Framing the barriers to collaborative online international learning implementation: the impact of political, infrastructural, temporal, and experiential factors

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scholarship indicates that Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a cost-effective approach to enhancing students’ intercultural communication competence (ICC). While much has been recently written about COIL’s impact on ICC and its classroom implementation, the barriers which potentially impact student engagement remain underexamined. This exploratory qualitative case study of seven foreign language learners at a rural U.S. public university details barriers to COIL implementation through four frames: political issues related to censorship of preferred communication applications, infrastructural challenges related to unreliable technology, temporal issues related to scheduling and time management, and experiential challenges in adjusting to virtual learning environments.