Strategies for Smooth and Effective Cross-Cultural Online Collaborative Learning

As the communication between different cultures is becoming more and more frequent, the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration is emerging as a key ability in the 21st century. Face to face communication is the most efficient way to cultivate the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration. However, there are very few opportunities currently available for university students to have such face to face communication. Therefore, cross-cultural online collaborative learning utilizing web 2.0 technologies is proposed in this paper as a way to cultivate students' cross-cultural competence. The purpose of the study is therefore to elicit strategies for smooth and effective cross-cultural online collaborative learning through a pilot study between the West and the East. Students of a Chinese University and an American University took part in the study. A mixed method research approach using questionnaire, interview and content analysis was used. The findings of the study revealed that students from both sides were interested in each other's culture, their attitudes to cross-cultural online collaborative learning were positive, and culture had an influence on learning methods. Social interaction played an important role, and students preferred to have more prior knowledge of each other's cultures and backgrounds. They were also inclined towards more in-depth individual conversations. As a result of this study, several strategies are proposed to facilitate effective implementation of cross-cultural collaborative learning in typical higher education settings.