Outcomes of an intercultural e-mail based university discussion project

摘要

This article investigates the development of intercultural awareness in an electronic mail (e-mail) discussion project between Hungarian learners of English and American speakers. Students discussed topics relating to cultures, languages, and pedagogical issues. The e-mails were analyzed in terms of language skill improvement, apprehensiveness about writing and motivation to write, the need for academic discussion, how to deal with different viewpoints, changes in attitude to language learning, and the enhancement of cultural awareness. The findings suggest that e-mail communication provides a forum that leads to the enhancement of cultural awareness, despite constraints on elaborate academic discussion.