Using Telecollaboration in ICC Education: EFL Teachers’ Telecollaborative Competence and Perception of Intercultural Competence in Chinese Universities

Abstract

As the inseparable relationship between culture and language is progressively accepted, the field of second/foreign language teaching has undergone an objective shift to intercultural competence since 1990s. This intercultural turn is accompanied and facilitated by the rapid advance in networkable communication technology. More recently, telecollaboration has been utilized in IC teaching and attested very conducive to learners’ linguistic and IC development, more if practiced by competent teachers. However, despite the official recognition of IC and the universal access to online communication tools and the Internet, IC teaching in Chinese universities remains dominated by cultural knowledge indoctrination, with few telecollaboration projects established and telecollaborative competence of the teacher unexamined. To bridge this gap, the present study investigated the status quo of EFL teachers’ IC understanding and telecollaborative competence in Chinese universities and explored effective approaches to improve them through a quantitative survey and follow-up interviews. The quantitative analysis of data collected by a web-based survey revealed that participants were familiar with the IC concept but had a vague understanding of what it is and were competent at telecollaboration overall but had less self-confidence in pedagogical competences and organizational competences. Further analysis identified three determinants of their understanding and competence, namely the duration of overseas experiences, IC training and telecollaboration experiences. The qualitative analysis of data from the follow-up interviewing echoed the quantitative findings and indicated that longer stay abroad offered full immersion in another culture with opportunities for social contacts and various activities; IC training provided theoretical updates and practical teaching approaches; telecollaboration experiences exposed the problems in real online exchanges and improved teachers’ problem-solving ability. Based on the qualitative findings, this study proposed suggestions on the three determinants. This exploratory study seeks to provide empirical data for future research on EFL teacher professional development in China and to promote intercultural telecollaboration teaching worldwide.