Telecollaboration In Japanese Among Spanish And Finnish Students: Its Potential For Motivation And Mediation

Abstract

The practice of telecollaboration has gained traction since the early 2000s as a means of facilitating intercultural communication across distant locations. However, its potential to enhance learning motivation and the acquisition of intercultural mediation competence remains underexplored. This study investigated the motivational components influenced by telecollaboration and examined the potential of lingua franca telecollaboration to foster mediation competence, as outlined in the CEFR Companion Volume. We conducted mixed-method analyses on data from a case study of telecollaboration in 2022 between Spanish and Finnish university students studying Japanese as a foreign language. The results from a t-test using an ARCS six-item questionnaire confirmed a significant increase in students’ sense of challenge and a decline in their self-confidence, while changes in other motivational factors were not statistically significant. Furthermore, text analysis and an in-depth descriptive analysis of students’ reflection comments revealed that the decrease in self-confidence was caused by differences in language proficiency levels. Additionally, the findings suggest that telecollaboration among students with varying language proficiency levels may facilitate the development and practice of mediation competence, contributing to the co-construction of meaning among intercultural speakers. Thus, the study provides new insights into the central role of self-confidence in motivation and suggests that telecollaboration among students with different language levels is an effective activity for training intercultural mediation strategies.