Monitoring Japanese students' anxiety and WTC during two COIL exchanges

Abstract

Within Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects, program goals for developing foreign language proficiency and intercultural competence are shaped by logistical constraints and the partner institution. This paper focuses on the experiences of 20 Japanese university students during two exchanges. While the topics and tasks were similar, three distinguishing features between the programs were duration, L2 language proficiency, and languages utilized. Student impressions were examined through quantitative survey data concerning communication anxiety and willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) (Yashima, 2002, 2009), as well as a qualitative survey informed by Deardorff's Intercultural Learning Outcomes (2022). The analysis shows that students were satisfied with the program. However, the participants' positive impressions did not translate into significantly less communication anxiety, and furthermore their L2 WTC dropped. In this paper, these rather negative results are discussed in relation to the three above-mentioned program features. Due to the short duration (12 90-minute sessions), it might be unrealistic to expect significant, positive changes. Limited L2 proficiency and the fact that English served as the only shared language in the second program meant that students encountered numerous communication breakdowns. The paper concludes with a discussion of future program revisions to address these shortcomings.