Speaker
Description
This poster reports on a task in which students took intercultural action outside the classroom. The task encouraged students to consider the cultural complexity of their local environments and draw on their own networks to design and complete courses of action that were both meaningful and appropriate. Instructor observations indicated that students were able to access rich resources for intercultural interaction, although there was a need for explicit critical engagement to challenge essentialist cultural assumptions.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Although many higher education institutions in Japan focus on study abroad, diversifying the student body, EMI or online exchanges to achieve internationalization goals, these measures may not always be accessible, practical or beneficial in terms of intercultural interaction and competence (Morita, 2012; Taguchi, 2025). This presentation reports on a task designed to encourage meaningful and accessible intercultural interaction at home for undergraduate students in Japan, informed by socio-materialism (Kim, 2023) and non-essentialist views of culture (Holliday, 2018), which see students as embedded in complex culturally diverse networks of people, resources and experiences that can be leveraged for learning.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
In the first semester, students were observed drawing on diverse online and offline networks to take actions that were personally meaningful and appropriate, however student feedback indicated the task was too long, and some actions were clearly tangential or grounded in essentialised constructions of culture. Observations of the second semester suggested the revised task was an appropriate length and there were no tangential actions. However, more essentialism was observed. Overall, while students could access rich networks of resources for intercultural interaction at home, a need was identified for explicit critical engagement with culture, along with flexibility in the task design.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Following an action research approach, a task was designed and implemented in a 15-week undergraduate English language course with a theme of intercultural interaction in two consecutive semesters (4 classes, 59 students total). Instructor observations were used to critically reflect on the success of the task, revise the task after the first semester and identify key considerations for task design and potential future improvements.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
Can autonomous task-based learning encourage students to experience meaningful and appropriate intercultural interaction at home drawing on their own networks and resources?
Abstract section 5: References
Holliday, A. (2018). Designing a course in intercultural education. Intercultural Communication Education, 1(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v1n1.24
Kim, M. (2023). Decolonizing ELT materials: A sociomaterial orientation. ELT Journal, 77(3), 316-326. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccad013
Morita, L. (2012). Internationalisation and intercultural interaction at a Japanese university. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 12(2), Discussion Paper 3 in 2012. https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol12/iss2/morita.html
Taguchi, N. (2026). Development of intercultural communicative competence in an English-medium university in Japan. TESOL Quarterly, 60(1), 321-348. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.70038
| Title | Interculturality at home: TBL outside the classroom |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |