Enhancing intercultural communicative competence through online foreign language exchange: Taiwanese students’ experiences

Authors

  • Wen-Chuan Lin English Department, Wenzao Ursuline University of languages, Taiwan
  • Jian-Shiung Shie English Department, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan
  • Prue Holmes School of Education, Durham University

Keywords:

EFL, intercultural communicative competence, comparative education, Taiwan

Abstract

From cross-cultural and comparative perspectives, this paper reports on a study which investigated students’ experiences of intercultural and foreign language learning through a six-month online language exchange project involving 30 Taiwanese secondary students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and 10 British secondary students learning Mandarin. The paper focuses on the Taiwanese participants’ intercultural learning process and progress through online interactions on a class blog. Survey questionnaires were designed to examine the participants’ perceptions of intercultural and English learning online. Qualitative data collected through classroom observations, online materials, reflection logs and interviews were analysed and employed to explore students’ experiences. The findings indicate that students perceived development of both their English abilities and their interculturalcommunicativecompetence as a result of meaningful online peer interactions. However, intriguing emerging differences of learning attitudes between students from Taiwan and England were found, reflecting contrastive educational cultures between the two countries. This study aims to explore the processes of foreign language learning and intercultural interactions mediated by internet communication tools. Results shed light on the interaction between cultural heterogeneity and language communication. Suggestions are made about the future practice of online language exchanges and relevant next steps in researching this area.

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Author Biographies

  • Wen-Chuan Lin, English Department, Wenzao Ursuline University of languages, Taiwan

    Wen-Chuan Lin is an associate professor and Head of the English Department at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan. His research interests include intercultural studies and EFL learning issues from the perspectives of Vygotskian Socio-cultural Theory.

  • Jian-Shiung Shie, English Department, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

    Jian-Shiung Shie is a professor in the Department of English at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan. In 2014 he served as the chief investigator of the integrated project Language use and cultural border crossing: Reading, translation, and cross-cultural communication, funded by Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages (RDRS–102001) of which the present article is a partial result.

  • Prue Holmes, School of Education, Durham University

    Prue Holmes is a reader and the Director of Postgraduate Research in the School of Education, Durham University, UK. She researches and teaches language and intercultural communication, and has participated in many research projects on these topics. Her teaching experience includes intercultural communication at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and EFL teacher education in Italy, China, and Hong Kong.

The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 4. Issue 1. March 2017

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Published

2017-03-31

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Enhancing intercultural communicative competence through online foreign language exchange: Taiwanese students’ experiences. (2017). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 73-88. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/430