Intercultural English Language Exchange

UF Faculty: Christine Voigt Department: English Language Institute College: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences	Partner Faculty: Yuddy Perez Department: Language Institute Partner Institution: Universidad del Norte

Project details
Title:	Crossing Cultural Borders: Intercultural English Language Exchange
Project Description:	This virtual exchange project is an interactive collaboration between adult learners of English at Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, and the English Language Institute at the University of Florida. Students develop their skills using the English language through conversational and academic language, classroom discussion, writing, presentation, and sharing about the educational culture in a variety of locations around the world. Our online collaboration serves to connect students internationally and provide opportunities that will foster cultural exchange through structured discussion of culturally-bound topics. We examine how peers from different cultural backgrounds experience the world, helping to develop the linguistic skills in both formal and informal contexts when interacting with diverse English speakers and international collaborative skills needed for successful intercultural communication in a variety of settings.
Learning Outcomes:	By the end of this VE, students will be able to: Ask and answer questions about their own and other cultures Discuss and write about international issues using appropriate language Communicate effectively with group members in formal and informal situations Present about a cultural issue Compose an essay about a cultural topic Articulate their cultural perspectives in speech and writing
Participating Countries:	Colombia
Number of Participants:	14 UF students and 21 students from the partner institution
Discipline:	English as a Second Language
UF Course Code & Name:	Varies - intermediate to advanced proficiency levels -
Project Duration:	8 weeks
Activity Type(s):	Student-to-Student Dialogue Student-to-Student Project
Time allotted to each activity:	Synchronous activities: 1-2 hours/week Asynchronous activities: 2-3 hours/week Local group activities: 2-4 hours/week Individual work: 1 hour/week
Technology Tools:	Zoom Canvas Flipgrid Padlet
Sequence of Activities:	Week 0: Prepare for VE Determine interests/needs Partner students and discuss how VE will integrate with class Week 1: Getting Started What is VE? Set expectations setting & group norms Week 2: Exploring Cultural Identity What is identity? How does culture interact with language? Create Cultural identity maps Week 3: Celebrations Share celebrations from your country and compare/contrast significant celebrations Week 4: Protests Why and how do people protest? Causes/Effects of significant protests Week 5-6: Intercultural Projects Developing a website and creating content Week 7: Present projects Week 8: Reflect Individual reflections and class discussions OPEN FILE