Web 2.0, Language Learning and Intercultural Competence

Whenever a new form of communication appears on the scene, it immediately becomes the object of discussion. This has been going on since the first penny press edition in 1834, whereas today discussions are carried out with reference to the Internet. The stability with which mass-media have faced different criticism can be well understood thanks to the functionalist analysis which considers the media as a social system working within an external system made up of a set of cultural and social conditions. In spite of its complexity, any set of repetitive actions contribute to maintaining or to weakening the stability of the system. We can say that globalization would not have been possible without the media and Web 2.0 may be of remarkable interest for its role in influencing cultural identity. All the past technologies, from electric light to the airplane, took a whole generation to gain ground among people, and Internet has not required such a long time. The impossibility to digest the new modalities of communication offered by the net creates the risk of unexpected contamination. Geographical magazines often show pictures of native Amazonians dressed in their traditional costumes while using computers and mobile phones. Educational uses of Web 2.0 and mobile learning tools have been rapidly expanded over the last few years and a great number of projects have been planned for teaching languages. Mobile learning includes many areas: handheld computers, MP3 players, notebooks and mobile phones. In this paper we shall outline the methodology including selection of web tools, task design, implementation and intercultural communication. The study carried out at the University of Florence shows that learners develop their communication competence while performing entertaining activities which enable them to achieve the desired goals.