Inter-cultural and Intra-cultural Contact and the L2 Motivational Self System: An EFL Classroom Intervention Study

Abstract

This 13-week study investigated changes in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ motivational states due to face-to-face inter-cultural and intra-cultural contact treatments in a Japanese EFL classroom. Drawing on the L2 motivational Self System and International Posture, this quasi-experimental study took the form of a between-groups design with pre- and post-questionnaire data. A total of 84 participants (63 Japanese students and 21 international students) were assigned to Inter-cultural, Intra-cultural, and Comparison groups. Japanese EFL students from the two treatment groups performed a series of oral tasks with either a Japanese peer (intra-cultural interaction) or a non-Japanese international student (inter-cultural interaction) while students from the Comparison group did not perform the tasks. The results revealed that inter-cultural contact led to significant increases in the variables, L2 learning experience and international posture, with no significant change in scores for any variables in either the Intra-cultural or Comparison group. Thus, the provision of inter-cultural contact in the classroom resulted in an improvement in students’ attitudes towards the classroom environment and their attitudes towards the international community. The findings are discussed in terms of the use of inter-cultural task-based interaction as a pedagogical tool to enhance motivation and as a basis for a predeparture study abroad programme.