Review of research on computer-assisted language learning with a focus on intercultural education

Abstract

We reviewed articles on computer-assisted language learning, focusing on intercultural education studies published in the last five years. We investigated the following aspects: (1) the theoretical foundation that the studies were based on, e.g., theory, hypothesis, model, or framework, (2) the technologies used by the participants, (3) the languages and cultures that the studies focused on, (4) the methodology of the reviewed studies, and (5) the findings reported by researchers. Our results showed that Byram’s intercultural communicative competence model, sociocultural theory, and social constructivism were the most frequently used theoretical foundations. The participants frequently used discussion forums, Facebook, email, and Skype. English was the most popular language, and American culture received more attention than any other culture. In terms of the methodology, most studies were conducted for four to 18 weeks, and undergraduate students with advanced language skills were the most frequent participants. The participants interacted with their partners, e.g., introduced cultural backgrounds, created collaborative products, and reflected on learning experiences. Researchers in most studies used questionnaires and interviews to collect the data, and their results demonstrated that intercultural telecollaboration in foreign language education promotes language and culture learning. Benefits such as students having positive attitudes toward technology-supported learning activities and learning activities contributing to developing language abilities and intercultural skills were reported by the researchers. However, according to the results, high cost and learning burdens were the most frequently reported drawbacks of CALL for intercultural education. Several implications were drawn from the results of this review study. The significance of this study is that it provides up-to-date information on CALL-based intercultural education, keeps track of changes in technologies and their applications to language and culture learning, and focuses on aspects that are important to the field but were neglected in earlier review studies.

Keywords:

• Review
• technology
• language learning
• intercultural education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding details

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on Contributors

Dr. Rustam Shadiev is a professor at the School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University (PRC) and a distinguished professor of Jiangsu province (PRC). He has been appointed as a Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS), the Chartered Institute for IT in 2020 and as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2017. He was selected as the 2020 Most Cited Chinese Researchers in the field of Education by the Elsevier. His research interest includes advanced learning technologies to support language learning and cross-cultural education.

Miss Jiatian Yu is a Master of Science student at the School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University (PRC). Her research interest covers technology-assisted language learning with focus on cross-cultural education.

Data availability statement

The dataset will be provided on request after we finish this project.