INTERCULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH
BLOG EXCHANGES
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES
Nguyen Thi Hong Nhat
Contents
1
2
3
The Role of Culture in Language
Learning and Teaching
Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Culture
A case study
The Role of Culture in Language Teaching
and Learning
“The
“Theneed
needfor
forcultural
culturalliteracy
literacyin
inELT
ELT
arises
arisesmainly
mainlyfrom
fromthe
thefact
factthat,
that,most
most
language
languagelearners,
learners,not
notexposed
exposedto
to
culture
cultureelements
elementsof
ofthe
thesociety
societyin
in
question,
question,seem
seemto
toencounter
encounter
significant
significanthardship
hardshipin
incommunicating
communicating
meaning
meaningto
tonative
nativespeaker.”
speaker.”
(Bada,
(Bada,2000)
2000)
The Role of Culture in Language Teaching
and Learning
Dictates
who talks to whom, what/ how the
communication proceeds
Culture Communication:
Inseparable
Determine
how people encode messages
(Samovar, Porter, & Jain, 1981)
The Role of Culture in Language
Teaching and Learning
Item No.
1
Item
Responses
%
Effects
of the culture
class
Did this course
Yes
100
contribute
to any of your
language skills?
Item No.
Item
2
To which skill did the
course contribute
most?
No
Responses
Chi-Square
0.000
0
Frequency
%
Reading
10
26.3
Writing
2
Listening
10
26.3
Speaking
16
42.6
ChiSquare
0.015
5.3
( Bilal Genc & Erdogan Bada, 2005)
Contents
1
The Role of Culture in Language
Learning and Teaching
2
Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Culture
3
A Case Study
Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching
Culture
1
Overcrowded Curriculum
2
Fear of Not Knowing Enough
3
Lack of Adequate Training
4
How to Measure Cross-Cultural
Awareness
2.
Blogs as a tool for language learning and teaching

Definition: Blog is “an online journal that an individual can
continuously update with his or her own words, ideas, and
thoughts.” (Campbell, 2003. p.1)

Blogs have potentials to be a valuable tool because of:
 easy-to-use accessibility (Campbell, 2003)
 space for learners’ voice, awareness of audience
(Leverett, 2006; Ward, 2004)
 high learners’ autonomy (Hanson-Smith & Egbert, 1999)
 effective
teacher–student communication and peer
interaction (Arslan & Sahin-Kizil, 2010; Dippold, 2009)
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1
3.2
Design of the study
Data collection and data analysis
Research questions
Q1: How are Vietnamese students’ intercultural
competence improved through blog exchanges?
Q2: What characteristics of blog exchanges lead
to intercultural learning?
Q3: What elements are important to the success
of blog intercultural exchanges?
Research design
Participants: 40 intermediate-level EFL students in a
cultural class and 10 Fulbright American teaching
fellows.
American people
American history
Week 1 –
Briefing
Week 2-11
Blog exchanging
Public holiday
Custom and tradition
Week 12 –
Writing reflection
essays
Instruments and data analysis
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1 2 3
Results: Vietnamese students’ intercultural
competence improvement through blog exchanges
Characteristics of blogging
availability of
Internet facilities
a non-threatening
learning
environment
BLOGGING
flexible schedule for
giving comments
an user-friendly
environment
Elements enable students to establish successful
intercultural relationships with their partners via
blogging
Interesting
task designs
Students’
and
teachers’
commitment
Successful
intercultural
relationships
Teaching Culture: Strategies and
Techniques
Posters, pictures,
maps, signs, and realia
Assigning students
foreign names
Building and maintaining
Authentic social cultural network
CULTURE
ISLAND: MAKE
STUDENTS BE
WET IN THE
WATER OF
CULTURE
Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching
Culture: Suggested Solutions
Curriculum
Teach culture,
grammar,
vocabulary in
an integrative
fashion, not
serial one.
Fear
Of Not Knowing
Enough
Teachers’ role
is not to
impart facts
but to help
students
attain the
skills that are
necessary to
make sense
out of the
facts
Lack
Of Adequate
Training
Ever learning
Measurement
Create a
framework
with a list of
activities such
as writing
reflection,
writing diary,
presentation
Bibliography
 Huges, G. M. (1984). An Argument for Cultural
Analysis in the Second Language
 Finnocchario M. (1964), English as a second
language: From theory to practice. New York:
Simon and Schuster
 Lafayette, R.C. (1978), Teaching Culture:
Strategies and Techniques, Virginia: Arlington.
 Bada, E. (2000) Culture in ELT, Chukurova
University Journal of Social Sciences (6),100110.
 Henrichsen, L. E. 1998. Understanding Culture
and Helping Students Understand Culture. (Web
document)