ‘the way’ people
communicate and thus, it will have bearing on the teaching and writing for
workplace communication and in particular within the context of English for
Specific Purposes.
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
17
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Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.
18
Hadina Habil & Shameem Rafik-Galea. The Dynamics of ElectronicMail as a Communication Medium. Paper
presented at the IT & UNIVERSITIES IN ASIA 2002 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 3-5 APRIL, 2002,
Chulalongkon University, Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by The Asian Association of Computer Assisted Language
Learning.