Virtual Exchange Research Articles

Acquiring Intercultural Communicative Competence through Virtual Exchange

Abstract Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is an indispensable skill when interacting with people from other cultures, given the clash of perspectives that intercultural encounters may bring about. Being a skill that can be taught and learned, there is a wide concern for developing ICC through formal education. This involves designing specific training tasks that can enhance the acquisition of ICC with the help of virtual exchange (VE) activities. The aim of the present paper is to highlight a specific way in which the educational goals associated with ICC development can be achieved. To this end, an analysis of 55 eTwinning intercultural projects has been conducted in order to determine the relationship between ICC and VE. The statistical data described here indicate that VE fosters the development of ICC. Moreover, they are indicative of the fact that the VE task types that are most effective in the development of ICC can be identified through computation.

How a Challenge is also a Chance: Shaping Teacher Education through Collaborative Online International Learning.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a well-known concept for virtual exchange. For the partnership of the PH Ludwigsburg and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte it served as the theoretical framework for continuing our collaboration even under pandemic conditions. Students from both universities improved their intercultural communication, media, and global learning competencies while working in groups to research global challenges. Findings suggest COIL is a beneficial pedagogical method to impact students’ awareness of their own and others’ diverse cultural perspectives. While there were implementation challenges, out of them emerged many opportunities.

Autoethnographic Research to Explore Instructional Design Practices for Distance Teaching and Learning in a Cross-Cultural Context.

The purpose of this autoethnography is to share my perspective of course design and delivery considerations based on my professional experience as an instructional designer for a virtual international exchange program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the impact of the global pandemic, the partner institutions decided to take advantage of distance education to continue their exchange program. I was the instructional designer to support faculty’s transition to online instruction. Little research has been conducted to explore instructional design practices for distance teaching and learning in an intercultural context. Therefore, I applied an individual autoethnography to collect and analyze data from my narratives and artifacts to understand my perspective of instructional design and delivery practices within a cross-cultural distance learning environment. The findings showed course design in transnational distance contexts was more complicated than in distance education in a single cultural context. My role as an instructional designer was influenced by factors at both micro and macro levels.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING CONTEXT: CASE OF LITERATURE FOR YOUNGER AND OLDER CHILDREN COURSE

Globalization and the advancement of technology influence people to communicate with each other. Nowadays, people in different regions and countries interact with each other and intercultural interaction happens among them. In this context, there is intercultural communication when the interaction occurs. In recent years, the emergence of the Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) concept has entered the education field. This paper discusses the integration of ICC concepts and areas to a course in one of the private universities in Jakarta and sees how the course incorporated ICC concepts for students’ ICC development. The course is Literature for Younger and Older Children that integrates the ICC concept by conducting a virtual exchange program, excursion, and a project for their students. The virtual exchange happened between the participants and their group friends from Sweden. The phenomenology qualitative method was applied to dig deep information about the participants during the course activities. Observation, participants’ video reflection and the virtual exchange program are the data of this research. The result of this research is all of the course activities support the participants to develop the ICC areas; the knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skill of cultural awareness, skill of interaction and discovery, and attitudes. At the end of the course, the participants have developed their intercultural communication competence.

Virtual exchange in teacher education: focus on L2 writing

Abstract Virtual exchange, as a global social practice, provides language teacher candidates with opportunities to connect their global peers and language learners. Integrated into teacher education, virtual exchange practices enhance teacher candidates’ professional and pedagogical knowledge and practices. This study details a virtual exchange program between TESOL teacher candidates in Poland and the US and examines the transformations in teacher candidates’ understanding and perspectives of theories and pedagogies of L2 writing. The findings of this single case indicate that virtual exchange is a strategy that can have productive outcomes that are worthy of further investigation as a means of broadening TESOL teachers’ knowledge and pedagogies of L2 writing.

The Impact of International Virtual Exchange on Participation in Education Abroad

International virtual exchange is gaining popularity as an innovative approach to providing international experiences to students, particularly considering the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little research has been conducted on this unique teaching approach or how it fits into university comprehensive internationalization plans. In this paper, we develop a simple theoretical model to explain the impact of taking international virtual exchange classes on students’ decisions to subsequently study abroad. We use a linear probability model with a longitudinal panel that follows 39,381 students through their entire academic career at a large American university to estimate the impact of international virtual exchange and foreign language courses on the probability of subsequent study abroad. Based on our preferred matching model, which accounts for observable differences in student characteristics, we find the likelihood a student will subsequently study abroad approximately doubles if they take an international virtual exchange course.

