Fostering language teachers’ intercultural awareness towards linguistic diversity and inclusion in education through COIL

Abstract

The following paper reports on a collaborative online learning experience (COIL) or virtual exchange (VE) between undergraduate students, pre-service teachers, from Coventry University in the UK and Florida Universitària in València, Spain. The exchange was embedded in two modules in each institution and aimed to foster critical views on multilingual policies and interculturality in English as a foreign language teacher education (MIEFOLTE). The participants were grouped in breakout rooms where they engaged in discussions on the topics of social equity, linguistic diversity, and inclusion in education. In addition, their group reflections were posted on a digital noticeboard during the synchronous sessions. The outcomes seem to illustrate how MIEFOLTE provided students with opportunities for critical reflection and made students aware that they had developed their Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and how to transfer it to their future professional practice.