In an article entitled At The Heart of It: The Concept of Presence, Lombard and Ditton conceptualise the idea of presence or the “the perceptual illusion of nonmediation”.

Regarding media (TV, computer, radio etc.), presence relates to how it naturally fits into our lives, “An enhanced sense of presence is central to the use, and therefore the usefulness and profitability.” The success of new technological mediums, therefore, is based on it’s ability to mirror reality or creating a real presence.

Six conceptualisations of presence are put forward in the form of –

(i) Social Richness (invokes intimiacy and immediacy)

(ii) Realism (How real does it feel?)

(iii) Transportation (You feel like ‘you are there’ or  ‘it is here’ or  ‘we are together’)

(iv) Immersion (both perceptual & physchological – feeling involved, engaged & engrossed)

(v) Social Actor with Medium (virtual characters)

(vi) Medium as Social Actor (interacting with a computer, TV)

If these conceptualisations help us understand what factors make mediated experiences seem like nonmediated ones, then they also explain its application in the language learning context. A cornerstone of L2 acquisition is engaging and authentic interactions with the target language (Blake 1:2). Immersing oneself in the society and culture of the L2 language is not financially possible for many, however, a virtual immersion can provide the necessary linguistic contact students need to reach proficiency. Currently, said immersions take many forms, such as conducting classes online and accessing authentic materials via the internet.

Here is the link to my classmates popplet in view of Lombard and Ditton’s conceptualisation of presence – http://popplet.com/app/#/2170842 

I couldn’t add to it, so created my own here.

References

Lombard M. & Ditton T., 1997

At the Heart of It All: The Concept of Presence. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 3, 2. [Available as eresource on UNLOC]