ERIC Number: EJ1257508
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Mar
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1695-2618
EISSN: N/A
Fostering Cultural Competence Awareness and Dispositions to Reach "Thirdness" or "Decentering" by Engaging in Intercultural Dialogue
Villalobos-Buehner, Maria
The EUROCALL Review, v28 n1 p26-39 Mar 2020
The goals of this research were twofold. First, to measure changes in cultural awareness levels between two groups of students in their third semester of a Spanish class. The trained group formed by university students from the USA collaborated with another group of university students from Colombia using Skype. The second aim was to identify attitudes of "decentering" or "thirdness" in the trained group. This group met seven times during a 13-week semester to discuss a variety of cultural topics such as college life and daily routines. The control group addressed the same issues by examining them among members of the same class and answered a pre-and post-self-awareness questionnaire. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed a significant increase in interculturality scores in the trained group. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis of the video recordings, essays, and video chats from the trained group showed dispositions to "decentering" ("thirdness") or to engage in an understanding process of the other (Kramsch, 1993). This group exhibited attitudes of curiosity and openness during the Skype sessions. Their essays were elaborate; the topics were varied, indicating the experience of productive social interactions. This group also avoided the use of essentialist or static cultural representations of the other in their narratives.
Descriptors: Cultural Awareness, Intercultural Communication, Undergraduate Students, Computer Mediated Communication, Second Language Learning, Spanish, Intercollegiate Cooperation, Foreign Countries, Video Technology, Student Attitudes, English (Second Language), Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Scores, Attitude Change, Telecommunications
European Association for Computer-Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL). EUROCALL Headquarters, School of Modern Languages, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK. Tel: +34-67-943-1283; Web site: http://www.eurocall-languages.org/
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: United States; Colombia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A