Abstract
This study examines learner interaction with mediating resources designed to promote their intercultural competence (Byram, 2009; Deardorff, 2009) during study abroad that were made available to them through an online instructional space. In this way, the project offers a response to the challenges of students attempting to navigate a new cultural context without affordances characteristic of formal learning environments (i. e. an instructor, assigned readings, organized discussions). Undergraduate learners from a U. S. university foreign language program were enrolled in an online course organized according to principles of Vygotskian theory (2012), specifically the importance of abstract concepts and models for mediating thinking. Selected readings introduced learners to an intercultural communicative framework and discussions guided learners to reflect upon and interpret their experiences in light of ideas presented in the readings. Analysis of participant reflections and discussions reveal participant intercultural competence and ways in which it was mediated through the online course.
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© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- “How Dare You Have Another Relationship!”: An analysis of cross-cultural and interlanguage corrections
- Noticing without negotiation?: What L2 Spanish learners report hearing in peer-produced language
- A Vygotskian approach to mediating learner intercultural competence during study abroad
- Influence of learners’ prior knowledge, L2 proficiency and pre-task planning on L2 lexical complexity
- A learner corpus analysis: Effects of task complexity, task type, and L1 & L2 similarity on propositional and linguistic complexity
- Online task planning and L2 oral fluency: does manipulating time pressure affect fluency in L2 monologic oral narratives?
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- “How Dare You Have Another Relationship!”: An analysis of cross-cultural and interlanguage corrections
- Noticing without negotiation?: What L2 Spanish learners report hearing in peer-produced language
- A Vygotskian approach to mediating learner intercultural competence during study abroad
- Influence of learners’ prior knowledge, L2 proficiency and pre-task planning on L2 lexical complexity
- A learner corpus analysis: Effects of task complexity, task type, and L1 & L2 similarity on propositional and linguistic complexity
- Online task planning and L2 oral fluency: does manipulating time pressure affect fluency in L2 monologic oral narratives?