This study investigates the impact of collaboration classes through the internet carried out amongst Thai and Japanese students under the Students Meet Internationally through Language Education (SMILE) project on a group of Thai high school students in a rural area. This study examines how online collaboration classes increased their confidence and self-evaluation of their own English abilities, cultural awareness, and skills with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The duration of the program’s collaboration was three weeks; each week, two Thai students were assigned to meet online with the same two Japanese students to discuss different topics and exchange information with one another. The participants included twelve students from upper secondary schools in Thailand and Japan (i.e., N = 24). Data were collected from the Thai students via an online questionnaire and an interview after the course. Our data show that collaboration classes through the internet had strong positive effects on the students: They provided them with a genuine international environment in which to communicate in English, helping to raise their cultural awareness alongside other important points that should be cultivated in pre-secondary education. Most students were eager to join collaboration classes through the internet once again because they enjoyed utilizing their second language, English, as an authentic tool for communication. The overall project made a significant impact on the students, raising their confidence and enhancing their internal motivation.
Mayuroh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.