在21世紀的地球村，社群網站已成為青少年的首選網路溝通工具，如果我們能讓青少年透過社群網站學習不同的國家文化，可增進學生的國際觀，並可學習不同文化之間的差異。Space2Cre8為一個學術性社群網站，此社群網站為半開放的社群網站，而參與的國家有美國、英國、澳洲、挪威、南非、印度和台灣，網站上使用者為青少年且均得使用英文溝通。本研究為質性研究，主要了解台灣的高中生如何在社群網站上和外國參與者互動中使用英文，並主要研究學生在社群網站上的溝通使用方式和評估他們的文化學習，還有學生在社群網站上碰到的困難也會一併討論。研究資料來源有學生製作的Space2Cre8個人資料影片、介紹台灣文化影片、訪談錄音、問卷和研究者日誌。結果顯示學生在社群網站上使用不同的溝通模式來呈現多元的資訊，並且發現在社群網站上學生的回應大多為正面和口語化的，學生也可以透過網站資源文化交流學習。建議老師再為學生設計一套能夠檢測學生英文的聽力和寫作課程，教學用的社群網站也可以是一個對教學有價值的工具並且在未來語言學習和文化交流上站一席之地。

In the global village of the 21st Century, social networks have become a major forum for teenagers’ social communication. If we can let teenagers use social networks to engage in cross-cultural exchange with youth in other countries, it may help them to cultivate a worldwide perspective on their lives, and learn about the cultures of different countries. Space2Cre8 is a controlled educational social network. Participants have to use English to communicate, and teenagers members include students from the United States (New York, Oakland), the United Kingdom (London), Norway, India, South Africa, Australia and Taiwan. The Taiwanese participants are 72 senior high school students. This research project set out to understand how these Taiwanese senior high school students would use social media in English to interact with participants in other parts of the world. In particular, the study sought to explore their modes of communication and interaction while using the network, and evaluate the cultural learning that took place as a result of their participation. The study also investigated the challenges of integrating an on-line social network into language and culture classes. The research employed mainly qualitative methods, and data includes student-created photo stories and videos posted on the social network, recordings of classroom activities, and the researcher’s diary. This paper shows that students use a variety of modes of communication on the network, and that their language is primarily positive and colloquial. In addition, they felt they were able to attain enhanced cultural understanding as a result of their participation in the network. It is concluded that social networks can be a valuable resource for teaching and learning. If teachers can design effective lessons that stimulate students’ willingness to participate, educational social networks may become an important feature of future language and cultural learning programs.

Table of Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………i
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………iv
List of Table and Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………………vii
Chapter I. Introduction .................................................. 1
Background and Motivation ............................. 1
Purpose of the Study .................................. 2
Research Questions .................................... 4
Definition of Terms.................................... 5
Chapter II. Literature Review ................................. 6
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) ................. 6
CMC in language learning. ..................... 8
CMC in cross-cultural communication ........... 9
Multimodality in CMC .......................... 9
Cross-cultural communication in the classroom ........ 10
Cross cultural awareness for students. ....... 11
Cross-cultural competence for students on the internet. .................................................... 11
Online Social Network Sites .......................... 12
Social network. .............................. 12
Interaction features.......................... 14
Chapter III. Methodology ..................................... 16
Setting................................................17
Participants ......................................... 19
Project Activities ................................... 20
Data Collection ...................................... 22
Observation. ................................. 22
Interviews. .................................. 23
Questionnaire. ............................... 24
Multimedia texts. ............................ 24
Data Analysis ........................................ 25
Chapter IV. Results and Discussion............................ 27
Multiple communication modes on the social network ... 28
Mono-modality. ............................... 28
Dual-modality. ............................... 31
Multi-modality. .............................. 33
Features of students‘ online interaction ............. 36
Brevity....................................... 37
Colloquialism. ............................... 38
Positivity. .................................. 39
Cultural understanding on the social network ......... 41
Cultural awareness. .......................... 41
Cultural understanding. ...................... 44
Challenges in using the social network in class ...... 47
Technical problems. .......................... 48
Language challenges. ......................... 50
Chapter V. Conclusion ........................................ 56
Pedagogical Implications ............................. 57
Limitations .......................................... 58
Suggestions for Further Research ..................... 59
References ................................................... 61
Appendixes ................................................... 66
Appendix A-1 Spring Semester Questionnaire (Chinese version) ..................................................... 66
Appendix A-2 Spring Semester Questionnaire (English version) ..................................................... 68
Appendix B-1 Fall Semester Questionnaire (Chinese Version) ..................................................... 69
Appendix B-2 Fall Semester Questionnaire (English version) ..................................................... 71
Appendix C-1 Spring Semester Interview Questions (Chinese version) ..................................................... 72
Appendix C-2 Spring Semester Interview Questions (English version) ..................................................... 73
Appendix D-1 Fall Semester Interview Questions (Chinese Version) ..................................................... 74
Appendix D-2 Fall Semester Interview Questions (English Version) ..................................................... 75

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