Abstract

Increase in diversified teaching contexts has led researchers to investigate the potentials of telecollaboration in multicultural learning environments. While there are abundant telecollaboration studies, improving intercultural awareness through a theoretical model is usually under-investigated. Based on Byram’s (1997 Byram, M. (1997). “Cultural awareness” as vocabulary learning. The Language Learning Journal, 16(1), 51–57. doi:10.1080/09571739785200291[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) co-orientational and Bennett’s (1993 Bennett, M. J. (1993). Towards ethnorelativism: A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. Michael Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 21–71). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. [Google Scholar]) developmental intercultural competence models, this study intends to raise critical intercultural competence among 50 pre-service English teachers through telecollaboration with five faculty members across European countries. Relying on data generated through (a)synchronous delivery modes in an eight-week intervention, participants’ intercultural development was measured by quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings suggest that telecollaboration had a significant impact on learners’ critical intercultural development. In particular, interaction with different cultural perspectives dismantled prejudices and stereotypes as evidenced by their 1) cognisance of diversity, 2) pragmatic cultural stance, 3) latent intercultural conflict and 4) oppressed gender inequality. This study reveals that telecollaboration is a viable venue for increasing pre-service teachers’ critical cultural awareness and reducing biases in multicultural learning contexts.

摘要

多元化教学环境的增加促使研究人员调查远程协作在多元文化学习环境中的潜力。虽然有大量的远程协作研究，但通过理论模型提高跨文化意识的研究通常不足。基于 Byram 的 ( 1997 拜拉姆，M.（1997 年）。“文化意识”作为词汇学习。语言学习杂志，16 (1), 51 – 57。doi: 10.1080/09571739785200291 [Taylor & Francis Online]  , [Google Scholar] ) co-orientational and Bennett's (1993 贝内特，MJ（1993 年）。走向民族相对主义：跨文化敏感性的发展模式。R. Michael Paige （主编），跨文化体验教育（第21 – 71页）。缅因州雅茅斯：跨文化出版社。 [谷歌学术]) 发展性跨文化能力模型，本研究旨在通过与欧洲国家的五名教师进行远程协作，提高 50 名职前英语教师的关键跨文化能力。依靠在为期八周的干预中通过 (a) 同步交付模式生成的数据，通过定量和定性方法衡量参与者的跨文化发展。研究结果表明，远程协作对学习者的批判性跨文化发展产生了重大影响。特别是，与不同文化观点的互动消除了偏见和刻板印象，这体现在他们 1) 对多样性的认识，2) 务实的文化立场，3) 潜在的跨文化冲突和 4) 受压迫的性别不平等。