MAIN FINDINGS. RESEARCH QUESTION I: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ACQUISITION

8. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In the following pages, the findings of the research will be presented. Yet, as it is explained in the previous chapters, these findings will be categorised answering the two research questions of the study. In addition, as it is described below, the first research questions will be answered categorizing the finding in each of the countries involved in the study. While the second one is answered taking into account the interaction of the intercultural encounters during the Skype sessions.

8.1. MAIN FINDINGS. RESEARCH QUESTION I: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ACQUISITION.

8.1.1. Finland

To start with, the acquisition of the ICC from the Finnish side of the study will be reported in order to know what has been found as meaningful for the students in that country as well as if the ICC acquisition has been made. Thereupon, one of the most relevant aspects which was reported in the answers given was the fact of working jointly with pupils from a different classroom in another country. Ergo, it can be evidenced in the following lines taken from an interview conducted to one of the subjects in the Finnish school, that he/she relished the interaction with the children at the other side of the screen along the online project. Certainly, as it is evidenced in this case, it was the first time for this student to meet a Spanish citizen.

Interviewer: What did you like the most about working w ith the Spanish pupils?

FS1: I think that what I enjoyed the most about working with them was talking to them and saw the students at the school. I had never met any Spanish person before […] I mean, I’ve been in the Canary Islands several times but I didn’t meet any Spanish personally.

(Interview FS1) Furthermore, questions about the activities contained in the project where asked as well in order to know the acceptance gained among the Finnish pupils. As a

consequence, it was found that the same kind of activities achieved the same success in the countries participating in the study.

72 Interviewer: What did you enjoy the most about the Skype sessions that have taken place?

FS2: The Language Tree. I didn’t know that there were that many different languages and that my classmates knew how to at least say words in oth er languages.

(Interview FS2) Finally, concerning the question of repeating this kind of online projects in the future, a subject reported that she/he would be delighted and motivated to participate in another intercultural project. The participant was willing to get involved in another intercultural exchange dynamic. She/he was honoured with what was achieved and learnt during the lessons planned.

Interviewer: Would you like to repeat this kind of projects in the future?

FS3: Yes, sure! It was very fun.

(Interview FS3).

8.1.2. Spain

Firstly, in this paper the ICC acquisition from the Spanish pupils will be reported.

Consequently, excerpts from the interviews conducted to the Spanish participants will be added with the main purpose of illustrating the ICC acquisition evidences reported by the interviewees. Indeed, as it is illustrated in the following lines, some of the Spanish students reported that as a part of the whole intercultural communication project, they enjoyed the learning of the linguistic aspects from the other culture met:

Interviewer: “What did you like the most about working with Finnish pupils? ”

S1:“Well, one of the things that I learnt and enjoyed the most about working with the Finnish pupils is that I learnt a bit of Finnish language ”.

(Interview SS1) The student demonstrated to be proud of her/his learning and to have enjoyed the Finnish language lessons the Finnish pupils taught to the Spanish ones as a part of one of the sessions. Indeed, the attitude of this first subject was interesting to observe from the “teacher as a researcher” perspective since the language spoken in a certain country is an essential aspect to take into account in a certain culture. Secondly, the following

subject, focuses her/his answer in the global meaning of the term “culture” , taught

during the lessons contained in the project.

Interviewer: “What did you like the most about working with Fi nnish pupils?”

S2: Well, it was very good ‘cause we learnt how to like […] be with other people.

Like other senses about the world. And like […] the names, what do they do. It was very interesting. But, the thing that I loved the most is to learn, to see the kids in Finland, to know how they are. They are very different and it’s not very…let’s say, not very…like us. They are very different from us.

(Interview SS2) He/she demonstrated to be highly accomplished in identifying what “culture”

means and how to identify it among the members of a certain society. Besides, taking into account the aforementioned reported answers, it is revealed that this Spanish student focused on the idea of deep culture over other different aspect in th e project developed. Obtaining a general positive impression of the online meetings and

regarding the interaction with the Finnish students along the lessons. Concerning this aspect, the Spanish students felt achieved with the development of the activities contained in the lesson plans designed. In addition, new cultural discoveries were disclosed during the interviews conducted and along the Skype© session between the two classrooms. And concerning those cultural discoveries, the appreciation of the differences and similarities of both cultures have been achieved by the Spanish pupils.

Indeed, a Spanish student mentioned the fact that in Finland as well as in other Nordic countries, the pupils do not wear shoes indoors or at the school. Consequently, this is a cultural aspect which surprised the Spanish pupils since in southern Europe the students do not walk barefoot around the school or even at home.

Interviewer: And for example, when we worked with them, what is the most important thing or… you know […] you saw them and you said: “Oh, look! They are…” How?

Like…?

SS3: They are very tall, and most of them blond. And…it’s curious that they walk in class without shoes!

(Interview SS3)

74 The subject was surprised about this cultural element from the Finnish culture. For him/her walking around the classroom without shoes was unfamiliar and exotic. Along similar lines, another subject reported a new considered cultural aspect regarding the learning environment of the Finnish pupils at the school classroom. Ergo, as it is

illustrated in the excerpt below, the interviewee defined the classroom observed through the screen as a laboratory.

