PATTANACHON KOKWARN (RAJPRACHASAMASAI PHAIMATHAYOM RACHADABHISEK SCHOOL)
SHIGENORI WAKABAYASHI (Chuo University)

HOW ICT-BASED INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION CLASSES AFFECT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING : LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE POLICY

This study reports a project that aims to increase students’ motivation and positive attitudes towards English language learning through online collaboration classes, as one of the Students Meet Internationally through Language Education (SMILE) projects supported by WILL (Workshop Initiatives for Language Learning), and its achievement. Thai and Japanese high school students met online and discussed a series of topics: daily life, cultural experiences, and future goals, respectively, in three collaboration classes. Data was collected through the platform called Dialogbook, developed by Jun Iio, and a questionnaire. Additionally, the interviews were conducted to collect Thai student participants’ thoughts and feedback at the end of the project. The results show positive outcomes. Based on the data from Dialogbook, there have been notable shifts in student interactions, suggesting that Thai and Japanese participants spent a shorter time preparing themselves to respond to each other during a conversation over three classes. Students’ comments indicate pleasant impressions of the conversation and eagerness to continue the discussion after each session. According to the project questionnaire responses, the students’ satisfaction rate is 91.62%. Furthermore, the interviews and written feedback provided by the participants reveal how the course affected their views regarding English language learning and communication.

Pattanachon Kokwarn is a full-time English Teacher in the Foreign Language Department at Rajprachasamasai Phaimathayom Rachadabhisek School. During his college year, he worked as a Study Abroad Program Coordinator. His interest is to promote English language learning through ICT-based tools. To provide the opportunity for L2 students to communicate in English internationally, he is currently working on the SMILE project with the educators from Chuo University, Japan.

Professor Wakabayashi obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. His academic interest lies in applied linguistics, particularly in modeling second language learners’ mental representations of morphology and syntax. Besides, he actively provides new ideas and practices in English Language Education in Japan and Asia as the Representative Director of the Workshop Initiative for Language Learning (WILL). The current paper is based on the SMILE project provided by WILL.