Fostering Intercultural Competence Through Art and ICT Among University Students in Spain and Finland

This chapter is intended to show how the use of ICT and the application of collaborative learning can enhance language acquisition in bilingual contexts. The authors want to share the conclusions of an international project conducted over three years by two European universities of education. This project focused on reflecting about the interaction between university students and cultural heritage. To do this, students were asked to create an artistic poster of any heritage element from the cities where the two universities are located. Then, they had to upload their creation to a blog and comment on other students' work, using English as a vehicular language. Among the principal outcomes, the participants were satisfied with learning about cultural issues from a different country and with discovering new things about their own heritage. They also accepted the potential of visual art and cross-curricular work as a powerful tool to learn about culture and to practice their language skills.

Connected Learners

Technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) is moving ahead from the use of technology in language labs to the possibilities offered by technology in setting up new ways of communication and interactivity. The effectiveness of teaching seems to depend more on teachers' ability to motivate students by connecting to their interests and catering for different intelligences. Teachers' creativity and empathy with them will constitute essential skills for the design of tasks and projects that connect with digital native students' interests. Consideration of cultural aspects will be of essential importance in our globalized world, as learning a language must always take into account cultural variables. The objective of this chapter is to review the challenges that technology and interculturality pose to foreign language teachers and note some of the possible solutions that may facilitate efficient teaching. Politeness theory will be discussed as a theoretical framework providing resources for building social identity and doing relational work with different cultures.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning

Cultural awareness and intercultural understanding are crucial parts of learning a new language. However, not everyone has the chance to have face-to-face interaction with the people from diverse cultures. Computer-mediated technologies are favorable tools that can help learners to engage in intercultural communications. This chapter aims at intercultural learning through technology-enhanced language learning. Five main themes have emerged as the result of literature review alongside a report on major research descriptive. The literature revealed that there are 1) positive attitudes toward using digital tools in intercultural language learning, 2) the development of critical cultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence, 3) opportunities for improving all aspects of language learning. However, 4) textbooks are still the predominant learning resource, and 5) a necessity is felt for special technical skills and competencies. This study is helpful to consider the existing challenges and find new directions for future investigations.

A Conceptual Reference Framework for Sustainability Education in Multilingual and Cross-Cultural Settings

This chapter focuses on the area of education for sustainable development (henceforth, ESD) and presents an overview on the design and initial development of a funded research project called ©ESDIGITHAL, an international network on education. One of the aims of this project is to create a conceptual reference framework to explore the use of technology enhanced content and language integrated teaching and learning as a methodological approach for ESD. The chapter discusses some of the main field challenges identified by UNESCO and explores the use of applied technology, transmedia, and digital storytelling to examine their impact in bilingual education and in cross-cultural multilingual settings. With an emphasis on creativity, critical thinking, and innovation, this network is committed to enrich the quality of higher education and teacher training to guarantee citizens' social, economic, and cultural development.

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning

Nowadays every aspect of humans' life, including education, is affected by technological advancements. Given this, teaching and learning have gone through various changes and are now space- and time-independent in the sense that they can happen at any time anywhere. MALL as a type of IT-based instruction has been popular in many developed countries, while in the developing countries the attitude and requirements for its implementation are not yet ready. In the present chapter, an attempt has been made to review the definition of MALL, synchronous/asynchronous learning, learners' perception of MALL, the status of MALL in developed and developing countries, and finally the challenges facing developing countries for implementing MALL in their educational systems. It also tries to give an insight into the cross-cultural differences affecting the use and implementation of MALL and admits there are further avenues to explore variables mediating the application of new technologies in different cultural settings. In the end, some solutions and recommendations for future research are offered.

Effect of GI and Glogster on Improving the Intercultural Communication Skills in Higher Education

The study reports the effect of group investigation (GI) cooperative learning method and the Glogster online poster on improving the intercultural communication skills of international students (n=54) of eight different countries. The study is premised on the proposition that the integration of GI and Glogster in classrooms consisting of Lebanese and non-Lebanese students could be effective in improving the intercultural communication skills of international students and enhancing their perceptions of intercultural communication. The study employed the mixed methods pretest-posttest control group experimental design whereby six Interactions Among Civilizations intact classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. Employing the intercultural sensitivity scale yielded findings indicating the significance of the GI and Glogster in developing the cultural adaptability and intercultural sensitivity of the experimental group participants (n=25) whereas the control group participants (n=28) did not show similar improvement.

Social Networking Sites

The goal of the paper is to highlight the research examined within the context of social networking sites (SNSs), cross-cultural approaches, and relevant findings and implications for second language teaching and learning (L2TL). Furthermore, the study also investigates applicable frameworks across the academia that can be adapted by applied linguists and L2TL experts in SNS research. For this purpose, relevant findings from other fields of research and their potential implications for L2TL are presented along with applicable theoretical and methodological frameworks. It is pointed out that a number of studies from the fields can contribute to a better understanding of social networking technologies and their roles in language teaching and learning context. Therefore, it is recommended that L2TL experts investigating SNSs should familiarize themselves with SNS research across the academia and they carry out interdisciplinary projects by employing applicable theoretical and methodological frameworks.

Issues of Cross-Cultural Communications in a Globalizing Era

This chapter describes issues of cross-cultural communications emerging in an era moving towards globalization. The author identifies three main areas of concern: language, culture, and technology. These issues are not new in cross-cultural communications. However, new issues are emerging. As World Englishes developed, cultural awareness alone is no longer enough to respond to a globalizing era and people are required to possess intercultural competences to be able to function appropriately in the global community. Additionally, new issues relevant to technology are emerging, such as digital divides and flaming in computer-mediated communications. Having discussed these issues, the author provides recommendations for practitioners of cross-cultural communication, including developing cross-cultural exchange programs, developing training programs, focusing on netiquette and respect of different cultures and languages, rather than computer skills, and finally, designing authentic assessment to evaluate students' cross-cultural performance.

Examining International Telecollaboration in Language Teacher Education

This chapter presents findings of case study action research examining the impact of technology-mediated collaboration between teacher-learners in two graduate-level Applied Linguistics Master's programs in Canada and Israel. To date, little research has been conducted on international telecollaborative exchanges in language teacher education programs. This chapter will discuss teacher-learners' perceived benefits and challenges of this international telecollaborative exchange, its impact on beliefs towards the use of technology-mediated tools, and the relevance of these types of collaborations in language teacher education. The authors will highlight individual teacher-learner voices in this study that illustrate how teacher assumptions about authority, experience, and teacher identity evolve on individual pathways and are situated in complex, historically embedded paradigms of teaching and learning experience. The chapter will conclude with insights gained regarding strategies for implementing effective international telecollaborative exchanges in language teacher education programs.

Using Telecollaboration 2.0 to Build Intercultural Communicative Competence

This chapter reports a Spanish-American telecollaborative project through which students created blogs, VoiceThread presentations, and video chats for intercultural exchanges over the course of one semester. The chapter outlines the methodology for the project including pedagogical objectives, task design, selection of Web 2.0 tools, and implementation. Using qualitative data collection, the study explored the extent to which Web 2.0-mediated learning could contribute to learners' intercultural communicate competence (ICC) development. The findings revealed that students exhibited the skills outlined in Byram's ICC model. Students showed positive attitudes and curiosity towards the target culture, and gained new cultural knowledge. They also demonstrated skills of discovery and interaction that helped them build critical cultural awareness. The study suggests that learners' ICC can be assessed by the implementation of a well-designed telecollaborative exchange using Web 2.0 technologies.