Abstract
This chapter presents a case study of an online task-enhanced Virtual Exchange (VE) project that involved 19 English students at Hacettepe University, Turkey, and 19 students of English at Sfax University, Tunisia. The objective behind the VE was to provide students with opportunities for intercultural and interactional development through the performance of collaborative intercultural tasks. At the end of the project, students’ performances were assessed and graded, and the project was evaluated by Tunisian students, by means of narratives. The case study concludes with recommendations to be taken into consideration for future VE projects.
Highlights
The Tunisian students were asked to write a detailed narrative about the challenges they faced, the way they handled them, and the lessons they learned
The Tunisian students were excited to embark on Virtual Exchange (VE) because of the Turkish series broadcast on Tunisian TV
The Tunisian students reported that they found the exchange “mind-provoking”, “fulfilling”, “unforgettable”, and “priceless”
Summary
The Tunisian group included 19 second year students majoring in English and taking an intercultural communication course at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Sfax, Tunisia. The Turkish group consisted of 19 students taking the advanced speaking class at Hacettepe University, Turkey. The project designers’ participation in the project was motivated by their interest in providing Tunisian and Turkish students with a practical experience of working collaboratively on virtual intercultural tasks in an authentic context for intercultural learning. The teachers wanted to introduce their students to new ways of learning based on the use of video-mediated communication tools. The teachers were interested in exchanging teaching practices and techniques to benefit from a better quality of learning and teaching
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