Interviewer: Okay, and…have you discovered new things? Like…in the S kype when you saw the classroom.

SS1: Well, they have a..a, very strange classroom. At first I thought, it was like us, like full of pupils. I didn’t know that they take their shoes off at the school and I think that their classroom is like a laboratory.

(Interview SS1) To continue with, using the English language as a lingua franca was another topic to learn about during the project. Certainly, pupils used this language to discuss about them as well as to play to the games included in the project and to develop the activities offered. Plus, the final presentation where they had to tell the students in both countries about their culture was in English. Therefore, a Spanish subject reported her/his own opinion about this evidence.

Interviewer: And…have you discovered new linguistic skills? For example: we speak English but our mother tongue is not English, is Spanish. We are native speakers of Spanish and they are native speakers of Finnish but then, we use English to talk to each other. Did you discover new linguistic abilities?

SS4: Well, there is a form of communication. A good one, because…ehh, it’s like , if they know English and we know English we just can talk and if…if…it has been very fun because it was like they…they, don’t speak English very well but we don’t speak English very well neither so it was fun because we tried to find the words and they had too as well.

(Interview SS4) Subsequently, in terms of the evaluation of the intercultural project itself. A

question was asked regarding the activity that was more interesting for the students in both classrooms. Nevertheless, as the Spanish insights are being reported here, the

experience of one of the students in this side will be added as an example of what has

been provided. Although, despite of the fact that the Language Tree activity obtained a remarkable success, the first ice-breaking activity where the students had to introduce themselves was mentioned as well.

Interviewer: And, the last question. What did you enjoy the most about the Skype sessions that have taken place?

SS2: Well, I don’t know. I think the first one, we talked to them. Then, it was like,

“Hi! We are here” It’s like…but then, the language tree was very good.

(Interview SS2) As a matter of fact and regarding the learning of the cultural elements of the pupil’s home culture is considered to be described as another relevant aspect of the study. Learning about the own culture of the subject is essential in order to be able to interact with other cultural encounters and to develop a proper intercultural

communication process. In fact, knowing about the own cultural background of the student is the first step to set the foundations for building a proper intercultural communication since hardily a student will be able to appreciate the alien cultural aspects of a given culture if the subject do not recognize the c ultural values of his/her home one (Brdaric, 2018). Therefore, the excerpts included below show the testimonies of the students interviewed where they realized they did not know cultural elements from their country.

Interviewer: And, what have you discovered? You are Spanish but did you know everything about your culture?

SS1: The values and I didn’t know that Don Quixote was a Spanish heroe. And I already knew about Colon, the Catholic Kings [I know].

(Interview SS1) In addition, equally important in the present research is to consider the cultural aspects from the faced culture and to be aware of the symbols and traditions from the home culture of the subject and the alien one. Below, religious practises are mentioned as well as the impression the subject had along the project, describing the Finnish students as silence people. Ergo, as it is evidenced in the following lines, the interviewee tried to compare the Catholicism with the Lutheranism in terms of the

76 frequency with which the members of both cultures attend to the church. Hence, the excerpt below shows the impressions the subject got involving deep cultural aspects

Interviewer: […] Yes, silence in communication is another symbol. And in some cultures it is important.

SS2: Yes, but I know in some cultures, silence is important. But then I thought about their values [Finnish students values].They are very silent and very calm. And what was the other one...? [Trying to recall Hofstede’s categories]. It was heroes, values, symbols and rituals. Well, I think they don’t go to church as much as we do. We usually go every Sunday.

(Interview SS2) Appreciating the steps taken in along the development of the programme is a beneficial aspect for the students too since they got involved in the whole process as well as in the activities contained in there. Finally, across the previously mentioned responses, the Spanish subjects reported the evidences experienced throughout the interviews conducted. Intercultural xperiences towards the knowledge acquired and towards the intercultural communication established with their intercultural encounters were reported. Finally, as some common trends shown two of the pupils mentioned the linguistic aspect and two other subjects mentioned other cultural elements related to the deep culture of the faced one at the other side of the screen.

8.2. MAIN FINDINGS. RESEARCH QUESTION II: CULTURAL SELF-AWARENESS OF THE STUDENTS.

In terms of the pupil’s enhancement of their cultural self-awareness related to the intercultural interaction and to the cultural knowledge acquired by the students along the lesson, it has been reported by two of the subjects that they got nervous before the interaction. Although, the reasons provided were not equal, both interviewees expressed disconformity regarding the beginning of the first lesson in the project . Therefore, the assimilation of the teaching-learning process and the subsequent learning achievement were not developed in depth at the starting point. As an evidence, an excerpt of one of the interviews conducted is embodied below.

Interviewer: Mmm…and have you learnt new linguistic skills? Like […] while

talking to them.

SS3: Like…okay, because some people said “Well, , yeah well, at the very beginning I was very nervous because I didn’t know how they would be like, or they would react…” so I started to get nervous.

