Intercultural Communication (ICC) has become a key competence in to- day’s interconnected world. Integrating intercultural training into the syllabus can support students in improving their language proficiency and intercultural competence. Foreign language instruction often happens in scenarios of culturally diverse classrooms, placing teachers at the center of the process. Earlier research found that students of different cultural backgrounds favor different learning styles and achievement. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) focuses on meeting students’ needs through methods of instruction that are sensitive to cultural differences. This study investigates culture-specific aspects in students’ collaboration attitudes and communication styles by method of qualitative survey analysis. In Fall 2020, a task- based learning (TBL) project was conducted with German as a Foreign Language (GFL) students at Fu Jen Catholic University (FJCU), combining grammar train- ing and cross-border intercultural collaboration with peers from Japan. The goal was to strengthen students’ writing skills, intercultural communication experience, and self-learning abilities. 30 students of FJCU (second grade, language level A2-B1/ CEFL) met online with 17 participants from University of Kyoto, Tokyo University, and Sophia University, Tokyo. They were organized in 16 groups and paired in teams A and B. The task was for each team to produce a text of 500-600 words on Google Docs within three weeks. Stories centered on the famous German cartoon character called “The Mouse” (www.wdr-maus.de), a popular figure who inspires and stimulates creativity, as the focus of the intended self-learning activity. This Blended Learning approach combined the use of Google Docs, Flipgrid, and LINE.The final texts were published on the internet platform “The Mouse on Her Travels” (www.maus-reisen.de), which unites 18 GFL teachers from nine different countries, promoting GFL and cultural exchange through online collaboration. It is expected that culture-specific communication patterns have an impact on performance, and that these patterns can be identified by method of qualitative survey analysis.
