Files and links (1)
From transmission to negotiation authenticity ambivalence and the transformation of learner beliefs through telecollaboration1.97 MB
Published Version (Advanced Access)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
From transmission to negotiation: authenticity, ambivalence, and the transformation of learner beliefs through telecollaboration
Language Awareness, Vol.Advanced access
17-Feb-2026
Abstract
This study examines the transformative impact of a teletandem programme, a reciprocal telecollaborative language exchange, on participants’ beliefs about language and interaction. Drawing on semistructured interviews with 18 participants over a three-year period, including 14 who completed follow-up interviews around one year after initial interviews, we explore how engagement in digitally-mediated, autonomous language exchanges reshapes participants’ conceptualisations of interaction, with particular attention to beliefs about authenticity, meaningful engagement, and linguistic correctness. Thematic analysis identified patterns in interview data that prompted a contextual approach to learner beliefs. This revealed a shift among participants from transmission-based views of interaction to more nuanced understandings of interaction as a co-constructed, negotiated process. We argue that teletandem participation catalyses this ontological shift, raising participants’ awareness of the inherent ambivalences of language use. These shifts can also evoke affective responses, including increased confidence and anxiety. By highlighting the dialectical relationship between learner beliefs and telecollaborative practices, this research contributes to discussions about the role of online exchanges in shaping how language and interaction is conceptualised.
Details
- Title
- From transmission to negotiation: authenticity, ambivalence, and the transformation of learner beliefs through telecollaboration
- Authors
- Levi Durbidge (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesKatherine Thornton (Author) - Otemon Gakuin UniversityTomo Shimoyukawa (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative Industries
- Publication details
- Language Awareness, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.1080/09658416.2026.2628732
- ISSN
- 1747-7565; 0965-8416
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Grants
- Connecting Kansai to Caboolture: The impacts of virtual exchanges on language learning trajectories, 0980027505, Australian Academy of the Humanities (Australia, Canberra)Online language exchange and self-directed learning: An ecological study, 0980028549, Queensland Program for Japanese Education
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre
- Language
- English; Japanese
- Record Identifier
- 991206278902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
3 Record Views