An integrative review of literature: virtual exchange models, learning outcomes, and programmatic insights

This integrative review explores English language publications to determine trends present in Virtual Exchange (VE) research over a span of ten years. The review presents a brief introduction to VE, highlights key scholars in the field, and describes various VE models. In addition, learning outcomes and programmatic insights present in current scholarship are categorized and examined. This review can serve as a helpful tool for practitioners new to VE, as well as for scholars interested in expanding the VE research field.

Global Engagement in the Kinesiology Classroom Through Virtual Exchange

As the importance of intercultural competence increases for future professionals, kinesiology faculty should consider internationalizing their curriculum. Faculty can promote intercultural competence through a variety of experiences, including studying abroad, attending international conferences, or adding a virtual exchange component to their classes. Global engagement in the classroom allows students to examine problem solving by scholars globally and enhances soft skills and career readiness skills. Because international travel through study abroad programs poses many challenges, this paper will focus upon an alternative, virtual exchange that can be implemented in any kinesiology or related course. Faculty can implement virtual exchanges with either an international class or a nonprofit organization on a large (e.g., complete course) or small scale (e.g., collaborative project). A sample design and tips for developing a collaborative project in a kinesiology course will be discussed to provide kinesiology faculty with a framework to begin a partnership around international course collaboration.

Light-cone distribution amplitudes of light mesons with QED effects

We discuss the generalization of the leading-twist light-cone distribution amplitude for light mesons including QED effects. This generalization was introduced to describe virtual collinear photon exchanges at the strong-interaction scale ΛQCD in the factorization of QED effects in non-leptonic B-meson decays. In this paper we study the renormalization group evolution of this non-perturbative function. For charged mesons, in particular, this exhibits qualitative differences with respect to the well-known scale evolution in QCD only, especially regarding the endpoint-behaviour. We analytically solve the evolution equation to first order in the electromagnetic coupling αem, which resums large logarithms in QCD on top of a fixed-order expansion in αem. We further provide numerical estimates for QED corrections to Gegenbauer coefficients as well as inverse moments relevant to (QED-generalized) factorization theorems for hard exclusive processes.

Collaborative Online International Learning: Language and Cross-Cultural Experiences of University Students

This qualitative study reports on a collaborative online project between the University of Washington at Tacoma (USA) and the Universidad Veracruzana at Veracruz City (México). The project was implemented as part of the internationalization of higher education policies of the participating universities, which include pedagogical practices oriented toward foreign language learning, the internationalization of the curriculum, and virtual exchange. The study documents cross-cultural learning experiences between two groups of students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in a Collaborative Online International Learning approach (COIL); and how those experiences related to the development of cross-cultural competence. The language of instruction was English and the students interacted through an online platform and a social network. The methodological design was qualitative-interpretive. Data was generated using interviews, linguistic samples (writing samples), and the interactions of the participants prompted by the use of an online platform and a social media network. Data analysis was realized through a content approach, which led to the formulation of assertions based on themes that emerged. Results indicate that the pedagogical approach implemented (COIL) prompted reflexion on issues related to language learning, cultural understanding, and common life experiences, and that it was conducive to the development of aspects of cross-cultural competence.

CercleS survey: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign language teaching in Higher Education

Abstract The pandemic may well have totally changed the way foreign languages are now being taught. In March 2020 language centres (LCs) in universities needed to adjust abruptly to online teaching with minimal resources or training for teachers. Research on the topic of the impact of the pandemic on teaching started from Day 1 and to date there have been contradictions about whether online learning is effective. The CercleS survey aims to study teachers’ reflections on teaching during the pandemic and on the future of foreign language instruction in Higher Education (HE). Data were collected between March 30 and May 5, 2021, and the answers reflect the voices of 725 teachers from CercleS national associations. The findings indicate that the teachers moved flexibly into the online mode of teaching despite limitations in technological resources and the absence of training: 32.4% of the respondents declared no hardware was provided by their institution for working from home and 40.6% were not relieved from other duties. However, 66% of the teachers reported that the learning outcomes were met by modifying specific assessment criteria. Simultaneous group dynamics seemed difficult to achieve in the online format in comparison to face-to-face interactions in the traditional classroom. The acquisition of language skills, mainly speaking, was a challenge. Generally, the respondents see the benefits of a blended/hybrid mode of instruction. Implications for teaching practices and stakeholders are as follows: develop guidelines defining criteria for different formats of delivery in language education, develop workshops for teachers, negotiate conditions needed to carry out efficient and sustainable language teaching with university executive boards, offer training for sustainable online and hybrid teaching and maintain, and develop international collaboration between LCs in HE (e.g. virtual exchange, staff exchange, virtual international classrooms).

