Presentation Cross-Cultural Learning in CALL: How Young Learners gained Motivation more

Young learners aged 13–15 have been learning English at this small private school for 90 minutes every Wednesday night, but they have struggled to stay motivated in their language learning. The biggest issue was that they were bored of speaking English with the same Japanese classmates, so the presenter started preparing global projects to encourage active learning. In 2024, ten students undertook a homestay project in Taiwan and exchanged emails with students in Norway. In 2025, they engaged in cross-cultural projects with students in Sweden (writing letters) and Ukraine (video letters on Padlet). To examine their increased motivation, questionnaires and interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. All students stated that these cross-cultural projects were meaningful, and that they were motivated to produce English content and make more effort to improve their language skills. However, there are limitations to stating that cross-cultural learning in CALL helped increase their motivation, as only qualitative data was analysed. Nevertheless, it is worth sharing information about the activities of this small private school with a global focus in CALL, as the students were inspired by their counterparts around the world and this changed their approach to learning at the school.