Online Cafés for Heritage Learners

----The different parametersThe Cultura Project,

the Italy-USA Exchange, the USA-Spain exchange

-----NFLRC – University of Hawai‘i

June 17, 2008

Topics overview

Overall goalsPartnersLevel of language abilityLanguage(s) of exchangeModes of communicationMotivationTimeframe(Role of Teacher)

The original Cultura exchange (at MIT)

The overall goals Have students understand the values, attitudes, beliefs and concepts inherent in another culture; understand how people in the other culture interact, look at the world and frame their thoughts and ideas.

The original Cultura exchange

The partnersA French class at M.I.T.An English class at a French University

1st partner: Ecole Supérieure d’Aéronautique in Toulouse (1997-1998)

Institut National des Télécommunications (INT) at Evry

The University of Paris IIEcole Polytechnique

At MIT, Cultura is the only component of the course while it often is one among several components in the French course.

The original Cultura exchange

Levels of language ability At MIT: a third semester French language class

In France: an advanced English class

The uneven linguistic abilities do not matter since students communicate in their “native language”, putting them on a completely equal footing.

The original Cultura exchange

The language usedOn both sides: the “native” language in all forums (except for the “coffee break” forum) throughout the semesterRationale: Besides putting all students on an equal footing, this is the only way students can fully explain their own culture and ask complex, in-depth questions (= without being limited by their linguistic abilities).We also felt this was also the best way to reach our stated goals.

The original Cultura exchange

Modes of communicationMost of the time: asynchronous online discussion forums

Occasionally: videoconferencingRecently: a physical exchange was organized between two students from each class (the Shadowing Project), with them writing about their experience in blogs.

The original Cultura exchange

The motivationsAt MIT: an integral part of the course

In the French institutions, it was highly dependent on how the teacher would present the exchange (were the students told or just encouraged to participate in the forums? what happened if students did not participate?)

The original Cultura exchange

The time frame : Several weeks during a semester (usually eight) - or as long as a the different academic calendars would allow.

The Italy-USA exchange

Overall goals:1 - to improve students' intercultural competence (awareness of their own culture and familiarity with the 'other' culture)

2 - to improve their writing and speaking abilities in the language they are studying by communicating via Skype and forums with students in the other country

3 - to improve their intercultural communication skills by communicating with peers from another country.

The Italy-USA exchange

The partners In Italy (The University of Padova): Masters’ level students in an advanced English class in “Foreign Languages for International Communication”, at the U. of Padova, Italy

In the US (Dickinson College, Pennsylvania)Undergraduate students in an Italian intensive writing course focusing on the history and culture of Italy

The exchange was the major part of the course for the students at Padova, but only a component of the writing course at Dickinson.

For more information, see the website (under partners)

The Italy-USA exchange

Level of language abilityThe Italian students were highly proficient in English (Master’s level)

The American students were second year students of Italian

One interesting observation (from the American teacher in Padova): the Italian students, who generally tend to use complex vocabulary and structures when writing in their own language, simplified their writing when communicating with the American students in Italian.

The Italy-USA exchangeThe language(s) of the exchange

For the online discussion forums: one forum a week in English from the Italian students and one in Italian from the American students per week.

Also: when an article about the US was discussed, everyone wrote in English, when an article about Italy was dicusssed, everyone wrote in Italian

For the Skype exchanges: the first half-hour everyone speaks English, for the second, everyone speaks Italian.

For the wiki final project: 50% in Italian, 50% in English. 25% will be written by the American student in Italian, 25% by the Italian students in Italian and 50% by the Italian students in English.

The Italy-USA exchange

Modes of communication

Asynchronous online discussion forums

Blogs

Skype conversations (once a week)

Wikis for collaborative writings (for end-of-semester final projects)

The Italy-USA exchange

The motivationsOn the Italian side:

very broad motivation: using foreign languages for international communication

On the American side: More specific motivation: having students from Italy add an authentic and contemporary dimension on specific cultural events and issues

The Italy-USA exchange

The time frame: Several weeks (about eight) within a semester, depending on the respective academic calendars

The Spanish High School exchange

Overall goal:to better prepare students for a live exchange between their respective schools and give them the opportunity to:

reflect in advance about each other’s culture

get to know each other before meeting

The Spanish High School exchange

The partners In the US: The Commonwealth School in Boston (a private high school)

In Spain: a private junior high/high school outside of Madrid

The exchange was one component only of the Spanish program at the Commonwealth School and the English program in Spain

The Spanish teacher in the US was completely free to make as much room as she wanted for the online exchange while the English teacher had serious academic constraints (preparing for exams)

The Spanish High School exchange

Level of language abilityThe American students were taking a Spanish 2 level course - the last course before taking literature classes.

The Spanish students belonged to several different classes (one being at a junior high level), ranging from second year to advanced students. Different classes dealt with different topics (the topic of family being tackled by the junior high school students, the topic of immigration by older and more advanced students)

The Spanish High School exchange

The language(s) of the exchange:

In the online discussion forums, students were asked to initially use their native language, then encouraged to increasingly use the target language as the year progressed.

In the chats, they could write in whatever language they wanted.

The Spanish High School exchange

Modes of communication

Asynchronous online discussion forums (during specific periods, as prompted by the teachers) to talk about specific subjects

Chats (any time) to talk about anything

Video conferences had been planned but technical problems were encountered.

The Spanish High School online exchange

The motivationsOn both sides: preparing for a live exchange between studentsOn the American side:

Getting students to know and explore the other culture in depth

On the Spanish side: Making sure that the topics selected matched those in the textbooks

The Spanish High School exchange

The time frame: A whole school year, but only two weeks devoted to the exchange on each topic (namely eight weeks total during the year)

To summarize

Many variations in terms of:The partnersLanguage abilityChoice of language for communicationModes of communicationMotivation

The biggest challenge: to try and create one common space (the online space) where both sides achieve their goals, however different those may be.