Developing intercultural and digital competence through virtual exchanges in Spanish language learning and teaching

ABSRACT: Virtual exchanges (VE) are gaining popularity as an opportunity to provide learners with authentic language and intercultural experiences mediated by technology. This article presents the results of a VE project aimed at developing intercultural and digital competences among Spanish Language Teaching (SLT) learners and trainee teachers. Among the main components of the project, the design, implementation and monitoring of telecollaborative tasks constitute key elements for the success of the project. The VE was carried out with Spanish learners in Ireland and Spanish and Latin American trainee teachers in Spain. The results collected through a post-questionnaire (n = 22) and a multimodal analysis of intercultural digital artefacts (n = 9), created by the participants, show that the VE had a positive impact on the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). The intercultural attitudes, followed by the intercultural awareness, knowledge and skills of the language learners and trainee teachers were impacted. Regarding digital competence, participants perceived it as the least developed competence during the project. However, the multimodal analysis of the intercultural artefacts reveals a proficient digital fluency in the design and representation of cultural content using different semiotic modes on a digital platform. Thus, SFL learners developed intercultural awareness, digital skills and motivation to use the target language outside the classroom. Trainee teachers improved their pedagogical competence in terms of intercultural and digital skills.