Students reported significant recognition of the constraints and affordances inherent to CMC in general, and to various specific platforms. A majority of students, however, failed to exhibit a high degree of media literacy, and very few structured opportunities for the development of symbolic competence were apparent.
Though students’ foreign language ICT practices appear to create affordances for the development of symbolic competence, full development of this
competence may be hampered by limited media literacy and limited opportunities for pedagogically structured dialogical interactions around texts and with peers from other cultures.
Symbolic competence is a model of intercultural competence that is operationalized into three components: “the production of complexity, the tolerance of ambiguity, and an appreciation of form as meaning" (Kramsch, 2006, p. 251). If “an appreciation of form as meaning” is understood in this context as a kind of genre awareness related to the modes of communication students choose, then—as noted in finding two—student participants can be said to exhibit a moderate level of competence in this area. Students often discussed the affordances and constraints of ICT for using their foreign language to communicate, and the benefits and limitations of using language to convey meaning in face-to-face encounters vs. online ones. However, when discussing the online media they consume, only seven of twenty student participants (35%) expressed what I interpreted to be some degree of media literacy, which is defined as the ability to “access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet” (“Media Literacy: A Definition and More | Center for Media Literacy,” n.d.). Statements supporting this are evident in the following excerpts:
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I make a
cursory check (confirmation). This is because perspectives vary depending on (factors such as) gender and nationality. In terms of
because it allows me to know opinions different from those (expressed by) Japanese. (N2)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume, (I’m one who)
tends to pay attention. This is because it can’t be guaranteed that all information is true or false. In terms of media made in English-speaking countries, I look at a lot of this. This is because a lot of media flows (flies forth) from big countries. (N3)
As for reading, watching, and listening (to things) online (one) mustn’t swallow everything whole.4 (N5)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I've started to pay more attention to the producers of online materials and where they are from in the world. This is because different media producers have different politics. I confirm (the veracity of) English language media I consume at sites (such as) the BBC homepage, and Yahoo U.K. (N7)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume it’s best to be aware of this. This is becausewe cannot see their face, and we thus cannot trust them. In terms of media made in English-speaking
4 Here, the student participant used the phrase (unomi) which means to swallow something whole. The first character, , means “cormorant,” and the second character, means “drink.” Cormorants swallow fish whole, and have been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese fishing practices.
countries, I sometimes look at this because it provides a different perspective from the Japanese media. It’s a form of stimulation for thinking about my own value (N9)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume (I) pay a little bit of attention. This is because I (want to) confirm whether that
information is accurate or not. (N14).
As for ICT use in my university classes I sometimes use it to gather
quotes for assignments. However, because there is a lot of mistaken information (online), I carefully judge whether or not the quotation contains a relevant fact before using it. (N15)
Statements from these seven students indicate a moderately critical stance towards foreign language online media. In narrating practices that pay attention to authorship, view online media with skepticism, and seek out foreign media for perspective taking, these students tell of an ability to access and assess foreign digital media, though it is not clear how critically they are able to think about what they consume. The remaining students, however, reported paying little or no attention to the authorship (and thus authority) of materials they consume online, as exemplified in the following excerpts:
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I don't really stop to think much about authorship and where online media I consume
is produced. This is because when choosing media (to consume) I make decisions based more on the contents than the author or origin of the media. (N6)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I pay absolutely no mind (to this). (N1)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I’m not really interested. This is because I am always using it and don’t have
problems related to the passing along of mistaken information and the like. (N18)
As for authorship or origin of the online media I consume I`m not really interested. This is because nowadays there’s lots of media and (I) think it would be a waste of time to try to know (such) details one by one. (N11)
Student responses to prompts in the narrative frames did not alone conclusively provide enough data to assess symbolic competences related to the “production of complexity” and “tolerance of ambiguity,” but my field notes and critical incident reports provide some insight into these areas. When applied to digital literacy skills, “production of complexity” can be mapped to the media literacy ability to “create and participate with messages in a variety of forms” (“Media Literacy: A Definition and More | Center for Media Literacy,” n.d.).
Regarding this competency, I noted that students I observed interacting with and through digital media in their preparation for a study abroad trip showed “fluency interacting with me, other teachers, and other students in an ICT context that had already become familiar through prior social interactions.” But I noted that “many of these same students have trouble navigating a (British) university’s simple English language institute website without assistance.” Further, I found that though students had been explicitly taught how to use their university-issued email accounts, many had trouble applying these skills to the real-world context of applying to a study abroad program online.
