Speaker
Description
The presentation outlines online intercultural exchange activities held in 2025 between students at a Japanese university and a partner institution in the Philippines. Drawing on survey and interview data, I discuss how the activities impacted the communicative and intercultural competence of participants. After highlighting significant differences between the groups in terms of engagement and program satisfaction, I conclude by sharing how student feedback has contributed to changes and improvements being implemented in 2026.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Participants were generally satisfied with the program and felt their communicative competence improved as a result. Japanese participants (n = 24) perceived improvements in English listening and vocabulary, while Filipino participants (n = 15) reported improvements in understanding foreign accents and controlling their own rate of speech. Intercultural competence increased for both groups, with Filipinos reporting significantly higher gains. Filipino participants tended to participate more actively, and reported a higher level of satisfaction with the program. This may be due to differences in English proficiency, motivation, and communication styles between the groups. Participants offered constructive advice for future improvements.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Research suggests that online exchange is popular with students and effective in promoting intercultural competence and language learning (O’Dowd, 2021). However, despite tools such as the Cultural Intelligence Scale (Van Dyne et al., 2009), intercultural competence remains difficult to measure and is not a guaranteed result (Dooly & Vinagre, 2022; Hackett et al., 2023). This study uses survey data to examine how online intercultural exchange activities impacted Japanese and Filipino participants’ intercultural and communicative competence.
Abstract section 5: References
Dooly, M., & Vinagre, M. (2022). Research into practice: Virtual exchange in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 55(3), 392–406. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000069
Hackett, S., Janssen, J., Beach, P., Perreault, M., Beelen, J., & van Tartwijk, J. (2023). The effectiveness of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) on intercultural competence development in higher education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-022-00373-3
O’Dowd, R. (2021). Virtual exchange: moving forward into the next decade. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 34(3), 209–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1902201
Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Koh, C. (2009). Development and validation of the CQS: The cultural intelligence scale. In S. Ang & L. Van Dyne (Eds.), Handbook of Cultural Intelligence Theory, Measurement, and Applications (pp. 16–38).
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
This study addresses the following research questions:
RQ1: What are the learning outcomes of participants in terms of communicative and intercultural competence?
RQ2: Do learning outcomes differ by variables such as nationality, English proficiency, or engagement patterns?
RQ3: How satisfied were students with the exchange activities, and in what ways could the program be improved?
Abstract section 3: Content/method
After obtaining institutional approval and informed consent, surveys were administered in English and Japanese to assess: 1) Participant background/English proficiency; 2) Motivations for participating in the online exchange 3) Communicative competence; 4) Intercultural competence; 5) Program satisfaction. For Likert scale items, two-tailed Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to identify significant differences across nationality, English proficiency, and engagement patterns. Qualitative data was obtained through free response items and interviews with selected participants.
| Title | Cultural Connections: Online Exchange with Filipino Students |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |