1. Global Connections between
First Year Undergraduates in
Taiwan and Connecticut
2015 Global Education Conference

2. Background: Taiwan Context
O New literacies of online reading
comprehension:
O 1) identifying important questions;
O 2) locating, information;
O 3) analyzing, information;
O 4) synthesizing information; and
O 5) communicating information.
O Intercultural Interaction in EFL course

3. Instructional Design with EFL
Students
O Phase 1: Building a good rapport
O Self-introduction & Social Network Sites
O Phase 2: Discussing Culture-related
topics
O Show & Tell: Searching, Synthesizing
information of local cultures
O Online Feedback from EFL students
O Phase 3: Development of Project
O Comparing and Contrasting
O Phase 4: Wrap up & Self-Reflection

4. Topics
O Group A: Parenting styles
O Group B: Traditional Food in Taiwan
O Group C: Hakka Food
O Group D: Wedding Traditions
O Group E: Night-Market Delicacies ???
O Group F: Festivals
O Group G: Taiwan Snacks ???

5. Methodology
O EFL Participants: N = 32
O 7 groups: 4-5 EFL students of
Intermediate English Proficiency
O Data Collection
O Intercultural Competence Scale:
O pre- and post-
O Online Feedback and Field Observation
O Self-Reflection

6. Pre-survey (Chao, 2014)
O Delete 3 irrelevant statements
O I can eat what others eat in culturally diverse situations.
O I can modify the way I dress when it is necessary in
intercultural situations.
O I know how to use the culture-value approach to understand
the attitudes and behaviors of people from different cultures.
O 27 Questions
O Factor 1: Knowledge of Intercultural Interaction (mean = 3.254)
O Factor 2: Affective Orientation to Intercultural Interaction
(mean = 4.385)
O Factor 3: Self-Efficacy in Intercultural Situations (mean = 3.33)
O Factor 4: Behavior Performance in Intercultural Interaction
(mean = 3.441)
O Factor 5: Display of intercultural consciousness (m = 3.254)
O Lowest ranking: I can effectively use English to communicate
with other people of different cultural backgrounds. 2.83

7. Online Feedback
O Strengths:
O One-on-one Good Rapport, learning engagement
in searching, synthesizing & communicating
information (draw on various sources)
O Know one’s own cultures and development of
world knowledge
O Weaknesses:
O Receive no replies
O English proficiency: difficulties to describe
O How effectively communicate this online?
Development of the project?

8. Pedagogical Implications
O Selection of topics
O Study of relevant information from various
sources
O Approaches for intercultural discussions:
Creativity (photo), stories, interview

9. References:
O Chao, T. C. (2014). The development and application of an intercultural
competence scale for university EFL learners. English Teaching &
Learning, 79-124.
O Chen, I. C. (2015). Literature Circles in EFL Classroom. Paper presented
at the 2014 Hwa Kang International Conference on English Language &
Literature.
O Leu, D. J., Zawilinski, L., Castek, J., Banerjee, M., Housand, B. C., Leu,
Y., & O’Neil, M. (2007). What is new about the new literacies of online
reading comprehension. In L. S. Rush, J. A. Eakle, and A. Berger (Eds.),
Secondary School Literacy: What Research Reveals for Classroom
Practice. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.