Researching Online Foreign Language Interaction and Exchange: Theories, Methods and Challenges

Abstract

Telecollaboration refers to the use of online communication tools to connect language learners in different countries in collaborative projects and intercultural exchange (Belz, 2001). The last twenty years mark an intensive period of research in online interactions and intercultural exchange. The growth of telecollaboration and online foreign language (FL) interaction in educational settings is irrefutable. This is clearly evident in the volume and concentration of research on it and its related topics, with research developing in parallel to and closely reflecting the unfolding of online interaction and exchange in the field of foreign language education (Reinhardt & Thorne, 2011). Conscious of the wide variety of approaches, paradigms, and challenges that researchers are confronted with when approaching the field of online interaction and exchange in FL education, this book presents a comprehensive guide for practitioners and newcomers alike by two of the veterans in the field, M. Dooly and R. O’Dowd. The editors propose that the volume primarily lends itself to the question of how to investigate telecollaborative 2.0 activity; it also caters for the wider range of online FL exchange including in-class interaction, class-to-class interaction, and learner interaction with the outside world.

Keywords

• Intercultural communication
• Language and languages
• Study of language
• Teaching languages
• Technological innovations
• Telecommunication in education
• English language
• Foreign speakers
• Education
• Applied linguistics
• Foreign language