Thesis advisor: Gerardo Blanco / Thesis advisor: Rebecca Schendel / As an emergent form of internationalization that incorporates the use of digital technology, virtual exchange offers students the possibility to transcend national borders and connect with other students entirely within a virtual learning environment. Participants in virtual exchange mediate between the physical and virtual worlds, and a sense of place allows them to connect with peers, actively engage with their environment, and achieve learning outcomes. Despite a growing interest in virtual exchange in higher education, however, there is limited research on how students navigate their online learning environment and develop a sense of place. This thesis addresses this gap by exploring how students construct and experience a sense of place while participating in virtual exchange. Focus group interviews were conducted with 29 students participating in virtual exchange through the non-profit provider, Soliya. Using grounded theory, a number of emergent themes were explored, revealing how students understood and situated themselves within both their physical and virtual spaces before, during, and after their virtual exchange. The findings of this study suggest that sense of place is impacted by the environment as well as both individual and communal identity. The results of this study will provide higher education institutions and virtual exchange providers with a better understanding of the construct of sense of place within virtual learning environments and, consequently, how to foster a strong sense of place among virtual exchange participants. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This case study on telecollaboration focuses on Swedish practicing teachers’ attitudes andexperiences with telecollaboration, i.e. an educational tool for communication betweenstudents in different countries to enhance foreign language development and interculturalcompetence. Four Swedish teachers with varying teaching experience were interviewed toshare their experiences of telecollaboration in the earlier school years. The design andimplementation of telecollaborative projects as well as the correspondence with the Swedishcurriculum according to the interviewees will be presented and discussed along with possiblebeneficial outcomes and challenges that might arise in the design and implementation oftelecollaborative projects. These aspects are also compared with findings of previousresearch on telecollaboration in educational settings. Finally, some suggestions for futureresearch in the field is provided.

Um uns mit unseren Dozierenden zu digitalem Lernen und Lernen auszutauschen, haben wir im Herbst 2020 den DIUtalk etabliert. Dies ist ein 14tägiges jeweils einstündiges virtuelles Austauschformat, in welchem Tools und Methoden vorgestellt, ausprobiert und diskutiert werden. Vertiefend haben wir im Februar 2021 den DIUtalk deep dive ins Leben gerufen. Einmal im Monat wird ein zweistündiger Workshop angeboten, um bestimmte Tools tiefgehender betrachten zu können. Für den asynchronen Austausch und das Festhalten von Ideen und Ergebnissen haben wir eine LinkedIn-Gruppe #DIUtalk – die Community für Lehre und Lernen erstellt, die inzwischen 30 Mitglieder umfasst und weiterhin wachsen darf. Zusätzlich gibt es seit September 2021 ein Miro-Board, auf dem alle Ergebnisse der DIUtalks festgehalten werden und jeweils einen auditiven Lernsnack, der ebenfalls auf dem Board verlinkt ist.

This study investigates the intercultural development with young learners from Sweden and New Zealand, when using written telecollaboration as a tool. Telecollaboration; is a tool used for online collaboration, it provides for a possibility of connecting students from across the globe and can function as a supplement to traditional teaching. The exchange, took place over a couple of months, connecting two remote and quite unknown corners of the world, from the students’ perspective. Students shared cultural topics with their peers through the course of two emails each, as well as, creating an overall multimodal presentation of their school. The telecollaborative exchange was done in the quest to develop the students social and self-awareness regarding culture through authentic meetings. The data collected is in the form of mind-maps, multi-choice surveys and unstructured observations. Visible themes, found during the project, is unpacked and analysed in accordance with Byram’s (1997) theoretical model of ICC. These themes are also compared with findings of previous research on telecollaboration in educational settings. The results of the study revealed that a development of the young learners’ intercultural understanding was partially achieved. Furthermore, implications met, was the limitation of time as well as the range of technology available.

