Making Connections

This book is a practical, down-to-earth guide for language teachers interested in running online intercultural exchanges. It is informed by the latest research on language teaching and intercultural telecollaborations, and situated in the reality of classrooms around the world.

Online collaboration can be a powerful means of encouraging language learners to make connections between their local community and people from other cultural backgrounds. In doing so, learners develop their language skills while exploring different attitudes, values and beliefs. The authors of this book draw on 20 years of participation in numerous online intercultural exchanges to offer teachers a down-to-earth guide to finding partners, choosing a platform and designing online exchanges. They share their experience of working with learners to ensure that deep intercultural learning occurs alongside language development. This book offers strategies for mediating conflict with partners and participants, and guidance on the assessment of linguistic and intercultural competences. It is a practical resource for language teachers, informed by the latest research on language teaching and intercultural telecollaborations and situated in the reality of classrooms around the world.

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Introducing Online Intercultural Exchanges

Chapter 2. Finding Partners

Chapter 3. Choosing an Appropriate Platform

Chapter 4. Agreeing Goals

Chapter 5. Ethics, Netiquette and Security

Chapter 6. Initiating Online Discussions: Breaking the Ice

Chapter 7. Designing Online Intercultural Tasks

Chapter 8. Negotiating Identity and Managing Rapport

Chapter 9. The Instructor’s Roles: To Intervene or Not? 

Chapter 10. Coping with Problems

Chapter 11. Organising a Videoconference

Chapter 12. Learners’ Language as Classroom Data

Chapter 13. Assessing Participants’ Performance

Chapter 14. Evaluating an Online Intercultural Exchange

Chapter 15. Developing an Action Research Project

Afterword

References

Index