In the ongoing pandemic context, short-term study abroad opportunities remain limited for many students. As a result, there has been a need for universities to develop educational innovations for home context learning to meet institutional intercultural learning aims. The purpose of this action research paper is to outline how a small-scale…

This article critically examines the current state of a cross-cultural distance learning program (CCDLP) for English learning in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, which has been running since 1998 among four universities in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The initial purpose of the program was to provide a networked English language…

This collection of short papers is an outcome of the third conference on virtual exchange in higher education hosted by the Pedagogical University in Krakow in April 2018. Following the focus of the conference on virtual exchange in service of social inclusion and global citizenship, the papers collected in this volume offer first-hand insights…

Increasing college students' exposure to global contexts and improving their intercultural competency remain challenging educational objectives, especially at the community college level. Fortunately, the recent shift in higher education from study abroad opportunities toward so-called "internationalization at home" initiatives, where…

Internationalization has become an important strategy for many Japanese universities as they face falling enrollments. While some have successfully attracted students from overseas, others seek different means by which to promote their international appeal, primarily as an attractor of domestic applicants. One way that this is highly visible is in…

This paper provides an interpretive investigation into the social representation of intercultural exchange at one of the newly established international universities in Japan. The author conducted quasi-structured interviews with 5 staff members and 22 students to gain insight into their perceptions of intercultural exchange and interactions. The…

Technological development offers language teachers a myriad of options for collaborative activities. Learners, in turn, benefit from increased opportunities to interact with people who can speak their target language. Research has previously highlighted the importance of developing learners' intercultural competence through such activities. The…

The study investigated perceived ease of use and usefulness of Google Hangouts as an instructional/learning tool. Forty-two teacher education students at U.S and Japanese universities participated in an online cross-cultural activity using Google Hangouts and discussed cultural differences between the two countries and their teaching philosophies.…

Personality traits are believed to affect both learner ability and group dynamics and cohesion. Another central element influencing how individuals perform in group settings stems from their motivation to collaborate. This article explores the relationship between personality traits, motivation for collaboration and participation of university…

Based on a data of 217 responses to questionnaires and conducted at a top Japanese national university, this paper examines the objective of preparing students to function in an international and intercultural context in the internationalisation of universities. Many educators have proceeded to internationalise the curriculum based on this…

Background: Despite years of intense criticism of contrastive (intercultural) rhetoric, theoretical debate, and controversy, there has been a recent resurgence in the number of high quality pedagogical studies concerning the teaching of intercultural rhetoric in university writing classes for East-Asian (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) writers.…

Advances in science and technology, globalization of trade, international competition for markets, ethnic conflicts, and the limits of the planet's ecosystem have brought global issues and the people of the world to doorsteps and classrooms. With the increasing interaction among peoples of the world, skills in cross-cultural communication,…

One class of 4th year English major students who are part of the Bachelor of Education programme at Udon Thani Rajabhat University volunteered to participate in a project designed to increase their writing fluency whilst exposing them to different people and cultures in Southeast Asia. A secondary objective was to give an enjoyable task based…

CULCON, the Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange between the U.S. and Japan, seeks to deepen understanding between the two countries and broaden their bases of exchange. (Author/PG)

Problems encountered by Japanese women who participated in an American women's studies seminar have been valuable to the development of a cross-cultural women's course at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia. In the summer of 1981, the school offered a special women's study course to 30 Japanese university women. The program had limited success…