The impact of a cultural research course project on foreign language students’ intercultural competence and language learning

Abstract

This study explores whether using a cultural research course project can positively impact foreign language students’ intercultural competence and language learning. Using a case study method, the researchers recruited 12 student participants from an Intermediate Mandarin Chinese I class and from an Introduction to Mandarin Chinese I class in the Fall 2014 semester at a small public southwest university in USA. The project asked the participants to do a PowerPoint oral presentation on special topics from the target language culture and then to write a reflective cultural comparison English essay on this learning experience during the final exam. The findings show that, through doing the project, the students have improved their intercultural competence in that they have a more positive attitude towards “otherness,” enriched their cultural knowledge of the target language society and that of their own, and obtained skills in critically appreciating and evaluating both similarities and differences between the target language culture and their own. The students also expanded their language learning experience beyond the classroom and textbook and acquired better language skills in listening, speaking, and writing Chinese characters while they became more interested in and motivated by learning the target language and culture. Recommendations for future study are discussed.