This study's goal was to determine if appropriately designed, completely virtual formats of language courses are able to engender in students speaking ability progress comparable to that fostered within traditional face‐to‐face (F2F) classrooms. The study further sought to clarify language learners' perceptions of online Japanese courses. The speaking ability of all participants was assessed at the beginning and end of their Japanese language course. A mixed‐design analysis of variance was conducted to analyze the effect of course type on speaking ability. Results showed that participant speaking ability improved significantly over time regardless of course type (online or F2F). This study also revealed that the majority of participants were able to use online tools with ease and found the online format to be an effective method of learning Japanese. Two principal reasons for studying Japanese online are reported. Implications and suggestions are discussed.

中文翻译：

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在线和面对面课程中语言学习者的口语能力进步

这项研究的目的是确定与传统的面对面（F2F）教室所培养的语言课程相比，是否设计合理，完全虚拟的语言课程能够促进学生的口语能力发展。该研究进一步试图澄清语言学习者对在线日语课程的看法。在日语课程的开始和结束时，对所有参与者的口语能力进行了评估。进行了混合设计的方差分析，以分析课程类型对口语能力的影响。结果表明，无论课程类型（在线或F2F），参与者的口语能力都会随着时间的推移而显着提高。这项研究还表明，大多数参与者能够轻松地使用在线工具，并发现在线格式是学习日语的有效方法。据报道，在网上学习日语的两个主要原因。暗示和建议进行了讨论。