This chapter investigates
students’ reported
patterns of use and perceived outcomes of an online intercultural exchange. It is hoped that the study will
inform our understanding of the students’ language learning process on an online discussion forum and
consequently will help us maximize
the educational potential
of Computer
Mediated Communication (CMC). It first considers the pedagogical benefits of
CMC paying particular attention to the specificity of an asynchronous
CMC environment and the role of task-based language learning. It then
briefly presents an online collaborative
task integrated in a larger project which promotes a three
phase approach and which has been carried out for five years. Drawing on
qualitative data collected from a cohort of approximately 25 Irish
undergraduate students after a six-week online experience with their French
partners, it examines students’ self-reported coping strategies when faced with
challenges of a technical, cross-cultural and personal nature. It also explores
students’ perceived learning outcomes, namely building cultural knowledge,
fostering critical thinking, improving language accuracy and encouraging
further study. In light of these findings, it argues that a meaningful and
‘authentic’ learning task is essential to allow ‘real life’ online exchange to
take place and to engage students in their own learning.