Álvarez Valencia, J. A., & Fernández Benavides, A. (2019). Using social networking sites for language learning to develop intercultural competence in language education programs. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 12(1), 23-42. DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2018.1503318
Álvarez Valencia & Fernández Benavides examine the influence of Livemocha, a social networking site for language learning (SNSLL) on the intercultural competence of undergraduates learning English in Colombia. They define intercultural competence as “a capability that enables people from different cultural backgrounds to interact, bringing into their act of sign-making their societal, cultural, and individual knowledge about the world to make possible an effective negotiation of meanings” (pp. 25-26).
They found that:
Students decentered and opened themselves to examine their own cultural practices, their own meaning-making processes, and those of other learners of Livemocha” (p. 38)
So the answer was that it had a positive influence on both attitudes and knowledge. There were some issues with what this particular chat system permitted, but overall the results were successful.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 