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Article In:
Seeking Changes in a Challenging Time: New perspectives for proficiency-oriented Chinese teaching and beyond
Edited by Yu Liu, Qiaona Yu and Yu Wu
[Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報) 59:2] 2024
► pp. 202–231

Fostering language and intercultural learning through a cross-institutional community-engaged project

 | Wake Forest University
 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This paper investigates the development of intercultural competence (IC) in proficiency-based Chinese as a Foreign Language classroom through a cross-institutional community-engaged project. Under the framework of NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements of IC (NCSSFL-ACTFL, 2017), direct and indirect evidence from 28 learners from two universities in the U.S. revealed improvement in IC when students investigated cultural perspectives and interacted with community members and peers. Students’ positive attitudes toward this pedagogical approach, combined with language proficiency training and IC development, further affirm the effectiveness of these initiatives in promoting online cultural exchange and community-engaged learning. Additionally, students’ original degree of familiarity regarding certain cultural themes before the project emerged as a significant factor in IC development.
Keywords: Chinese as a foreign language, intercultural competence, community-engaged learning, cross-institutional collaboration
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Intercultural learning in language classrooms
    • 2.2Community-engaged foreign language learning
    • 2.3Cross-institutional collaboration in language and culture learning
  • 3.Research questions
  • 4.The current project
    • 4.1Theme of the project
      • Learning materials
    • 4.2Participants’ community partners and peers
    • 4.3Project timeline and learning activities
      • Week 1–4
      • Week 5–12
      • For university A students
      • For university B students
      • Week 13–16
  • 5.Research methods
    • 5.1Participants
    • 5.2Data collection
    • 5.3Data analysis
  • 6.Findings
    • 6.1RQ1: Learners’ IC improvement when investigating intercultural perspectives
      • 6.1.1Direct evidence of IC improvement: Interacting with peers and community partners
      • 6.1.2Indirect evidence of IC improvement
    • 6.2RQ2: Students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the cross-institutional community-engaged project
  • 7.Discussion and implications
  • 8.Conclusion and limitations
  • Author queries
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
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