The Impact of Internet-Based International Small-Group Activities on Students in the Countryside
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of collaboration classes through the internet carried out amongst Thai and Japanese students under the Students Meet Internationally through Language Education (SMILE) project on a group of Thai high school students in a rural area. This study examines how online collaboration classes increased their confidence and self-evaluation of their own English abilities, cultural awareness, and skills with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The duration of the program’s collaboration was three weeks; each week, two Thai students were assigned to meet online with the same two Japanese students to discuss different topics and exchange information with one another. The participants included twelve students from upper secondary schools in Thailand and Japan (i.e., N = 24). Data were collected from the Thai students via an online questionnaire and an interview after the course. Our data show that collaboration classes through the internet had strong positive effects on the students: They provided them with a genuine international environment in which to communicate in English, helping to raise their cultural awareness alongside other important points that should be cultivated in pre-secondary education. Most students were eager to join collaboration classes through the internet once again because they enjoyed utilizing their second language, English, as an authentic tool for communication. The overall project made a significant impact on the students, raising their confidence and enhancing their internal motivation.
Article Details
References
Barkley, E. F., Major, C. H., & Cross, K. P. (2014). Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, I(1), 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/i.1.1
Christmann, E. P., & Badgett, J. L. (2003). A meta-analytic comparison of the effects of computer-assisted instruction on elementary students’ academic achievement. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual, 1, 91-104.
Daraha, K. (2013). The effect of internet use on high school students in Pattani Province. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 91, 241-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.422
Elahi Shirvan, M., Saeedy Robat, E., Alamer, A., Lou, L. M., & Barabadi, E. (2024). A multilevel meta-analysis of language mindsets and language learning outcomes in second language acquisition research. Educational Psychology Review, 36(15). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09849-2
Gokhale, A. A. (1995). Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.21061/jte.v7i1.a.2
Iio, J., Miyamoto, Y., & Wakabayashi, S. (2023). Lessons learned from intercultural communication classes of the SMILE Project. In R. J. Dickey & H.K. Lee (Eds.), AsiaTEFL Proceedings 2023: Papers from the 21st AsiaTEFL Conference (pp. 1021 –1033). AsiaTEFL.
Iio, J., Wakabayashi, S., Sakurai, J. Ishikawa, S., & Kijima. Y. (2021). Providing a platform for intercultural communication education and its practices. Transactional Digital Practice, 2, 58-67.
https://www.ipsj.or.jp/dp/contents/publication/47/TR0203-06.html
Kecskés, I. (2019). English as a lingua franca: The pragmatic perspective. Cambridge University Press.
MacIntyre, P. D., Dörnyei, Z., Clément, R., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
Oranpattanachai, P. (2013). Motivation and English language achievement of Thai undergraduate students. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 6(1), 26-48.
Pornthanachotanan, P., Wakabayashi, S., Iio, J., Sakurai, J., Honda, Y., Insawart, T., & Singhapreecha, P. (2024). The impact of the SMILE Project on Thai EFL learners: Collaborations between Thai and Japanese L2 learners. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 17(1), 662-687.
https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/article/view/270438.
Ragoonaden, K., & Bordeleau, P. (2000). Collaborative learning via the Internet. Educational Technology & Society, 3(3), 361-372.
Swain, M., Kinnear, P., & Steinman, L. (2015). Sociocultural theory in second language education: An introduction through narratives (2nd ed.). MM Textbooks.
Tomasello, M., Kruger, A. C., & Ratner, H. H. (1993). Cultural learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 16(3), 495-511. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x0003123x
van Schaik, C. P., & Burkart, J. M. (2011). Social learning and evolution: The cultural intelligence hypothesis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1008-1016. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0304
Wakabayashi, S., & Iio, J. (2024). The students meet internationally through language education (SMILE) Project: Its overview and unique points. LEI-Con: Language Education International Conference, 4(1), 187-194.
Wakabayashi, S., Iio, J., Kumaraguru, R., Komoto, R., & Sakurai, J. (2023). How ICT tools support a course centered on international collaboration classes. In T. Keane, C. Lewin, T. Brinda, & R. Bottino (Eds.), Towards a collaborative society through creative learning: IFIP World Conference on Computers in Education, WCCE 2022, Hiroshima, Japan, August 20–24, 2022, Revised Selected Papers (pp. 261–274). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43393-1_24
Zhang, Q., Song, Y., & Zhao, C. (2024). Foreign language enjoyment and willingness to communicate: The mediating roles of communication confidence and motivation. System, 125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103346
