Exploring Vietnamese and Filipino Students’ Perceptions of Culture-Learning Experiences and Global Attitudes Through a COIL-Based Project

Document Type : Qualitative Research

Authors
Thi Hoang Hoa Chau 1
Thi Thuy Duy Pham 2
1 Lecturer, PhD, Project Promotion Department, Tra Vinh University, Vinh Long, Vietnam
2 Lecturer, Faculty of Foreign Languages, CLASKA, Tra Vinh University, Vinh Long, Vietnam
10.48311/eijh.2025.105898.0
Abstract
Higher education has witnessed a rising demand for intercultural competence and global citizenship skills, which propelled the development of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as a groundbreaking student exchange model that uses virtual collaboration to connect students from different cultures. The research study investigates student perceptions about their learning experiences and their anticipated readiness for global interactions through a COIL project. The study employs the theoretical frameworks of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 1997; 2021) and Global Citizenship Education (UNESCO, 2015). The qualitative descriptive research method allowed researchers to gather information from 37 EFL students who wrote reflective responses, which were subjected to thematic content. The findings revealed that students showed strong involvement along with enjoyment of the experience, experienced enhanced abilities in crosscultural communication, and demonstrated more readiness for future international collaborative work. The study expands the current knowledge base regarding virtual exchange in Southeast Asia while providing implementation guidance for culturally responsive COIL programs in language education.
Keywords
intercultural competence
EFL
Southeast Asia
global citizenship
COIL
Subjects