Paper short abstract:

This study examines the importance of the role of the facilitator in collaborative online international learning (COIL) and analyses the role of the COIL facilitator. Our facilitation method is shown to be effective and to lead to positive outcomes.

Paper long abstract:

This study examines the importance of the role of the facilitator in collaborative online international learning (COIL). In our research on COIL-assisted cross-cultural communication in 2019, positive outcomes were observed for both Portuguese learners and Japanese collaborators. In addition, in our study, COIL sessions were observed over a long period of time, in contrast to previous studies. These positive outcomes arose due to the effectiveness of the facilitation method used in the course of the study.

This study analyses the role of the COIL facilitator by considering the problems of previous research in this area and by clarifying the role of the facilitator. In this paper, we examine five different facilitation paradigms: 1. Teachers and teachers (co-facilitation); 2. Teachers and Japanese collaborators; 3. Teachers and learners; 4. Japanese collaborators and learners; and 5. Learners and learners. Previous studies have examined techniques for enhancing strong relationships and improving productivity among groups of learners by various facilitation methods, but research which examines the impact of strong group relationships on group productivity has not previously been done. Another interesting aspect of our research was that the occupations of the learners and of the Japanese collaborators were diverse, which led to some interesting findings.

In this study, the five facilitation paradigms are shown to be effective for collaborative learning and to lead to positive outcomes in improving the Japanese language skills of learners. In addition, both teachers and collaborators are found to gain knowledge and awareness of both cultural and cross-cultural topics. Furthermore 'Social presence',that is, "[being] intimately connected to the learning context" (Garrison, D.R. and Anderson, T.(2003)) is important for both learners and collaborators in cross-cultural communication. We find that 'Social presence' leads to enhanced awareness of participants of members of society and it improves the cultivation of plurilingual and pluricultural competences.