Breaking language and cultural barriers: A case study in telecollaboration at an EFL class in higher education

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a telecollaboration program with students of an English Pedagogy Program at a private university in Chile. The aim is to analyze this experience through the opinions of the Chilean participants between the years 2016-2017. To do so, a post-course survey was applied to a group of 54 students. The analysis of the qualitative data shows that students reported two main benefits: a raise in intercultural awareness and an increase in their linguistic abilities in the target language. Virtual exchanges through information and communication technologies (ICT) provided learners with authentic linguistic input and authentic situations, which in turn increased their motivation to engage in second language conversations. Despite certain limitations discussed in the paper, the telecollaboration experience was highly valued by the students.

This paper presents a case study of a telecollaboration program with students of an English Pedagogy Program at a private university in Chile. The aim is to analyze this experience through the opinions of the Chilean participants between the years 2016-2017. To do so, a post-course survey was applied to a group of 54 students. The analysis of the qualitative data shows that students reported two main benefits: a raise in intercultural awareness and an increase in their linguistic abilities in the target language. Virtual exchanges through information and communication technologies (ICT) provided learners with authentic linguistic input and authentic situations, which in turn increased their motivation to engage in second language conversations. Despite certain limitations discussed in the paper, the telecollaboration experience was highly valued by the students.