Introduction

Online learners, like language learners in traditional classrooms, employ strategies that relate to the self-regulation of mental processes, and communicative or language use strategies. As Debski (1997: 42) argues, 'a fuller integration of contemporary computer technology and foreign language education is most likely to take place in learning environments in which students can easily [...] combine learning a language with reflection about language learning strategies.' In more traditional language learning settings the importance of such strategies has been evidenced by research. Skehan's (1989) review of studies exploring the techniques used by proficient language learners in face-to-face settings, for example, suggests an interrelationship between the range and frequency of strategies they employ and their performance in the target language compared to competence levels achieved by less successful peers. Similarly, Chamot (2001) reports that more effective learners can be distinguished from less effective learners by the number and range of strategies they use, by the way they apply them, and by the appropriateness of those strategies chosen. She found that 'good language learners demonstrated adeptness at matching strategies to the task they were working on, while the less successful language learners seemed to lack the meta-cognitive knowledge about task requirements needed to select appropriate strategies' (Chamot, 2001: 32).

Informed strategy use seems particularly important in the context of online language learning, where learner interaction often takes place in environments that students are either less familiar with or that they use socially for communicating with their peers rather than for educational purposes. Thus the following challenges can arise (see also Lamy & Hampel, 2007):

• • profusion of material;

• • cognitive overload;

• • need for technoliteracy;

• • different time structures (asynchronous and synchronous environments) and impact on interaction;

• • new spatial/visual devices (e.g. structural functions, avatars);

• • unequal participation patterns (e.g. 'lurking');

• • anonymity of the environment;

• • need for netiquette;

• • need for teacher involvement and support.