While many studies have focused on providing authentic intercultural communication for successful intercultural learning outcomes, not enough attention has been paid to the role of the teacher as a pedagogical mentor. This chapter examines the role of the teacher as a pedagogical mentor in telecollaborative exchanges and provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of strategies and techniques that teachers use to promote L2 learners' pragmatic competence and willingness to communicate. To this end, two groups of EFL learners were randomly assigned to two groups: teacher-mentored collaborative pre-task planning (n=32) and student-led collaborative pre-task planning (n=32). The participants completed the pre-tests and the post-tests: an input-based pragmatic test (acceptability judgment test), an output-based pragmatic test (discourse comprehension test), and an L2 WTC test. The results of the data analysis indicated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the discourse comprehension test and increased their WTC at the post-intervention stage.
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In the wake of advances in technology, especially in networked communication technologies, telecollaboration has blurred the classroom walls and connected language learners from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds (Dooly & Vinagre, 2022). In foreign language telecollaboration partnerships, second/foreign language (L2) learners use online communication tools in parallel language classes in order to support social interaction, dialogue, debate, and intercultural exchange (Üzüm, Akayoglu & Yazan, 2020; García-Sánchez & Gimeno-Sanz, 2022). Rooted in sociocultural and interactionist theories of language acquisition, telecollaboration projects have focused on structuring interaction to provide authentic experiences of intercultural communication and negotiation of meaning with L1 speakers or speakers of other languages (Dooly, 2017; O’Dowd et al., 2020). Together with the linguistic benefit, the potential enhancement of the learners’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and pragmatic competence are generally considered as the main research concerns (see, for example, Üzüm et al., 2020; O’Dowd et al., 2020; O’Dowd & Ritter, 2006; Di Sarno-García & Gimeno-Sanz, 2022).
Research into online language learning in general and telecollaboration, in particular, has mainly been concerned with investigating the advantages of such settings. The reported positive outcomes of virtual exchanges include the development of oral communication skills (e.g., Canals, 2020), grammatical competence (e.g., Lee, 2011), pragmatic competence (e.g., Kim & Brown, 2014), engagement in peer feedback (e.g., Angelova & Zhao, 2016), skills of discovery and interaction, interpreting and relating (e.g., Ware & Kessler, 2016), openness to cultural otherness (e.g., O’Dowd, 2021), and knowledge construction (e.g., Liaw & Bunn-Le Master, 2010). Despite these promising results, however, a number of studies reported challenges experienced by the learners such as scarcity of in-depth discussions (Ware, 2013), learners’ reluctance to engage in conflict and challenging viewpoints (Angelova & Zhao, 2016), lack of negotiation of meaning (Van Der Zwaard & Bannink, 2016), limited number of interpretation questions (Belz, 2007), superficial exchange of information (Hauck, 2007), and anxiety of what to write or post (Basharina, 2007). As a result, much of the telecollaborative practice has been criticized for accepting the assumption that learners can automatically develop their intercultural competencies by being engaged in online interactions (Lawrence & Spector-Cohen, 2018). O’Dowd and his colleagues (2020) pointed out that “simply engaging students in virtual exchange does not guarantee successful intercultural learning outcomes” (p. 147). Previous studies of cross-cultural pragmatics pointed out pragmalinguistic failure may occur in virtual exchanges because of inappropriate transfer of speech act strategies, especially requests, from the L1 to the second language (Takimoto, 2008). This highlights the need for some form of teacher mentoring, that is, the need for teachers to guide students in virtual exchanges.