INCLUSION OF VIRTUAL EXCHANGE IN ESP UNIVERSITY CLASSES – STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

The practice of virtual exchange in which students from different countries participate in an online collaboration as part of their coursework and jointly complete tasks and activities is becoming more dominant in higher education. Virtual exchange seems particularly convenient for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) as it incorporates two major aspects of this area of English language learning: collaboration on a course-specific and field-specific task or project and communication in English. The paper presents the results of a survey into students’ views and attitudes towards the inclusion of virtual exchange into ESP university courses. The overall findings point to a rather positive attitude of students towards this innovative pedagogy but at the same time reveal a number of factors that may jeopardize its successful implementation into ESP courses. The paper concludes with a number of pedagogical implications on how to prepare students for successful participation in virtual exchange activities.