ABSTRACT
Some of the simplest affordances of study abroad became unavailable when students stayed stateside because of the pandemic-induced disruptions to international travel. These ranged from touring city and historical/cultural landmarks, having spontaneous and chance interactions with locals, participating in the performance of traditions and practices, visiting homes, engaging in "domestic" activities with host families and local peers, and developing a sense of community with other fellow students. This paper reports on three alternate, virtual cultural activities that were launched during the pandemic between a U.S. university and its study abroad partner institution in Morocco in order to help compensate for the health disruption. Survey responses, cultural products, and reflections from 118 participants were collected for this study over two Arabic summer intensive programs at the stateside university. The study explores the effectiveness of these activities in promoting intercultural competence and student engagement during this period and speculates on how they can be integrated into the regular programming post-pandemic in order to further enhance immersion.
ABSTRACT
The author--in the role of one teacher observing another--documented a spring 2021 remote introductory art history course during the COVID-19 pandemic when graduate student teaching assistants called a campus-wide strike. Forced to improvise, the professor replaced formal analysis papers and exams with an ungraded journal. Drawing from the content of these journals, notes from the Zoom classes, and email correspondence with the professor, the author explicates how students took this journal assignment as an invitation to respond personally to the course content, and as an opportunity to grapple with their own identities. These journals allowed students to use art to explore similarities and differences freely across culture, space, and time. With the traditional requirement for an academic argument temporarily on pause, the author raises questions that characterize our present day: how to encourage a world that accepts different identities without hostility.
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We are moving toward a future in which digital practices are becoming more ubiquitous. Also, there is evidence to suggest that innovative digital practices are changing the face of 21st-century learning environments. Critical to 21st-century teaching and learning success is continued emphasis on learner preferences, shaped by innovative digital technology-driven learning environments alongside teacher awareness, knowledge, and preparedness to deliver high-impact instruction using active learning pedagogies. Thus, the purposeful and selective use of digital learning tools in higher education and the incorporation of appropriate active learning pedagogies are pivotal to enhancing and supporting meaningful student learning. "Innovative Digital Practices and Globalization in Higher Education" explores innovative digital practices to enhance academic performance for digital learners and prepare qualified graduates who are competent to work in an increasingly global digital workplace. Global competence has become an essential part of higher education and professional development. As such, it is the responsibility of higher education institutions to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to compete in the digital and global market. Covering topics such as design thinking, international students, and digital teaching innovation, this premier reference source is an essential resource for pre-service and in-service teachers, educational technologists, instructional designers, faculty, administrators, librarians, researchers, and academicians.
ABSTRACT
In times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of online platforms for teaching purposes accelerated, and remote learning and teaching gained ground in the field of Translation & Interpreting Studies (TIS). In this paper, we discuss the curriculum design of JurDist, a master's course in legal translation, which has been offered as an online course for the language combinations Norwegian - English/French/German/Spanish since 2013. We describe, in detail, today's curriculum and discuss modifications to the teaching, implemented in the spring semester of 2021. The modifications aim at improving the students' performance in accordance with current research in translation theory (i.e., translation competence development) and in line with current approaches to learning and teaching (e.g., taxonomies describing different levels and kinds of understanding). Consequently, the curriculum design and the modified approach to teaching aim at enhancing the students' professional skills in the field of legal translation. Although this teaching approach is applicable to both online teaching and the physical classroom, we describe its implementation in an online teaching environment only. Online teaching in all its facets has come to stay, also within TIS. We contribute to this development with our experience in teaching specialized translation online since 2013, which predates the recent pandemic.
ABSTRACT
This research provides critical, comparative insights into the public communication responses employed by Australia and New Zealand during the first twelve months following the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. The two nations share a similar socio-political and cultural context, but despite being highlighted by the international media as early success stories, their public communication responses to the pandemic showed noteworthy differences. Borrowing from cultural studies, this paper applies the circuit of culture model and offers a snapshot in time that reinforces the importance of socio-cultural awareness when communicating intricate and challenging information. It supports the idea that a range of effective solutions to complex communication challenges are possible and may result in a similar outcome, including strengthened identities and national pride during uncertain times.
