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Article published In: Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 7:2 (2022) ► pp.181–203

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Blogging for intercultural communicative competence in study abroad programs

All breadth, no depth?

 | University of Calgary
 | Bow Valley College
 | University of Calgary
Published online: 3 October 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.21028.dre
Abstract
Participants in study abroad (SA) programs (sojourners) are often encouraged to blog as a form of reflective writing, yet little is known about this practice. Generally, reflection facilitates sojourners’ engagement in their personal and professional growth. Drawing from two different but complementary frameworks, we analyzed blogs from 51 sojourners in short-term SA volunteer teaching placements to examine the reflection that occurred through their writing. The two frameworks revealed different aspects of blogging practices: types of reflection (Maarof, N. (2007). Telling his or her story through reflective journals. International Education Journal, 8(1), 205–220.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) were primarily descriptive, but intercultural communicative competence learning (Elola, I., & Oskoz, A. (2008). Blogging: Fostering intercultural competence development in foreign language and study abroad contexts. Foreign Language Annals, 41(3), 454–477. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) examples were more numerous and varied, documenting sojourners’ navigation of culture in SA. Sojourners did not typically use their blogs for dialogic or critical reflection, instead chronicling experiences or representing reflection as completed actions. Although blogging can be useful for reflection in SA, the results from this study suggest that careful scaffolding may be necessary to encourage critical reflection.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature
    • 2.1Intercultural communicative competence
    • 2.2Reflective writing
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants and setting
    • 3.2Conceptual lenses and data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Types of reflection
    • 4.2ICC learning
      • 4.2.1Cultural knowledge – facts
      • 4.2.2Coping
      • 4.2.3Changing perspective
      • 4.2.4Interest in others – specific
      • 4.2.5Interest in others – general
      • 4.2.6Cultural knowledge – exchange
      • 4.2.7Cultural knowledge – resolving misunderstandings
      • 4.2.8Cultural knowledge – discovering
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
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