Speaker
Description
Virtual Exchange is increasingly used in foreign language classrooms, yet its impact in secondary education remains underexplored. This qualitative study explored Japanese high school students’ experiences of VE through interviews with current students and recent graduates. The findings showed that students gained confidence and enjoyed interacting with peers through authentic intercultural communication using multimodal tools, while also facing affective, communication, cultural, and contextual challenges. Pedagogical implications based on these findings are also discussed.
References
Dooly, M. (2017). Telecollaboration. In C.A. Chapelle & S. Sauro (Eds.), The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 169–183). https://0-doi-org.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/10.1002/9781118914069.ch12
Dooly, M., & O’Dowd, R. (2018). Telecollaboration in the foreign language classroom: A review of its origins and its application to language teaching practices. In M. Dooly & R. O’Dowd (Eds.), In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborative language learning projects (pp. 11–34). Peter Lang.
Jauregi, K. (2016). Researching telecollaboration processes in foreign language education: Challenges and achievements. In M. Carrió-Pastor (Ed.), Technology implementation in second language teaching and translation studies: New tools, new approaches (pp.155–178). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0572-5_9
Lewis, T., & O’Dowd, R. (2016). Online Intercultural Exchange and foreign language learning: A systematic review. In R. O’Dowd, & T. Lewis (Eds.), Online Intercultural Exchange: Policy, pedagogy, practice (pp. 21–66). Routledge.
Abstract
Virtual Exchange (VE) is increasingly being used in foreign language classrooms as a pedagogical approach (Dooly, 2017; Lewis & O’Dowd, 2016), offering students authentic communication and intercultural collaboration with peers from different backgrounds. While VE has been widely studied in university contexts, research exploring its implementation and impact in secondary education is still limited (Dooly & O’Dowd, 2018; Jauregi, 2016). To support the development of students’ practical language competencies through meaningful intercultural communication in VE, it is crucial to understand what students actually experience and what they find challenging during such collaboration.
The study therefore explored the perceived benefits and challenges experienced by Japanese high school students participating in VE. I conducted in-depth retrospective interviews with five current high school students and four recent graduates who participated in VE sessions with secondary students from Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines and/or the US. This qualitative approach was chosen to capture nuanced and detailed VE experiences that quantitative approaches, such as questionnaires, may not be able to reveal. The findings showed that students experienced benefits such as increased confidence, enjoyment, comfort with peers of similar age and status, authentic intercultural engagement, and multimodal experiences, while also facing challenges such as anxiety, communication breakdowns, limited prior cultural knowledge, and contextual constraints.
Informed by these findings and students’ feedback, the presentation also aims to provide teachers with practical insights into how we can better prepare students for VE to enhance their learning experiences and practical language competencies.
Short summary
Virtual Exchange is increasingly used in foreign language classrooms, yet its impact in secondary education remains underexplored. This qualitative study explored Japanese high school students’ experiences of VE through interviews with current students and recent graduates. The findings showed that students gained confidence and enjoyed interacting with peers through authentic intercultural communication using multimodal tools, while also facing affective, communication, cultural, and contextual challenges. Pedagogical implications based on these findings are also discussed.
Keywords
Virtual Exchange, intercultural communication, high school
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Sunday |
|---|---|
| Title | Unpacking high school students’ experiences in Virtual Exchange |