Search

Previous research focusing on e-tandem virtual exchanges where learners practice each other’s languages has examined mainly aspects related to form-focused interaction, linguistic development, and intercultural competence (see Akiyama & Cunningham, 2018, for an overview). The present paper examines learners’ introspective data about the benefits they obtained from participating in a Spain-Canada e-tandem virtual exchange. Particularly, the participants’ alternating roles as language learners and language experts and their intercultural understanding were examined to provide insights into their evaluation of the experience of taking part in the exchange. Introspective data was collected on how this exchange helped learners theorize about language learning and teaching and about their intercultural understanding. Learners highlighted that focusing on communication, having patience, and collaborating and cooperating with others were their most frequent concerns when they reflected on their role as language experts helping others practice their dominant language. The findings also indicate that learners’ perceptions about the intercultural understanding gained during the virtual exchange show appreciation of multiculturalism and a tendency to speak about one’s own culture.

Earlier studies exploring translanguaging in virtual exchanges (Walker, 2018; Zheng et al., 2017) have mainly focused on identifying translanguaging in written chats to analyze discursive aspects and feedback processes. However, tandem virtual exchanges provide the possibility of analyzing the negotiation of meaning of linguistic aspects from the perspective of plurilingual practices, such as translanguaging, which have not yet been investigated in these contexts. The present study examines the role that the linguistic repertoires of the learners play in learner-learner interactions in tandem virtual exchanges between college-students at a Canadian and a Spanish university. Eighteen learners interacted online while carrying out oral collaborative tasks where they negotiated and co-created meaning in their respective target languages. In these interactions, the entire linguistic repertoires of the learners scaffolded the conversations and contributed to mutual understanding. Translanguaging practices occurred mostly in inquiries and explanations about linguistic aspects where metalinguistic reflection played an important role.