The State Department conducts exchange programs for thousands of participants each year to build mutual understanding between the citizens of the United States and other countries. At the beginning of each program, inbound exchange students participate in pre-departure orientations to prepare them for their experiences in the United States. It is vital that these pre-departure orientation programs lay the groundwork for mutual understanding by fostering intercultural sensitivity and developing intercultural competence. For this study, I explored best practices for facilitating intercultural learning online among international students and designed an interactive, facilitated, student-centered, and culturally adapted virtual pre-departure orientation that promotes intercultural learning online. Experts evaluated this course plan and their feedback resulted in lessons learned and recommendations for the development phase of instructional design for this course plan.

[ES] El estudio presentado en esta tesis gira en torno a la implementación de proyectos de telecolaboración para la adquisición de la competencia pragmática y la competencia comunicativa intercultural (CCI) de estudiantes hispanohablantes. En particular, el objetivo es demostrar cómo estas competencias están inextricablemente relacionadas, y una no puede ser adquirida sin la otra. Por esta razón, los participantes del estudio aquí presentado fueron estudiantes de ingeniería aeroespacial, ya que es probable que participen en diálogos interculturales en sus futuras vidas profesionales. La falta de estas dos competencias podría resultar en malentendidos culturales que a su vez podrían afectar su carrera profesional. Para fomentar la competencia pragmática y la CCI de los participantes, se coordinaron tres proyectos telecolaborativos de seis semanas cada uno. El primero fue con hablantes del inglés como primera lengua (L1) o hablantes expertos de la Universidad de Bath (Reino Unido), el segundo con hablantes del inglés como L1 o hablantes expertos de la Universidad de Hawái (EE. UU.), y el tercero con hablantes del inglés como L1 de la Universidad de Morgan State (EE. UU.). Para probar la validez de la implementación de estos tres proyectos se estableció un grupo de control que no participó en ningún encuentro telecolaborativo. Los participantes de los tres intercambios interculturales participaron tanto en sesiones síncronas como asíncronas. En las primeras, los estudiantes realizaron una serie de juegos de rol centrados en el acto de habla de las disculpas, desarrolladas a través de Zoom. Por otra parte, las segundas consistieron en dos debates culturales llevados a cabo en la red social MeWe. Los estudiantes del grupo de control realizaron los juegos de rol con sus compañeros y compañeras de clase en un entorno tradicional, cara a cara, pero no participaron en ningún debate cultural. Los datos se recogieron a través de estas tareas, por medio de pre- y post-test sobre las disculpas, un cuestionario de final de proyecto, y una presentación final que prepararon los tres grupos experimentales. Se adoptó un enfoque de métodos mixtos. Los resultados demuestran que los tres grupos de estudiantes que participaron en los proyectos de telecolaboración excedieron a aquellos del grupo de control en cuanto a la adquisición de disculpas. A pesar de que los resultados pragmáticos no fueron estadísticamente significativos, los estadísticos descriptivos revelaron que los tres grupos mejoraron de pre- a post-test. En particular, el primer grupo obtuvo mejores resultados que los demás. Además, se identificaron ejemplos de desarrollo de la CCI. Los resultados también demuestran que existe una relación empírica entre los logros obtenidos en cuanto a competencia pragmática y CCI, demostrando así la fuerte unión existente entre estas dos competencias. / [CA] L'estudi presentat en aquesta tesi gira al voltant de l'aplicació de projectes telecol·laboratius i l'adquisició de la competència pragmàtica i la competència comunicativa intercultural (CCI) d'estudiants hispanoparlants. En concret, l'objectiu és demostrar com aquestes dues competències estan inextricablement relacionades, i una no pot ser adquirida sense l'altra. Per aquesta raó, els participants de l'estudi presentat ací eren estudiants d'enginyeria aeroespacial, ja que és probable que participen en diàlegs culturals en les seues futures vides professionals. La manca d'aquestes dues competències podria resultar en malentesos culturals que, alhora, podrien afectar les seues carreres professionals. Per a fomentar la competència pragmàtica i la CCI dels participants, es van coordinar tres projectes telecol·laboratius de sis setmanes cadascun. El primer va ser amb parlants d'anglès com a primera