Fostering Intercultural Competence: A Case of an Asynchronous Online Japanese Language and Culture Course

Abstract

Analyzing cultural characteristics is a cognitively challenging task that allows learners to increase their open-mindedness and deepen their understanding of both local and global communities by utilizing online resources, especially when in-person interaction in classroom settings was impeded, resulting in an asynchronous online course. The purpose of this paper is to examine how intercultural competence, which can foster learners’ attitudes, could be encouraged in an asynchronous online environment for a Japanese foreign language course from empirical perspectives. The population was learners who possessed Intermediate and Advanced-level proficiency of Japanese. Learners’ outcomes were compared between an online asynchronous course using Deardorff’s (2006) Process Model of Intercultural Competence in the curriculum and a face-to-face class without using Deardorff’s model. The result of using Deardorff’s process model of Intercultural Competence in the curriculum, constructed based on “Understanding by Design,” which is comprised of 3 stages: (1) identifying desired results, (2) determining acceptable evidence, and (3) planning learning experiences and instruction (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), suggested that learners could deepen their insights toward a target culture and society through multiple opportunities for learners to investigate the relationships among perspectives, practices and products. Keywords: asynchronous online course, backward design approach, intercultural competence, process model, world-readiness standards for learning languages