One critical incident report I completed summarized my observations leading up to and directly after a pre-departure guidance session for 11 third and fourth year students preparing for a short-term study abroad program at a prestigious British university. A critical incident report I wrote records the details of the incident as follows:
As one of two main organizers of the program, I scheduled this session for students to ensure that they could properly complete their online applications to the program . . . In advance of the session I told
students several times via LINE and in person that they would need a PC email address in order to start and complete the application
process. 8 of the 11 students were able to start the application process by accessing PC email addresses, whereas three students were not. One student brought the addresses of his home computer’s email, but
had no way to access it. Another student knew his email address but didn’t know his password, and another student had no external email address, and thus had to create an account at that time. On registration at the university, all students are given university email addresses, and (supposedly) taught how to access them in a first-year computer
literacy class. Only one student used this email address, and that student needed assistance finding the login portal and correctly inputting his username.
I also noted in my field notes that ICT infrastructure at the research site enables some students to engage with foreign teachers via video link, but opportunities to interact with foreign students are very limited. Also, while some student CMC practices involve unstructured (local and distance) social encounters as a means of language learning, few opportunities exist for structured dialogic cross-cultural engagement with foreign peers. Engaging students on platforms they already know for iterative, dialogic, project-based interactions with foreign peers and texts offers the potential for implicit learning and explicit learning that could enhance symbolic competence if supported by reflective tasks and face- to-face in situ interaction between students and teachers.
Many student narratives pointed to the usefulness of ICT for practical correspondences related to their classes, and for the construction of foreign language sentences required in homework assignments. Employing online
dictionaries, grammar-checking software, and translation sites is relatively common.
Students also noted that asynchronous CMC practices allow them the freedom to focus on form without pressure for instant response. As evident in parts of narrative 15 and narrative 12 excerpted above, constructing English texts on social media is a practice that students appear to value as an opportunity to test their skills in the real world while nevertheless taking adequate time to focus on accuracy. Student narrative 16 echoes a similar sentiment:
When speaking in English to people in my location, words don’t come
immediately, and I make pronunciation mistakes and the like.
However, when using English through ICT, I can easily look up words I
don't know, and I don't have to worry about pronunciation and the like, so this is nice. As for ICT use in my university classes, I think it’s useful for improving students’ English skills and for cross-cultural
understanding. However, this shouldn’t just be done through ICT, rather I think it’s necessary to have communication between teacher(s) and student(s) in the place. (N16)
One student (N7), noted that ICT is not often used in his university classes, and that he sees its potential more in terms of administrative efficiency. In these additional comments he provided at the end of his narrative, he wrote:
Also, (I feel that) when LINE, Facebook, and smartphone functions are so prevalent, (I am) unable to make good use of all of them. If/when ICT is used at school, and for lessons, I think it is good for contacting
(students) and making classes more efficient. (For example,
notifications from the university or assignment deadlines, or information about upcoming classes, etc.) (N7)
Many students also wrote enthusiastically about ICT’s great potential as a tool for intercultural exchange and engagement with online media, as in the following excerpts:
As for ICT use in my university classes, I think it would be good for ICT to be used more proactively in university classes. In addition, I think it would be good for opportunities for students who cannot study abroad to have increased opportunities to communicate with people from other countries. (N9)
As for ICT use in my university classes, I sometimes use it in my lessons at university. Not only YouTube, but many different
applications. Using such tools makes my classes (more) fun. (N14)
In terms ICT-enabled opportunities for interacting with people from other countries and cultures, (I) have lots of opportunities around me. Even when not meeting directly, (we) can have some cultural exchange over the internet, and also can have language exchange(s). (N3)
Data from this study indicates that students are not inclined to think critically about their mediated participation in globalized social networking practices or
their own CMC practices. This results in such practices as “oversharing” in an effort to perform in the culture of the platform where they have foreign “friends.” For example, informants told of sharing practices on platforms such as Facebook that would not be possible or culturally acceptable on “local” platforms such as LINE or “localized” platforms such as Twitter.
However, as for using ICT to communicate in English in order to inform
my friends abroad about my everyday life, I often use Facebook to share information with an indefinite number of people. (N1)
Despite their enthusiasm, however, most students do not appear to think critically about the online social cultures of their foreign peers or their own ICT practices. This means that despite the facade of transcultural bonds via social media such as Facebook, it is unclear whether or not students’ unstructured online interactions lead to any significant development of symbolic competence to interpret the messages on their screens.