Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Trinidad

Abstract

The objective is to study how participation in tandem partnership influences the motivation towards the target language and culture and the autonomy of learners of Spanish as a foreign language in Trinidad and Tobago. For this reason, an ac­tion research project was conducted with thirty-three learners of Spanish in Trinidad and thirty-three learners of English in Colombia, who engaged in a seven week tele-collaboration during which they used email and Web 2.0 technologies to communicate. Data were collected through questionnaires and a weekly journal. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out. As a result the project was a rich source of learning for all the partici­pants and stresses the need of a deeper understanding of learners' language learning, an analysis of the sociocultural, psycholinguistic, and linguistic dimensions of intercultural competence in a specific context, and the critical assessment of the role of Web 2.0 technologies in fostering autonomy. Received: 26-08-09 /Accepted: 28-02-10 How to reference this article: Neva, C.; Landa-Buil, M.; Carter, B.-A. & Ibrahim-Ali, A. Telecollaboration in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Trinidad. Íkala [online]. 2010, vol.15, n.24, pp.75-102.

Keywords

• tele-collaboration
• Spanish as a foreign language
• technology
• personal autonomy
• intercultural competence.