12,630 research outputs found
Introduction
No full textThis introduction to the volume of case studies provides an outline of what virtual exchange is and the context in which the case studies were gathered, as well as providing an overview of the themes that the case studies address in online education and in particular virtual exchange
Interculturality in study abroad
No full textWithin the field of applied linguistics, a new trend in research can be envisaged which links study abroad and intercultural learning (Beaven & Borghetti, 2016): while in the ‘90s much research measured the students’ language gains as a result of their sojourn abroad (Coleman, 2015), after the so-called ‘social turn’ (Block, 2003), the field saw a substantial change in perspective; it shifted the focus towards students’ language socialisation abroad, with the aim of understanding what personal and social factors impact on the students’ language learning (Kinginger, 2009). This is the ground on which applied linguistics and the established domains of intercultural communication and cross-cultural psychology dedicated to SA meet; students’ language use abroad is situated in interpersonal relationships, which have the potential to influence the individual’s intercultural development as much as his or her second language acquisition. Thus, also in agreement with the so-called ‘cultural turn’ in language education (Byram, Holmes & Savvides, 2013), SA as a domain of enquiry within the field of applied linguistics is paying now much attention to intercultural issues concerning study abroad, clearly within a mainly language-oriented perspective (Beaven & Borghetti, 2016)
Introduction to new case studies of openness in and beyond the language classroom
No full textOur previous edited volume, Case studies of openness in the language classroom (Beaven, Comas-Quinn, & Sawhill, 2013), was published in 2013 following the EUROCALL conference “Learning through Sharing: Open Resources, Open Practices, Open Communication” held the previous year in Bologna, Italy. At this event, we realised that the innovative work language practitioners were developing in their teaching had to be shared more widely. The edited volume we published showcased some of the ways in which language practitioners were engaging with the concept of openness and aimed to inspire and encourage teachers to experiment further with open resources and open practices. Five years on, we have decided to revisit our project, and to once more check the pulse of openness in and beyond the language classroom. Our purpose has remained unchanged: to give a voice to practitioners themselves, and bring to the surface some of the excellent and innovative work that language teachers and learners are engaged in
Study Abroad and Interculturality: Perspectives and Discourses
No full textStudy abroad (SA) as a domain of inquiry in the field of Applied Linguistics has been approached from a variety of different perspectives. Although originally focused on measuring the impact of residence abroad on students’ language development, in the last decade the so-called ‘social’ turn in Second Language Acquisition has brought to the fore the importance of socio-cultural aspects of the students’ experiences (such as the amount of contact they have with the local community, their social networks, etc.). This focus on the students’ entire lived experiences in the destination country opened the door to an increased interest in analysing their language encounters in terms of intercultural learning.
This new domain of investigation in SA research, focused on the students’ opportunities for intercultural development while abroad, is varied in terms of perspectives and discourses, as it catalyses the different interests and viewpoints of the various stakeholders, including educational institutions, international political organisations, teachers or the students themselves. This book gathers some of these voices, with contributions on topics such as the features, dynamics, advantages and shortcomings, preparation needs and pedagogical issues relating to student mobility in terms of the participants’ intercultural learning. This book was originally published as a special issue of Language and Intercultural Communication
Lingua francas and learning mobility: Reflections on students’ attitudes and beliefs towards language learning and use
No full textQuesto articolo esamina le convinzioni e atteggiamenti degli studenti universitari in materia di apprendimento e utilizzo delle lingue in contesto di mobilità, quando tali lingue - compreso l’inglese - vengono usate come lingue franche. I dati sono stati raccolti attraverso un questionario somministrato a 141 studenti Erasmus presso un’università italiana. Le domande aperte sono state analizzate con un approccio costruttivista ispirato alla grounded theory; i risultati sono stati quindi verificati sui dati quantitativi. Lo scopo dell’analisi era distinguere le convinzioni degli intervistati (le credenze esplicite che influenzano le modalità di apprendimento) e gli atteggiamenti che operano al di sotto del livello di consapevolezza. I risultati riguardano tre aree: (1) l'apparente contraddizione tra ciò che gli intervistati credono (convinzioni) e i loro atteggiamenti per quanto riguarda le opportunità di apprendimento linguistico offerto dal comunicare tramite lingue franche; (2) la loro implicita messa in discussione del nesso lingua-cultura; infine, (3) le dinamiche connesse alla scelta e alla negoziazione del codice.This paper explores higher education students’ beliefs and attitudes concerning language learning and use in the context of learning mobility, when lingua francas - including English - are used. