This volume introduces Virtual Exchange (VE) as an innovative form of online intercultural learning and investigates the myriad of ways VE is being carried out across universities, ultimately arguing for its integration into university internationalisation policies and course curricula. Against the backdrop of increased digitalisation initiatives throughout universities given the effects of the pandemic, chapters focus not only on providing new research findings, but also on providing a comprehensive introduction and argumentation for the use of VE in university education and also in demonstrating how it can be put into use by both university decision-makers and educators. Reviewing the limitations of the activity, this timely work also fundamentally posits how VE and blended mobility more broadly could be developed in future higher education initiatives. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, scholars, and students involved with Open & Distance Education and eLearning, approaches to internationalisation in education, and the study of higher education more broadly. Those interested in innovative methods for teaching and learning, as well as educational research, will also benefit from this volume.

This volume introduces Virtual Exchange (VE) as an innovative form of online intercultural learning and investigates the myriad of ways VE is being carried out across universities, ultimately arguing for its integration into university internationalisation policies and course curricula. Against the backdrop of increased digitalisation initiatives throughout universities given the effects of the pandemic, chapters focus not only on providing new research findings, but also on providing a comprehensive introduction and argumentation for the use of VE in university education and also in demonstrating how it can be put into use by both university decision-makers and educators. Reviewing the limitations of the activity, this timely work also fundamentally posits how VE and blended mobility more broadly could be developed in future higher education initiatives. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, scholars, and students involved with Open & Distance Education and eLearning, approaches to internationalisation in education, and the study of higher education more broadly. Those interested in innovative methods for teaching and learning, as well as educational research, will also benefit from this volume.

This volume provides a state of the art overview of Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) in university education and demonstrates how educators can use OIE to address current challenges in university contexts such as internationalisation, virtual mobility and intercultural foreign language education. Since the 1990s, educators have been using virtual interaction to bring their classes into contact with geographically distant partner classes to create opportunities for authentic communication, meaningful collaboration and first-hand experience of working and learning with partners from other cultural backgrounds. Online exchange projects of this nature can contribute to the development of learner autonomy, linguistic accuracy, intercultural awareness, intercultural skills and electronic literacies. Online Intercultural Exchange has now reached a stage where it is moving beyond individual classroom initiatives and is assuming a role as a major tool for internationalization, intercultural development and virtual mobility in universities around the globe. This volume reports qualitative and quantitative findings on the impact of OIE on universities in Europe and elsewhere and offers comprehensive guidance on using OIE at both pedagogical and technological levels. It provides theoretically-informed accounts of Online Intercultural Exchanges which will relevant to researchers in Computer Assisted Language Learning, Computer-Mediated Communication, or Virtual Education. Finally, contributors offer a collection of practitioner-authored and practically-oriented case studies for the benefit of teachers of foreign languages or in other subject areas who wish to engage in developing the digital literacy and intercultural competences of their learners.

This volume provides a state of the art overview of Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) in university education and demonstrates how educators can use OIE to address current challenges in university contexts such as internationalisation, virtual mobility and intercultural foreign language education. Since the 1990s, educators have been using virtual interaction to bring their classes into contact with geographically distant partner classes to create opportunities for authentic communication, meaningful collaboration and first-hand experience of working and learning with partners from other cultural backgrounds. Online exchange projects of this nature can contribute to the development of learner autonomy, linguistic accuracy, intercultural awareness, intercultural skills and electronic literacies. Online Intercultural Exchange has now reached a stage where it is moving beyond individual classroom initiatives and is assuming a role as a major tool for internationalization, intercultural development and virtual mobility in universities around the globe. This volume reports qualitative and quantitative findings on the impact of OIE on universities in Europe and elsewhere and offers comprehensive guidance on using OIE at both pedagogical and technological levels. It provides theoretically-informed accounts of Online Intercultural Exchanges which will relevant to researchers in Computer Assisted Language Learning, Computer-Mediated Communication, or Virtual Education. Finally, contributors offer a collection of practitioner-authored and practically-oriented case studies for the benefit of teachers of foreign languages or in other subject areas who wish to engage in developing the digital literacy and intercultural competences of their learners.

This volume provides foreign language educators and classroom researchers with an introduction to online intercultural exchange, the activity of engaging foreign language learners in collaborative project work with partners from other cultures through the use of online communication tools such as email, discussion boards and videoconferencing. The authors use their extensive experience in both the practice and research of online exchange to present a clear overview of the pedagogical theory behind online exchange and its contribution to different aspects of foreign language learning, including communicative competence, intercultural awareness and learner autonomy. The chapters look at different ways of organising such projects, such as the Tandem and Cultura models, and also provide clear discussions on practical aspects of the area including task design, the choice of communication tools and the role of the teacher.

This volume provides foreign language educators and classroom researchers with an introduction to online intercultural exchange, the activity of engaging foreign language learners in collaborative project work with partners from other cultures through the use of online communication tools such as email, discussion boards and videoconferencing. The authors use their extensive experience in both the practice and research of online exchange to present a clear overview of the pedagogical theory behind online exchange and its contribution to different aspects of foreign language learning, including communicative competence, intercultural awareness and learner autonomy. The chapters look at different ways of organising such projects, such as the Tandem and Cultura models, and also provide clear discussions on practical aspects of the area including task design, the choice of communication tools and the role of the teacher.

This book provides a nexus between research and practice through teachers' narratives of their experiences with telecollaboration. The book begins with a chapter outlining the pedagogical and theoretical underpinnings of telecollaboration (also known as Virtual Exchange), followed by eight chapters that explain telecollaborative project design, materials and activities as well as frank discussions of obstacles met and resolved during the project implementation. The projects described in the volume serve as excellent examples for any teacher or education stakeholder interested in setting up their own telecollaborative exchange.