Fostering Students’ Intercultural Competence in an EFL Classroom: A Case Study of Students’ Perceptions on Digital Storytelling

Abstract

儘管過去的二十年，跨文化能力的概念在英語教學領域受到許多重視，但如何將文化教學融入英語課室中，仍舊是一個值得探討的議題。本研究主旨在探索如何透過數位故事的方法，來進行文化教學並且培養學生的跨文化能力。運用質性個案研究的方法，本研究試圖了解學生自我認知中的跨文化學習結果，以及他們對製作數位故事專題的看法。研究參與對象為32 位臺灣的大一學生，資料來源為學生的反思報告以及半結構式的訪談紀錄。研究結果顯示，學生反映出認知、情感、以及行為上的跨文化學習結果。另外學生大多對進行數位故事專題抱持正面的態度，製作專題不僅提供同學認識其他國家人士及文化的機會，也增進了他們的溝通能力。除此之外，本研究也呈現學生在進行數位故事專題過程中，所遭遇到的一些困難與挑戰。

Although the concept of intercultural competence in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) has received considerable attention over the past two decades, the issue of how and to what extent culture should be taught in language classrooms remains unresolved. This paper presents a study exploring the effectiveness of using a digital storytelling project to promote cultural learning, in particular, to foster students` intercultural competence in an EFL classroom. By employing a qualitative case-study method, the study examined students` perceived intercultural learning outcomes as well as their perceptions toward the project. Thirty-two EFL college students in Taiwan from the same Freshman English class were recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected from two sources: students` written reflections and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that students reported cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes of intercultural learning from the digital storytelling project. Moreover, students also expressed their positive attitudes toward the project. They viewed that the experience offered them a chance to learn more about the people and cultures of other countries as well as improve their communication skills. In spite of these positive outcomes, students also reported several challenges associated with the project.