Cross-Linguistic learning (accepted)

The article examines the perceptions of one hundred students in relation to two modes of interactions in synchronous oral e-tandems: interactions in intercomprehension (bilingual mode: the students speak their own language) and interactions in monolingual exolingual mode. The target audience consists of academic undergraduate students in applied linguistics from the Francophone community and the Dutch-speaking community of Belgium respectively. Two groups of students have been formed. One group exchanges in intercomprehension during four conversations (one conversation per week).Then the group switches to monolingual exolingual mode (four conversations). The second group interacts directly in monolingual exolingual mode during eight conversations. All students complete two surveys after the first four conversations and after the last four one. The aim is to identify whether the perceptions are similar or different in terms of emotional comfort and efficiency. The results show that the mode of interaction is perceived differently according to cultural affiliation: Francophone students perceive more positively the mode of exchange in intercomprehension. Are these differences due to differences in cultural patterns especially in the attitude towards risk taking (Hofstede: 2001)? We would need precise data concerning the language biography of the students to qualify the remarks. In any case, we would like to emphasize the importance of taking into account differences in cultural profiles in the development of methodological scenarios for tandems.status: submitte