Exploring the potential of social network sites in relation to intercultural communication

This article reports on the results of a project which used a social network site to
support students on a year abroad and to foster informal learning, particularly in
the area of intercultural communication. The project employed a peer-mentoring
structure to solve the problem of role conflict, in which users of these sites may
feel some tension as the academic and social dimensions – two contexts usually
kept fairly separate – of their lives collide. This article describes how students used
the site, reports on the benefits of the project to both students and mentors, and
sets out some recommendations for increasing the sustainability of social network
sites as pedagogical tools in other educational contexts.