Cross-cultural E-mail Communication in EFL: A Case Study of a Group of Korean University Students

As a greater emphasis is placed on language use in authentic social contexts, emailing has become a tool that provides students with the opportunity for the genuine communication in this globalized world, particularly in the limited EFL learning environment, where students desire real-life communication. This study investigated how a group of 27 Korean first-year university students perceived cross-cultural email interactions with L2 Chinese email pals and how their perceptions changed over time, what they learned, and what problems they faced in exchanging emails. Data was collected through open-ended pre and post-epaling questionnaires, interviews, and students' email messages. Findings revealed that the students seemed to acknowledge the importance of crosscultural communication with L2 students from different EFL contexts, but problems also occurred. In addition, there were some changes in students' perceptions on exchanging emails with L2 pals. The number of students who preferred native speakers increased. Other findings and implications will be also discussed.