With the advance of globalization, there have been a lot of attempts to improve English language skills through online exchanges among English language learners with different native languages. COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) is the most common of these. On the other hand, there is also CHIL (Collaborative Hybrid International Learning), which is not limited to online interaction, but includes face-to-face interaction (Kanduboda, Sakamoto and Hirano, 2022; Kanduboda, Hirano and Lee, 2024; Hirano and Kanduboda, 2024). The CHIL application offers participants many opportunities for collaboration beyond online exchanges, compared to other online-only programs. Specifically, CHIL can benefit many learners through both curricular and extra-curricular activities. However, there is limited evidence available to inform future higher education pedagogy.

The purpose of this study is to examine pedagogical benefits by implementing CHIL activities to foster university students' international learning outcomes and to what extend L2 university students perceive the learning outcomes and challenges through CHIL. To find the answer, we set two research questions:
(1) through CHIL, what do L2 learners perceive as the learning outcomes,
(2) through CHIL, what do L2 learners find challenges, especially when they are engaged in activities outside regular university coursework?

In this study, participants began collaborative online learning and extended to on-site collaboration, culminating in a project-reporting presentation in English. For example, the participants first joined a local online meeting using social network service (SNS) tools and then began exchanges with international peers. Domestic and international students formed several teams and then collaboratively carried out a project based on the central conference theme. The CHIL activity was facilitated by university academic staff, who played a crucial role in the first stage by proposing possible options for initiating CHIL. Their involvement was instrumental to the success of the activity.

The participants in the study were from two Japanese universities in West Japan. After the CHIL activity, a questionnaire survey was conducted with ten university students, including both quantitative and qualitative questions. The questionnaire focused on students' perceptions of learning outcomes and difficulties they experienced during the CHIL activity, which spanned approximately four months. The collected data were analyzed using the KJ method, a qualitative data analysis method (Kawakita, 1986; 1997). Interestingly, we were able to classify participants’ perceptions into six stages, namely, propose, plan, prepare, execute, report, and reflect. Also, the results provide promising evidence of student development and suggests that CHIL can offer a valuable learning opportunity for university students, helping them to learn, improve, and acquire new knowledge and skills through hands-on activities in both academic and social sectors. These findings imply that CHIL can play a significant role in preparing university students to become future global citizens.

In the presentation, we would like to share the details of the CHIL program and how instructors facilitate this activity. Also, we’ll share the evidence of each six stages derived from the data and future pedagogical developments.

Keywords: Education, Online Collaborative Learning, Cross-Cultural Exchange, ICT.