Virtual Worlds for Developing Intercultural Competence

Abstract

The authors present a framework for developing intercultural competence (IC) and use tridimensional digital virtual worlds (3DVW) as environments for developing IC. They developed an artifact, via design research, constituted by an educational method using the 3DVW Second Life® as the place for a virtual exchange program between 92 Brazilian and Portuguese master students. The results of the study indicate that the 3DVW can be used for the development of IC because it allows rich experiential and relational/conversational learning opportunities, especially due to the affordances of immersion/sense of presence, social interaction, content production, and knowledge sharing. The students involved in the virtual exchange inside Second Life® had to practice a set of attitudes and skills such as communication skills; culture-specific knowledge; understanding others' worldviews; skills to analyze, evaluate, and relate; skills to listen, observe, and interpret; respect, openness; tolerance for ambiguity, among other, that are all attributes of IC.