International Collaboration in Foreign Language Class: A Case Study on Using Online Digital Tools

This pilot action research is aimed to attempt on how to construct and develop an effective and sustainable international collaborative exchange class model, by holding a collaborative language class with students from the target-language and culture. It further aims to consider how online international exchange classes could affect language and culture learning. From an intercultural language learning perspective, Liddicoat et al. (2003) argued that learners should participate in the social and interactional process actively and positively, which constructs learning, connection and social interaction. Then, how can these principles be applied to classroom activities in foreign language education? This practice, some suggests the use of culture portfolios, while others recommend online intercultural exchanges (Murray and Bollinger, 2001; O’Dowd, 2007; Helm, 2009) which “uses internet technology as a tool to facilitate intercultural communication between classes of learners in different countries” (Helm, 2009:91). In an attempt to investigate how to improve students’ intercultural sensitivity in foreign language classrooms, this research pursued an international collaboration between a Japanese class at Chung-Ang University (CAU) in South Korea and a Korean class at International Christian University (ICU) in Japan by adopting the online intercultural exchange style of practice. This pilot action research revealed positive communicative and intercultural attitudes in all respects because students showed their curiosity and openness towards the target-culture which led to cultural knowledge and skills of interpreting and relating their existing knowledge about their own culture to new input about the target-culture (Byram, 1977). As for the knowledge about target-culture, students have already some degree of knowledge about the target-culture provided by instructors in class and they applied it as leverage in order to absorb new knowledge presented by students from the target-culture. It was, however, found out that even for some cultural facts which are already instructed by teachers in class, they seem to feel differently and even reacted as if they realize or notice or give an attention it for the first time. This observation revealed that language and culture learning can be carried out more efficiently in a social and interactive process that learners reconceptualize with existing knowledge about both their own culture and target-culture through personalized practice and experience.