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Recent years of the Covid-19 pandemic have seen a proportional increase in the amount of time we spend in our homes each day. In spite of this, urban dwellers continue to spend-although varying from area to area of the world-many hours outside their homes for work, daily needs, recreation, and social relationships. This implies that the urban environment, both tangible and intangible, has several factors that can be both protective and risky for health. As highlighted in the 2016 Quito Conference, health can be the pulse of the new urban agenda for sustainable urban development [1]. It is not easy to take stock of where we are. On a global scale, there still seems to be a limited ethical-cultural awareness, a lack of political attention and thus of resource allocation, an insufficient capacity to use innovative choices and technologies and to actively involve local communities in decision-making processes and in the implementation of possible interventions. On the other hand, there are numerous positive experiences of urban realities that have produced convincing efforts in recent decades to make our cities more livable and healthy. Let us hope that the 2030 agenda proposed by the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goals can really exert a driving role in this direction. A real willingness to set in motion virtuous processes to guarantee us a better quality of urban life, including by agreeing to revise our development and consumption patterns, will make all the difference. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual care as a modality for home-based care delivery to individuals and cohorts who might not otherwise have access. While a number of positive outcomes have been reported, rapid growth has occurred without critical consideration of clinician education and training. Little is known about the curricular and pedagogical requirements for educating current and future clinicians in virtual care provision. This review was informed by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage methodological framework for scoping reviews, first published in 2005. Using a clearly articulated search strategy and reporting process, over 4000 pieces of literature were analysed to inform this review. A final 17 papers were included. Common themes emerging in relation to curricula content include the basics of virtual care, cultural awareness, interprofessional collaboration/training, telepresence, encompassing non-verbal, verbal and environmental considerations, and virtual care clinical skills. Standalone modules are recommended for delivering ‘the basics' of virtual care, while the interactive/participative approach is endorsed as an appropriate method of instruction. The reviewed literature reviewed offers a set of core inclusions and pedagogical approaches for a virtual care education program, although these are often mentioned in general terms and are not always well described. Moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care education for current and future clinicians requires a consistent and cohesive approach to curricula and pedagogies. These approaches should be rigorously evaluated as part of a continuous quality improvement process.
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Since 2009, Bentley University has engaged in assessment of intercultural effectiveness in undergraduate students. The instrument used was the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale, which measures six dimensions using a self-report instrument. The longitudinal data analysis showing results in correlation and causation indicated that while international education experiences have a significant positive effective on Global Mindset, they do not indicate a positive significant effect on other dimensions of intercultural effectiveness (Berdrow, Woolford, Skaletsky, Bird, 2020). In 2018, Bentley University engaged in a curriculum design process to re-envision its undergraduate core curriculum. Taking the opportunity to apply lessons from the assessment of intercultural effectiveness, a component of the new design was the Global Experience. This paper briefly outlines the assessment initiative and the curriculum design outline, with an emphasis on the creation of the Bentley Global Experience Initiative, a comprehensive program supporting faculty and students.
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I examine the problematic issue of identifying as a 'linguist' for graduates who have studied languages, in an employability context. I challenge them to reframe their identity as 'global graduates', with reference to the competencies outlined in the "Global Graduates into Global Leaders" report (NCUB, 2011). In the process, I also demonstrate why a truly global graduate needs also to be a linguist, in spite of the hegemony of English as a global "lingua franca," and in the context of Brexit. I provide a framework for use by students, with support from educators, to translate their skill sets and experiences into the language of employers. I hope that this will provide a clear guide to the importance not just of developing, but also articulating cogently a range of competencies which are transferable to the global economy and global society, and a convincing argument for the importance of language and intercultural skills within that portfolio. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]
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This piece offers a reflection on how language learning and multicultural studies during the pandemic have highlighted the potential to help communities draw parallels with, and face wider issues concerning, minorities within a challenged society. Through storytelling, a novel approach to teaching and learning helps students find their voice and become active agents of change. A review of teaching and learning methods may bring about improvements both in academia and individual circumstances to help bridge the gap between loneliness and the need to be part of a wider social community. This article reiterates the importance of language learning, cultural understanding, and identity as useful employability skills for the new global graduates to support, rebuild, and unite communities especially in challenging times. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]
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As the world takes two steps forward toward normalcy, typically followed by a step backward into pandemic mode, the truism that faculty success leads to student success probably has never been more resonant. To achieve professional success, faculty need a culture--along with a budget--to try out new, innovative ideas. Both at the individual campus or district level, as well as statewide, community colleges are working to make these sorts of initiatives happen.
