英文摘要 |
Technological innovations of computer-mediated communication tools have quickened the pace and dissolved the geographical boundaries for online intercultural exchanges among non-native English speakers around the globe. Prior intercultural studies of computer-mediated communication exchanges via synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication have focused mainly on exchanges between native and non-native English speakers and less on those among non-native English speakers. Therefore, this study aims to discover the cognitive process and perceptions of text-based synchronous and asynchronous intercultural computer-mediated communication of undergraduate English as a foreign language students in Korea and Taiwan. For the study, students were required to communicate on a regular basis to understand and compare different cultural dimensions through asynchronous and synchronous communication tools. Based on the practical inquiry model and lag sequential analysis, the findings revealed that more similarities than differences were observed in cognitive process from both communication modes (e.g. exploration). Nevertheless, higher-order thinking (e.g. integration, resolution) was found more frequently in asynchronous than synchronous intercultural exchanges. |