llengua o parlants experts de la Universitat de Bath (Regne Unit), el segon amb parlants d'anglès com a L1 o parlants experts de la Universitat de Hawaii (EE.UU.), i el tercer amb parlants d'anglès com a L1 de la Universitat de Morgan State (EE.UU.). Per a testar la validitat de la implementació d'aquests tres projectes, es va establir un grup de control que no va participar en cap encontre telecol·laboratiu. Els participants dels tres intercanvis interculturals van participar tant en sessions síncrones com asíncrones. En les primeres els estudiants van realitzar una sèrie de jocs de rol centrats en l'acte de parla de les disculpes, i es van desenvolupar a Zoom. D'altra banda, les segones consistien en dos debats culturals realitzats a la xarxa social MeWe. Els estudiants del grup de control van realitzar els jocs de rol amb els seus companys i les seues companyes en un entorn tradicional cara a cara, però no van participar en cap discussió cultural. Les dades es van recollir a través d'aquestes tasques, així com pre- i post-test sobre les disculpes, un qüestionari de final de final de projecte, i una presentació final que van preparar els tres grups experimentals. Es va adoptar un enfocament de mètodes mixts. Els resultats demostren que els tres grups d'estudiants que van participar en projectes de telecol·laboració van excedir els del grup de control quant a l'adquisició de disculpes. Encara que els resultats pragmàtics no siguen estadísticament significatius, els estadístics descriptius revelen que els tres grups de control van millorar de pre- a post-test. En concret, el primer grup va obtindre millor resultats que els altres. A més, es van identificar casos de desenvolupament de la CCI. Les troballes també demostren que existeix una relació empírica entre els guanys obtinguts quant a competència pragmàtica i CCI, la qual cosa demostra la forta connexió entre aquestes dues competències. / [EN] The study presented in this dissertation revolves around the application of telecollaboration projects for the acquisition of Spanish-speaking students' pragmatic competence and intercultural communicative competence (ICC). In particular, it aims to demonstrate how these two competences are inextricably interrelated, and one cannot be acquired without the other. For this reason, participants of the study presented here were aerospace engineering students since they are likely to engage in intercultural dialogue in their future professional lives. Lack of these two competencies could result in cultural misunderstandings which could, in turn, affect their professional careers. In order to foster participants' pragmatic competence and ICC, three different six-week telecollaboration projects were coordinated. The first was with first language (L1) or highly proficient English speakers from the University of Bath (UK), the second with L1 or highly proficient speakers from the University of Hawai'i (US), and the third with L1 English speakers from Morgan State University (US). In order to test the validity of the implementation of these three projects, a control group which did not take part in any telecollaborative encounter was set. Participants of the three intercultural exchanges engaged in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. In the former students carried out a series of role-plays centred on the speech act of apologies, and were held on Zoom. On the other hand, the latter consisted of two cultural discussions conducted on the social network MeWe. Students in the control group carried out the role-plays with their classmates in a traditional face-to-face setting but did not engage in any cultural discussions. Data was gathered through these tasks, as well as pre- and post-test on apologies, a final project questionnaire, and a final presentation carried out by the three experimental groups. A mixed-methods approach was adopted. The results demonstrate that the three groups of students who participated in the telecollaboration projects outperformed those in the control group in terms of apologies acquisition. Although pragmatic results were not statistically significant, the descriptive statistics revealed that the three groups improved from pre- to post-test. In particular, the first group obtained better results than the others. Besides, instances of ICC development were identified. The findings also demonstrate that there is an empirical relationship between the gains obtained in terms of pragmatic competence and ICC, thus showing the strong connection between these two competences. / Di Sarno García, S. (2023). The Acquisition of Pragmatic and Intercultural Communicative Competences through Telecollaboration [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/198860