ABSTRACT
During this COVID-19 pandemic, no one can deny the value of online communication. It has saved our lives by preventing us from going outdoors and becoming infected, while also facilitating achievement of various personal and professional goals. Online communication can also assist us with our academic goals, whether it is used to communicate with supervisors or with people from other lingua-cultural backgrounds to practice the language. This form of communication is emphasized in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) framework, which is one of the most significant guidelines for language teaching and learning throughout the world. The present research has two aims: first, to determine the extent to which CEFR-based online intercultural communication can improve Thai students' communicative language competence, and second, to investigate Thai students' attitudes toward CEFR-based online intercultural communication and international volunteers. The results received from 15 fifth-year dual B.A. (Chinese) and B.CM. (Traditional Chinese Medicine) students and international volunteers using various research instruments revealed that Thai students could increase their communicative language competence after participating in CEFR-based intercultural communication activities. This encompassed linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic abilities that correspond to the CEFR (2001) scales. In terms of attitudes, the study indicated that, because they were more confident in their communicative language ability, they had a positive attitude toward the CEFR-based online intercultural communication activities and their international volunteers. Finally, further research on this topic should include a proper design of online communication activities as well as methods for assessing students' competency both before and after participation.
ABSTRACT
Pre COVID-19 there were a growing number of opportunities for study abroad across higher education in the United States, (Rosch & Haber-Curran, 2013, Martinez, 2012). This paper aims to examine phenomena surrounding outcomes of student abroad experiences while centering students' leadership learning. Centering leadership learning as a framework, findings indicate participants in the study grew in the of areas of leadership efficacy and capacity through the short-term study abroad.
ABSTRACT
The number of students expanding their academic programs to include learning experiences abroad had been, prior to the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, steadily increasing over the past two decades. This mixed-method study investigates the cultural identification of short-term study abroad participants and its influence on their acculturation process. Quantitative data from a widely-used acculturation scale were collected from participants before and after the program. In addition, qualitative data from participants' journals were examined, elucidating the role the study abroad experience played in their cultural identification. This investigation revealed statistically significant effects of cultural experiences on cultural identification, specifically decreases in cultural identification scores. This study supports the concept of cultural identification as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy. Implications suggest that a deeper understanding of students' cultural identifications can be helpful in developing study abroad programs that promote the goals of student awareness, cultural sensitivity, and global competence.
ABSTRACT
Despite increased emphasis on the role of inclusive practices and materials in post-COVID-19 classrooms and warnings about implicit biases against disadvantaged groups, the textbook problem has rarely been approached with equity measures in mind. This multimethod study aimed to investigate to what extent L2 reading materials, locally produced and used for refugee education in Turkey and New Zealand, include all children with different proficiency levels, gender identities and cultural backgrounds using corpus-driven methods. All verbal and nonverbal texts from ten thematically similar third-grade storybooks were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Comparisons against measures of grammatical and lexical complexity, and of gender and cultural equity revealed that despite both being far from achieving the ideal composition for creating inclusive learning-friendly environments, TSL materials were lagging further behind ESL counterparts. They depended on almost uniform sets of easy-to-read narratives embodying simpler grammatical features and high-frequency words, and thus needed extension with relatively elaborate ones to accommodate mixed-abilities. Gender disparities were institutionalised through male overrepresentation in hero-making, negative stereotyping, familial and occupational identification, and engagement in monetary and mobility activities, but occasionally ameliorated, in the ESL case, by reversing conventionally-gendered domestic, technical and intellectual skills in texts and illustrations. The widest gap was observed in cultural representations because TSL materials, written from a tourist's perspective, focused on imposing superficial knowledge of target-culture elements, and ESL materials on ensuring relevance through greater use of elements from diverse cultures. Therefore, egalitarian representations in gendered and cultural contents are required for their rehabilitation.