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 141 Erasmus students at an Italian University. The open-ended questions were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach, and findings checked against the quantitative data. The analysis aimed at distinguishing between respondents’ beliefs, i.e. overt convictions which influence learning behaviour, and attitudes operating below the level of awareness. Findings address three main issues: (1) the apparent contradiction between the respondents’ attitudes and beliefs with regard to the opinion that lingua francas offer valuable language-learning opportunities; (2) their implicit questioning of the language-culture nexus; finally, (3) the study sheds light on code choice and negotiation
IEREST public final report
No full textMore than 25 years after the launch of the Erasmus Programme, fostering youth mobility and developing the intercultural competencies of the younger generation remain crucial issues within Europe. The IEREST project met these needs by developing, testing and disseminating an Intercultural Path (namely, a set of teaching modules) to be provided to Erasmus students before, during, and after their experience abroad, in order to encourage learning mobility, support students and enable them to benefit as much as possible from their international experiences in terms of personal growth and intercultural competencies. Besides developing the intercultural education resources for the teaching modules, the project aimed to foster the institutionalization of the Intercultural Paths within HEIs, in order to make the practice of providing Erasmus students with intercultural services the rule rather than the exception.
IEREST was carried out by five partners (University of Bologna; Durham University; University of Savoy Mont Blanc, Chambéry; University of Primorska, Koper; University of Leuven), which had complementary expertise, ranging from study abroad, Erasmus mobility and internationalisation, to intercultural education and communication, and intercultural language education. The project also involved three associate partners, representing the main IEREST target users: students (AEGEE-Europe), teachers (AEDE-Hungary) and international affairs officers and stakeholders (Thomas More Kempen, Belgium).
With the aim of developing a research-based Intercultural path which would also respond to the real needs of mobile students, teachers, and HEIs, a multifaceted project methodology was set up: firstly, an extensive review of the three target users’ needs (including a student questionnaire which obtained 3,152 responses) was carried out; then the partners designed, piloted and tested the activities in four different partner institutions; finally, the activities were fine-tuned and published online as open educational resources.
Overall, ten teaching activities were designed, divided into three modules, the first to be taught before departure, the second while the students are abroad, and the third upon return. The IEREST activities do not prepare students to adapt to a specific place, by providing practical information on given institutions, cities or countries. Rather, the aim is to make students aware of what is involved in intercultural communication, by for example promoting the ideas that people are different but also similar across and within countries, and have multiple identities. All activities, together with additional materials and services, are freely downloadable from the IEREST website (http://ierest-project.eu/) and Humbox page (http://humbox.ac.uk/group/19), and are published under the ‘Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike’ Creative Commons Licence.
But the IEREST partnership did not end with the publication of the resources: the partners will continue their capillary dissemination, by publishing papers and additional resources, engaging in teacher training, and maintaining the professional relationships established during the project lifecycle with educational stakeholders - as these can make the difference in terms of the sustainability of the results
IEREST public progress report
No full textMore than 25 years after the launch of the Erasmus Programme, fostering youth mobility and developing the intercultural competencies of the younger generation remain crucial issues within Europe. The IEREST project meets these needs by developing, testing and disseminating an Intercultural Path (namely, a set of teaching modules) to be provided to Erasmus students before, during, and after their experience abroad, in order to encourage learning mobility, support students and enable them to benefit as much as possible from their international experiences in terms of personal growth and intercultural competencies. Besides developing the intercultural education resources for the teaching modules, the project aims to make such teaching activities freely available on the Internet under the ‘Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike’ Creative Commons Licence, and to foster the institutionalization of the Intercultural Paths within HEIs, in order to make the practice of providing Erasmus students with intercultural services the rule rather than the exception. These two objectives are the best guarantee of IEREST’s sustainability.
