Learner Perceptions on a Keypal Project in the English Classroom = Learner Perceptions on a Keypal Project in the English Classroom

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Nowadays, multinational email projects have been implemented in FL/L2 classrooms as a way to develop communicative competence and to understand other cultures. The purposes of this study are 1) to examine a keypal project designed to give students opportunities to promote English fluency and cultural awareness and 2) to discuss students` responses on their email exchanges after the project. The project was conducted over 8 weeks of the course with 24 university students and their partners from around the world. There were two kinds of research techniques: an opinion questionnaire containing 10 statements using a five-point Likert type scale, students` essays, and the instructor`s interview to reflect what they thought about the keypal project to enhance learning. The major finding demonstrates that the keypal project can have a positive impact on students` attitude towards the language and cultural understanding. Using the results of the students` responses, the paper discusses some benefits of email exchanges to promote students` communicative proficiency as well as some limitations which should be resolved to develop a helpful keypal project in FL/L2 classrooms. If the students are encouraged, the keypal project can be inspiring, offering them opportunities for autonomous learning.