ERIC Number: EJ1075828
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Oct
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1094-3501
EISSN: N/A
Using Facebook to Promote Korean EFL Learners' Intercultural Competence
Jin, Seunghee
Language Learning & Technology, v19 n3 p38-51 Oct 2015
Foreign language learners often have limited opportunity to interact with people from the target culture and develop their intercultural competence (IC) through those interactions both inside and outside of the classroom. To identify a new opportunity to engage Korean EFL learners in innovative ways to maximize target language interactions and develop their IC, this study adopts Facebook as a new computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool in a university classroom-based telecollaborative project between the U.S. and South Korea. The results revealed that Facebook offers Korean EFL learners an effective platform for intercultural interactions with people from the target culture, and Korean EFL learners demonstrate the abilities of the overall components of IC by showing many instances that fall well within Byram's (2000) assessment criteria, although some conflicting results exist. This study suggests that the adoption of Facebook is a new, innovative, and practical way to facilitate effective intercultural interactions as well as promote IC in the EFL classroom.
Descriptors: Social Networks, Technology Uses in Education, Intercultural Communication, Cultural Awareness, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Foreign Countries, College Students, Telecommunications, Intercultural Programs, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Participant Observation, Ethnography, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Content Analysis
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center. 1859 East-West Road #106, Honolulu, HI 96822. Tel: 808-956-9424; Fax: 808-956-5983; e-mail: llt@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://llt.msu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A