(Subject SS3) The student reporting the previous answer expressed that she/he was influenced by the other students in the classroom in terms of the emotions lived before the first

interaction occurred. Likewise, other subject reported that she/he felt the same emotions before the first introductory lesson plan where the students had to talk about themselves to the members of the faced culture.

Interviewer: Where you nervous before the very beginning of the project?

SS1: When I presented myself, oh yes…very nervous. And I like the Finnish (language). When I heard them talking, it was very funny.

(Interview SS1).

The excerpt included before, shows an illustration of the feelings experienced by two of the participants in the study. Yet, it could be observed what some of the students revealed before the project starts. Plus, the data provided by these pupils could be considered as an instance of the atmosphere which could be breathed in the Spanish classroom at the starting point of the intercultural communication process.

Ergo, the anxiety some of the pupils felt, negatively affected the motivation and the willingness of the participants to learn. Notwithstanding, after the first interaction occurred these pejorative emotions cease. In the first place, the findings emerged from the data analysis performed in the previous pages will be reported in the present

chapter. Additionally, with the main purpose of organising the information clearly, Finnish ICC experiences towards the learning and its findings will be reported firstly, while the Spanish ones will appear consecutively in the following pages. Ergo,

detailed descripted findings from the previous analysis are to be described in t he hereunder following lines.

Hence, in terms of the data collected from the Finnish pupils, the finding have been very positive. The students interviewed were willing to explain what they had

78 learnt along the online project with the Spanish pupils as well as what they felt.

Moreover, as it is evidenced in the excerpts extracted from the interviews conducted, the students reported concerning the activities developed that the Language Tree was the activity they enjoyed the most. Indeed, by getting to know the existence of new languages the pupils increased their language and cultural awareness. Furthermore, working in cooperation with children from another nationality was another considered aspect to report. During the interview, one of the Finnish subjects demonstrated

curiosity when discovering the Spanish reality at the other side of the screen. Looking at the classroom in the Spanish school and getting to know the Spanish pupils was a considered cultural revelation according to what a subject from the Finnish side of the study reported. Ergo, the online project in which the pupils were involved had a

significant and favourable impact in the Finnish pupils. In addition, regarding the project and the meaningfulness of its effect in the sample population selected, it could be added that the desire of participating in another similar research was evidenced.

Sharing a project and work together achieving the objectives planned in the

different games and activities organised was reported as motivating and encouraging for the pupils. Therefore, the interviewees did not mention any negative aspect in the

project were they had been involved. Only positive and exhilarating opinions were reported along the Finnish-Spanish ICC online project. Thus, according to what it has been reported in the Spanish side of the study regarding the cultural experiences lived by the interviewees, it is relevant to mention that learning some vocabulary terms from the Finnish language was an supportive element for one of the Spanish students at the very beginning of the project. In fact, it has been observed that the general feeling among all the participants in the study from the Spanish side enjoyed the Finnish

greetings in every single online interaction which occur. Furthermore, establish contact with foreign students and be able to discover their classroom environment and their English accent was reported as well as it is illustrated in the excerpt included in the pages above. Ergo, a great variety of elements related to the concept of deep culture are mentioned in the interviews conducted in the Spanish classroom. As an image of these concepts, it is considered to describe that the discovery of the fact that the Finnish pupils walk without shoes indoors was decisive to forge and idea of what the deep

culture concept means. In fact, as it is evidenced in the transcription of the inte rview

included in epigraph 8.1.2, the subject SS3 was surprised about this habit. Plus, knowing the Finnish students at the other side, how they behaved, their classroom environment and their class teacher were a disclosing element to consider for them.

Indeed, a Spanish subject interviewed reported that the first impression had from the Finnish classroom was similar to a laboratory. Yet, the communication in between both cultures which do not share the same native language, was important too since they used the English Language as a lingua franca in order to establish the previously mentioned intercultural communication aspect. Plus, referring to the previous statement, the subject SS4 acknowledged that even though the English language proficiency of the pupils in both countries was not perfect, they were able to communicate, share cultural information and learn from each other. In addition, a Spanish subject reported that there were some of the Spanish heroes that he/she acknowledged to ignore.

Finally, the common Finnish-Spanish trends emerged out of the interaction developed in between the two countries are to be described in the following lines. One of these trends regarding the experiences lived are related to the activities contained in the online ICC project. Indeed, as a comparison of the experiences shared among the two sample population in both countries, one subject from each of the countries reported that the Language Tree was the activity that gained most succeed among the

Finally, the common Finnish-Spanish trends emerged out of the interaction developed in between the two countries are to be described in the following lines. One of these trends regarding the experiences lived are related to the activities contained in the online ICC project. Indeed, as a comparison of the experiences shared among the two sample population in both countries, one subject from each of the countries reported that the Language Tree was the activity that gained most succeed among the

In document Intercultural Communication Competence Acquisition through English as a Foreign Language. Finnish and Spanish Primary Education Classrooms. A Comparative Study (sivua 72-84)