International Center University of Florida

In this project, students were partnered up between a class focused on career development from the University of Brighton and a class on global perspectives of communicating soccer from the University of Florida. Students discussed and compared how soccer is reported in each country. In small groups, the students were able to engage culturally around how sports reporting and soccer in particular differs between the two countries. This project earned a recognition for Innovation of the Year in the 2020 National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence competition and second place in the 2022 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) International Communication Division Teaching Competition.

An in depth explanation of the project and its impact on students’ intercultural competence, is available through the publication below:

Coche R. Course Internationalization Through Virtual Exchange: Students’ Reflections About “Seeing the World Through the Lens That is Soccer.” Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. May 2021. 

Abstract

Virtual exchange (VE) is an emergent but promising trend in course internationalization, which consists of using technology to interact and work with another class located in another city/country to develop digital skills and intercultural competence. After a VE project was implemented in a sports-related communication course, students reflected on their experience in a short paper or a video. This case study is a qualitative analysis of these 17 reflections. Despite some complications, students indicated they learned much about cultural differences and would be keen to repeat the VE experience.

• Compare and contrast how soccer is reported in each country
• Expand global perspectives on journalism surrounding soccer
• Develop cultural self-awareness and communicate effectively across cultures through working virtually with other country classroom students