This is a research in the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language and the use of CMC [computer mediated communication] using synchronous text-based CMC [computer mediated communication], viz chat. We analyze the construction of discussions between foreign students with an interactional and acquisitional perspective in order to discover its specificities. The target audience is enrolled in a French university at advanced levels [Master, Ph D…] and needs to improve their French as used in an academic context. In a « discourse analysis in chat interactions », we focus on specificities of this communication tool and of the discussion context. We first show the structure of learners' utterances, their use of lexical items and complex structures, and the influence of their other languages on their productions in French. Then, we analyze the use of « topogrammes » in an academic context and their different functions. We thus sho! w how learners focus on the thematic object of the discussion and the solving of linguistic or discourse obstacles they were faced with during the exchanges. We also study the way in which the learners construct and co-construct the discussions. The messages that they construct from their interlocutors' discourses allow them to develop the theme into a discussion and to improve his pragmatic competences. Finally, we examine how knowledge about academic practices appears and evolves during the interactions. Our work shows the benefits of the use of the chat for linguistic research about advanced learners and its interest as a communication tool in L2 acquisition.