Inquiry-based learning and digital storytelling in virtual exchange: an approach for reflecting on food consumption in the Global South and Global North

Virtual exchange (VE) in higher education provides an underemployed opportunity for fostering consumer and sustainability competencies. We explore how a crosscultural teaching-learning environment can be designed to encourage students to reflect on a complex global challenge - food consumption patterns - and their role in it. We discuss challenges regarding food consumption as a topic for VE and describe a didactic concept that employs inquiry-based learning and digital storytelling as the framework for student exploration and expression. Initially developed for VE in food studies and nutrition education, the concept can be readily transferred to other disciplines and topics. We present insights from a pilot implementation with 16 food science students from Laos and 26 pre-service teachers from Germany. The analysis of students’ responses from pre- and post-questionnaires and their digital stories suggest that the concept is promising, although some factors require improvement and careful attention, such as technologies and the lingua franca of the learning environment. Findings and lessons learned might inform other projects that similarly seek to address complex global challenges.

Feedback and uptake in videoconferences for online intercultural exchange

Incidental focus on form (FonF) refers to the treatment of linguistic elements incidentally arising in a communicative setting during a meaning-focused activity. Videoconferencing for Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) projects represents a typical meaning-focused communication activity but incidental FonF in group-based OIE projects is underexplored. The present study investigated the longitudinal changes of feedback types and factors related to successful uptake in Zoom-based videoconferences during a five-week OIE project. Chinese students and US students participated in weekly Zoom videoconferences to collect intercultural student ethnography data for their group projects with English as the exchange language. The videoconferences were recorded, transcribed, coded, and subsequently analysed quantitatively. Results returned that recast, clarification request, and translation were more frequently used but their frequencies did not significantly fluctuate throughout the OIE project, while metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, and explicit corrective feedback were less commonly used but their frequencies of use varied significantly. Repair provider (self-repair vs. other repair) and English proficiency were significantly associated with Chinese students’ successful uptake. The findings have implications for incorporating OIE and similar virtual exchange models into language teaching and learning.

Arif’s gift

ABSTRACT This memoir essay is an account of the author’s virtual acquaintance and exchanges with Arif Dirlik during the five years preceding his death. Never meeting Dirlik in real life, the author first heard of him when she was a college student in the United States in the late 1980s. Two decades later, when she was writing the biography of her own father, Dirlik becomes important again in her search for those scholars who best embody the non-Eurocentric, cosmopolitan spirit. Dirlik’s own writings about neoliberalism and neotraditionalism in Turkey help her rethink the “Asian values versus Westernization” debates in Malaysia and Singapore. And a map in Venice triggers parallels between the naming of China that Dirlik had written about and the author’s conjectures about the naming of Malaysia. At Dirlik’s request, his partner Roxann Prazniak and the author meet in Italy after his passing, leaving the author not just with the gift of knowledge but also the one of friendship.

When Different Language Groups Meet Online: Covert and Overt Focus on Form in Text-Based Chats.

Focus on form has been extensively studied in text-based online dyadic chats but much less has been explored in group chats with interlocutors from different language backgrounds. Additionally, there are very few studies investigating covert focus on form. This study investigated the effects of interlocutor types on errors and focus on form episodes, both covert and overt, in text-based online group chats. We collected chat logs from two collaborative online international learning projects. One project was developed for the collaboration between an English course at a Chinese university and an art history course at a U.S. university; the other between another cohort of the same English course and a cultural studies course at a Mexican university. We compared errors, feedback, and other characteristics of focus on form episodes between the two projects. Analyses revealed significant differences in characteristics such as overtness (overt, covert), linguistic focus (mechanical, lexical, and grammatical), and source (code, message). However, no significant differences were found for the type of focus on form (preemptive, reactive), presence of uptake, uptake quality (successful, unsuccessful), and repair provider (self, other). Students showed a preference for self-repair over other-repair and for lexical focus over mechanical and grammatical foci in both projects. Overall, only a small proportion of errors were followed by feedback. Therefore, a small amount of uptake and successful uptake occurred in both projects. The results can shed light on how instructors could provide effective scaffolding and tasks to make virtual exchange projects more rewarding.

