Following the conceptualisation of a third space of internationalisation at a distance (IaD) in this study, we aim to explore how international students at the largest university in Europe, the Open University, might consider their own identities and perspectives. At present over 5000+ international students study at a distance at the Open…

This qualitative case study examines the concept of 'internationalisation at a distance (IaD)' by investigating the learning and academic socialising experiences of international students in online higher education (HE). Amid the evolving landscape of global HE, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of distance education, creating a…

Developing intercultural sensitivity in the current multicultural world is an essential, but challenging requirement. This necessity is significant in EFL classes where learners are expected to gain intercultural skills to communicate more efficiently in culturally diverse contexts. Grounded in Bennett's (Bennett, International Journal of…

Post-pandemic, the number of virtual international experiences through the Department of Global Health at Des Moines University (DMU) has declined from the high of 41 students as traditional international travel has resumed. However, DMU continues to provide virtual international experiences for students who cannot travel abroad due to financial…

This study examines the effectiveness of an undergraduate intercultural learning assignment immediately and over time. Students were asked to consider what they know or believe about refugees and the sources of their information. They then engaged in two one-hour online interviews with a refugee. After the interviews, they wrote reflective…

This study explores the relationship between the L2 Motivational Self System--namely, the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self--and L2 Willingness to Communicate (L2 WTC) in the classroom (a typical place for English communication among EFL learners) and in the extramural digital setting (an emerging English communication channel increasingly…

This article presents an international telecollaboration programme called UniLingua, which was carried out between eight universities and university language centres during the 2020/2021 academic year. By promoting language exchanges, UniLingua aims to satisfy one of the most immediate academic needs of university students, which is to improve…

This study examined the impact of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project on Thai Business English students' awareness of intercultural communication and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), along with their communication challenges and strategies. Data were collected through pre-post rating-scale questionnaires, open-ended…

The aim of this study is to investigate how L2 learners develop their ways of expressing compliments in L2 as a result of a virtual exchange. Although compliments play an important role in the discourse of second language (L2) classrooms studies exploring production of this speech act among L2 learners are limited. This study explores how 18…

This study examines online interaction through the lens of language-related episodes (LREs), sites where learning is likely to occur given that the speaker is pushed to consciously reflect on and negotiate their language knowledge and use (Swain & Lapkin, 1998). The aim of this research is to inform pedagogical practices by investigating the…

Advancement in online collaboration between community members enables new forms of feedback in language learning settings. This exploratory study presents an analysis of peer feedback on writing tasks. Participants included learners of English and Arabic as foreign languages, at the college/university level, in two learning contexts (Saudi Arabia…

Intercultural competence (IC) is essential for fostering meaningful interactions and understanding in diverse environments, particularly in today's pluralistic societies. The impacts of both intercultural competence and incompetence are profound, shaping relationships and outcomes in various ways. Many definitions of IC emphasize being 'effective'…

This qualitative study investigates learners' experiences in online international collaborative environments using both asynchronous and synchronous communication methods. Specifically, it focuses on the rewards, shortcomings, and difficulties learners encountered through posing critical questions about the nature of collaboration forms. Eight…

Students with cultural and linguistic competence are needed to navigate an increasingly globalized society. This study collected and analyzed cultural awareness data from students who communicated with people of other cultures through Virtual Reality (VR) environments. Students from a private university in Japan engaged in directed communication…

Despite the rapid development of telecollaboration in foreign language education, telecollaborative exchanges involving Chinese as the target language have not received sufficient attention. Adopting an action research approach, this study focuses on examining the student perceptions as well as the challenges of a carefully designed…