ABSTRACT
Student learning outcomes assessment, when done right, is an ongoing and systematic process. Faculty and staff for leadership education programs often struggle to develop a comprehensive approach to assess the effectiveness of their programs, especially when those programs are offered through multiple modes of instruction. One department at a Midwestern public university has developed a thorough, five-stage process which any leadership education program can follow, regardless of size or method of delivery. This department considers three modes of instruction, including face-to-face on a traditional American campus, asynchronous online, and face-to-face at foreign universities via international partnerships. This manuscript describes the comprehensive process and offers readers considerations for implementation at their own institution.
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally accelerated distance learning. Students who wish to create new businesses pursue collaborative learning in a cross-cultural environment. However, the research on the effect of collaborative learning on such courses is scant. This study investigated the changes in students' entrepreneurial competencies and cross-cultural knowledge, skills, and abilities before and after participating in an online global career course and the differences between students from three Canadian universities and a Japanese university in collaborative online international learning (COIL). Survey data were collected from June to August 2021, before and after the course, from 33 participants. The questionnaire survey was based on the five main categories of knowledge, problem-solving skills, communication skills, cross-cultural understanding and teamwork skills, and confidence and motivation. The results revealed statistically significant differences in all the categories before and after the course. Considering the effect sizes, all five categories except for confidence and motivation improved following the course, showing that both the individual and the collaborative learning in the course design worked well in the COIL approach. Although most of the students lacked a business background, they could understand the basic frameworks for business planning through self-study in the asynchronous sessions and considered the tasks and solutions in the synchronous collaboration stage. Furthermore, the students from the Canadian universities performed well in all five categories and the students from the Japanese university performed well in four categories. Considering the budget and accessibility, students' learning outcomes in COIL have a positive effect on their understanding of global careers.
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International students contribute to the academic and cultural life of universities yet they often face discrimination and isolation. Studies highlight that support from the host students can make the difference between an easy or difficult transition. This article is part of a larger project about host student perceptions of international students. Initial analysis indicated that social interactions among international and host students do not become intertwined informally and work best through planned interventions. During the pandemic institutions transitioned from face-to-face to online learning using zoom. We noticed a marked increase in interaction among students online and returned to our research participants to enquire what differences online learning had made to their intercultural experiences. This study focuses on the impact of Virtual Classrooms (VCs) on intercultural relationships, and shows that VCs offers a platform for increased interaction compared to face-to-face classrooms.
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Learners of a second language often have limited access to the native culture of that language in an authentic way, resulting in them committing linguistic and intercultural mistakes. One of the main advantages of task-based learning is that it can expose students to real-world circumstances, which makes learning a language more meaningful and inclusive of appropriate language behaviour. Task-based learning has become an accepted method for learning a language in face-to-face classroom environments, but its applicability to online learning is largely unaddressed. The author proposed well-organised online role-plays based on a task-based approach involving native speakers, which helped students interact in an authentic way and demonstrate their understanding of culture. The author conducted the research to increase intercultural pragmatic competencies in online L2 classrooms regarding common pragmatic speech acts as to not only increase their pragmatic competency but to also motivate students. The students from the online experimental group who were exposed to task-supported role-plays performed better than the online control group of students, however, student motivation was only mildly impacted. Thus, pragmatics and interculturality can be effectively taught in online L2 classrooms through task-supported learning, though motivation may require longer interventions.