Closing the Loop: Sustainability Coursework in Collaboration with Local and German‐Speaking Partners

AbstractThis article explores the intersection of international collaboration and community‐engaged learning in the context of a curriculum development project focused on sustainability in German‐speaking cultures. By closing the loop in international exchange between partners abroad and local community organizations, students in German Studies programs can streamline their engagement with sustainability and benefit from active use of their intercultural skill sets. However, significant difficulties arise when trying to simultaneously teach skills traditionally emphasized in German Studies programs, develop successful projects with local community practitioners, and collaborate effectively with international partners. This article discusses an upper‐division course, taught primarily in German, in which students develop group projects by working with peers at a partner institution in Germany. The article provides reflection on three key areas of focus: bolstering students' intercultural abilities to engage with partners abroad, training students to leverage their intercultural skills through virtual exchange, and articulating how cultural context is relevant for ongoing local sustainable development projects. Strengthening these skills allows German Studies students to demonstrate the value of interculturally sensitive collaborators while using their cultural knowledge to benefit local sustainable development work.

COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study of Healthcare Students' Perceptions of Life during the Pandemic in the United States and Brazil.

Societal influences, such as beliefs and behaviors, and their increasing complexity add to the challenges of interactivity promoted by globalization. This study was developed during a virtual global educational exchange experience and designed for research and educational purposes to assess personal social and cultural risk factors for students’ COVID-19 personal prevention behavior and perceptions about life during the pandemic, and to inform future educational efforts in intercultural learning for healthcare students. We designed and implemented a cross-sectional anonymous online survey intended to assess social and cultural risk factors for COVID-19 personal prevention behavior and students’ perceptions about life during the pandemic in public health and healthcare students in two public universities (United States n = 53; Brazil n = 55). Statistically significant differences existed between the United States and Brazil students in degree type, employment, risk behavior, personal prevention procedures, sanitization perceptions, and views of governmental policies. Cultural and social differences, risk messaging, and lifestyle factors may contribute to disparities in perceptions and behaviors of students around the novel infectious disease, with implications for future global infectious disease control.

The conformal anomaly action to fourth order (4T) in d=4 in momentum space

We elaborate on the structure of the conformal anomaly effective action up to 4-th order, in an expansion in the gravitational fluctuations (h) of the background metric, in the flat spacetime limit. For this purpose we discuss the renormalization of 4-point functions containing insertions of stress-energy tensors (4T), in conformal field theories in four spacetime dimensions with the goal of identifying the structure of the anomaly action. We focus on a separation of the correlator into its transverse/traceless and longitudinal components, applied to the trace and conservation Ward identities (WI) in momentum space. These are sufficient to identify, from their hierarchical structure, the anomaly contribution, without the need to proceed with a complete determination of all of its independent form factors. Renormalization induces sequential bilinear graviton-scalar mixings on single, double and multiple trace terms, corresponding to Rsquare ^{-1} interactions of the scalar curvature, with intermediate virtual massless exchanges. These dilaton-like terms couple to the conformal anomaly, as for the chiral anomalous WIs. We show that at 4T level a new traceless component appears after renormalization. We comment on future extensions of this result to more general backgrounds, with possible applications to non local cosmologies.

Light absorption by interacting atomic gas in quantum optical regime.

Quantum optical theory of absorption properties of interacting atoms is developed. The concept of local absorptance is introduced as a derivative of the logarithm of intensity with respect to the distance in the vicinity of a given spatial point and a moment of time. The intensity is represented by the quantum and statistically averaged normal product of creation and annihilation operators of the electromagnetic field. The development of an analytical method of the estimation for the kinetic and optical parameters for the system is proposed here. The calculation method of the absorption coefficient includes thermal atomic motion, Doppler effect, and the short-range interaction between atoms. The absorption coefficient explicitly takes into account the quantum nature of the optical field. The ability of the system to absorb or emit quanta is quantitatively expressed through the special form of interaction integrals. The specific form of integrals results from the structure of the quantum brackets. The interplay between the collective (virtual photon exchange) and binary (optically induced inter-particle bonding) processes determines the system behavior. The spectral profile of the local absorption coefficient for different atomic densities and time intervals is simulated for realistic parameters.

Exploring teachers’ professional development through participation in virtual exchange

AbstractVirtual exchange (VE) is an umbrella term used to refer to the engagement of groups of students in sustained online intercultural interaction and collaboration with international partners under the guidance of their teachers. In the computer-assisted language learning literature, telecollaboration and eTandem approaches to VE have been researched extensively. However, this research has principally focused to date on learner gains and the impact on teachers has been much less explored. This paper identifies the impact of VE on foreign language teachers’ practices and their professional development by examining the results of a qualitative study of 31 teacher trainers who engaged their classes in VE projects as part of a large-scale European project. The findings of the study suggest that participation in VE projects provides teachers with valuable experience in continued professional development and methodological innovation. In particular, VE was seen to open up opportunities for teachers to develop new professional partnerships, collaborative academic initiatives, to develop their own online collaboration skills, and also to introduce more innovative approaches in their current teaching practice.