Chile-U.S.A.: A Case Study of Telecollaboration

Telecollaboration has emerged as an effective way to promote language competency and intercultural communication. The intention of this study is to contribute to the current investigation in the field of computer-mediated communication by examining if the use of telecollaboration can lead to significant gain in L2 proficiency in novice-level learners and in what ways. The aim of this study is to analyze students’ perception of the telecollaboration experience, its implication of students’ motivation, and if significant improvement in language proficiency among novice-level learners exist and can be measured. In the attempt to study the effect of telecollaborative exchange projects in the field of foreign language acquisition, a 7‐week virtual collaboration was conducted between an Elementary Spanish 1 college class in the United States and an Elementary to Intermediate English university class in Chile. The telecollaboration consisted of eight videoconferences and the creation of a website between the partners. A similar group of Elementary Spanish 1 students was involved in the experimental study as the control group. Using qualitative and quantitative data collection this paper examines whether or not the participation in the telecollaborative partnership resulted in language gain and a positive interest in learning about the target culture. Students’ interests and feedback were analyzed by the researchers and authors of this article. The results showed an increased level of language skills as well as a change in motivation and intercultural awareness.