The project has three main target users: potential, future, present and past Erasmus students, teachers in higher education, and HEIs’ stakeholders and policy makers.
IEREST is carried out by seven partners (University of Bologna; Durham University; University of Savoy, Chambéry; University of Helsinki; University of Primorska, Koper; University of Leuven; the Open University), which have complementary expertise, ranging from study abroad, Erasmus mobility and internationalisation, to intercultural education and communication, intercultural language education, and open education. The project has also three associate partners, which represent the main IEREST target users: students (AEGEE-Europe), teachers (AEDE-Hungary) and international affairs officers and stakeholders (T.M.Kempen).
Initially, the project mainly focused on obtaining a multi-faceted overview of the needs of the target users with respect to intercultural education for studying abroad. This overview was conducted by means of cycles of literature review, a student questionnaire (3,152 responses) and three focus groups, each with representatives of a different target group. The overall study provided crucial input for the design of the teaching activities.
At present, four pre-departure teaching activities for Module 1 have been completed, and are designed to promote the ideas that people are different but also similar across and within countries, and have multiple identities. These are being tested in five of the IEREST partner institutions. They will then be fine-tuned and published online.
The same overall implementation methodology will be used for the modules to be taught when students are abroad and upon their return (the piloting will take place respectively in autumn 2014 and spring 2015).
The project website and newsletter are the main sources of information about the project objectives and outcomes. The newsletter subscription form is available through the website: http://ierest-project.eu/
The Linkedup Project: an online repository for language teachers
No full textLinkedUp is a repository of open educational resources (OER) aimed at language teachers and learners between 4-19 years. The main aim of the project was to tackle the shortage of free high quality online materials. The author examines how the use of technology and a ‘learner-centred’ approach led to the creation of engaging new learning activities. During the creative process, emphasis was placed on collaboration and openness with participants encouraged to share ideas throughout the project. This case study focuses on one project whose aim was to combine language learning with business studies and illustrates how learners, through a mixture of formal and informal activities and settings, contributed to the creation of the learning materials. It reports on how this creative engagement led to an increase in both the learners’ participation in the learning experience and in their appreciation of the importance of gaining transferable skills. At the end of the project a collection of reusable and adaptable digital and interactive materials was added to the site. This case study is part of a growing body of research on how the OER movement is democratising learning. However, as many of these projects still rely on short-term external funding, concerns are expressed about whether OER repositories are sustainable in the long term
Monitoring class interaction to maximise intercultural learning in mobility contexts
No full textStudy abroad research has shown that intercultural preparation – before, during and after - helps students make the most of their intercultural experiences abroad. However, the impact of such preparation still needs investigation. The present chapter focuses on classroom interactions in the context of an intercultural communication course for mobile students carried out during their international study programme at the University of Bologna. The aim of the study was to explore, using conversation analysis and on the basis of student-student interactions, if it was possible to identify Potential Intercultural Learning Sequences, and what classroom dynamics may have encouraged (or hindered) the intercultural development process of the learners
'Your language development': harnessing openness to integrate independent language learning into the curriculum
No full textThe first module of the online Master of Arts (MA) in Translation at the Open University, Introduction to Translation Theory and Practice, includes a language development strand which encourages students to diagnose their own language development needs and introduces them to tools, resources, strategies, and learning communities that will enable them to independently develop their language skills in both their L1 and their L2, and to consider language development as part of their ongoing professional development as translators, mirroring the practice of many professionals. This chapter consider the extent to which the language development activities and practices can be considered ‘open’
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