Speaker
Description
This study explores how university students in Macau, China, co-constructed interculturality with Serbian peers in a WeChat exchange integrated into their coursework. Adopting a poststructuralist lens (Dervin, 2016), the pilot draws on Positioning Theory and CDA to analyze WeChat dialogues and interviews. Preliminary findings show that while students successfully maintained a friendly connection, meanings sometimes remained divergent. In dialogues involving students with limited proficiency, questions are raised about the nature of AI-proxied interculturality and what it means to co-construct a community through such mediation.
Keywords
online intercultural collaboration
international collaboration
intercultural development
Special scheduling requests
In the afternoon, if possible.
Short summary
This pilot study investigates mainland Chinese master’s students in applied linguistics in Macau, who collaborated online with Serbian peers via WeChat on student life. The Macau students produced final reports critically analyzing rich points in dialogue, drawing on discursive approaches studied in class. Positioning Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis frame selected “snapshots,” showing how students missed intercultural moments yet developed awareness through analysis and reflection. Preliminary findings highlight interculturality as relational, with interviews planned.
Abstract
Online intercultural collaboration in education has grown steadily, with participation surging during the COVID‑19 crisis. While widely promoted, research shows that neither physical mobility nor online encounters automatically result in intercultural learning (Hua, 2014). Much of the literature has drawn on Byram’s (1997) ICC framework, often treating interculturality as difference and comparison (e.g., Al Khateeb & Hassan, 2023). A growing body of work employs critical discursive approaches, focusing on how identities and relations are co-constructed in dialogue (Dervin, 2014; Ladegaard, 2022; Yuan et al., 2023). These remain underexplored in Macau, where studies note students’ low interaction confidence and limited proficiency (Chen & Hu, 2023).
This pilot study examines mainland Chinese students in a bilingual master’s program in applied linguistics in Macau, who engaged in a month‑long asynchronous online collaboration with Serbian peers on student life. Using WeChat, the students exchanged perspectives, creating a temporary dialogic community in which interculturality could emerge. In their final reports, the Macau students analyzed points of interest and miscommunication (rich points, Agar, 2006), drawing on discursive approaches studied in class.
The analysis applies Positioning Theory (Davies & Harré, 1990) and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2013) to selected “snapshots,” highlighting how overlooked moments were transformed into intercultural learning opportunities. Preliminary findings underscore the relational nature of interculturality, showing it cannot be developed in isolation but only through dialogic engagement within a shared community space. Follow‑up interviews will extend the study by exploring participants’ reflections on the collaborative process.
References
Agar, M. (2006). Culture: Can you take it with you? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 30(6), 757–779.
Al Khateeb, A., & Hassan, A. (2023). Intercultural communicative competence in online collaboration: A comparative study. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 52(3), 245–262.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.
Chen, X., & Hu, Y. (2023). Challenges in online intercultural exchanges in Macau: Confidence and proficiency issues. Language and Intercultural Communication, 23(4), 389–405.
Davies, B., & Harré, R. (1990). Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20(1), 43–63.
Dervin, F. (2014). Interculturality in education: A theoretical and methodological toolbox. Palgrave Macmillan.
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Hua, Z. (2014). Exploring intercultural communication: Language in action. Routledge.
Ladegaard, H. J. (2022). Discursive approaches to interculturality in student exchanges. Journal of Pragmatics, 194, 1–14.
O’Dowd, R. (2007). Evaluating the outcomes of online intercultural exchanges. ELT Journal, 61(2), 144–152.
Yuan, R., Zhang, L., & Wang, H. (2023). Identity negotiation in online intercultural collaboration: A discursive perspective. Language and Intercultural Communication, 23(2), 210–225.
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday or Sunday |
|---|---|
| Title | Snapshots of Interculturality: Discursive Analysis of Online Collaboration |