Service-provider virtual exchange: Student expectations and perceptions of cultural learning

Abstract

This study analyzes the expectations of university students of Spanish from the United States before participating in five service-provider virtual exchange (SPVE) sessions on the LinguaMeeting platform and compares them to their perceptions of cultural learning after the experience. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze the data from a pre-survey (n = 45), a post-survey (n = 37), and 255 reflection assignments. Results show that before the sessions, most students had high expectations for learning about cultural products, practices, and perspectives, and believed culture would be an important aspect of the sessions. However, they had low expectations of becoming more aware of their own country’s values or their cultural biases (e.g., stereotypes, prejudices). After the sessions, students were satisfied with their learning of culture and the experience in general. The means for perceptions of learning were lower than those for expectations, but the difference was not statistically significant, except for the item related to learning about cultural products. Additional findings are also discussed in the context of the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Content analysis of the reflection assignments shed some light on the cultural benefits and challenges of SPVE.