In this study, we compare the first and the last sessions from an online oral proficiencycourse aimed at doctoral students conducted in the virtual world Second Life. The studyattempts to identify how supportive moves made by the teacher encourage learners toengage with language, and what type of linguistic behaviour in the learners leads toengagement in others. We compare overall differences in terms of floor space andturn-taking patterns, and also conduct a more in-depth discourse analysis of parts of thesessions focusing on supportive moves such as back-channelling and elicitors. There areindications that the supportive linguistic behaviour of teachers is important in increasinglearner engagement. In our studywe are also able to observe a change in student linguisticbehaviour between the first and the last sessions with students becoming more activein signalling involvement as the course progresses. Finally, by illustrating some of thelanguage awareness issues that arise in online environments, we hope to contribute tothe understanding of the dynamics of online communication.