Internationalization, the process of incorporating an international and multicultural dimension into university instruction, has become one of the primary trends behind higher education worldwide. It gives institutions access to a vast worldwide pool of prospective foreign students and addresses how to best prepare them for success in a globalized workplace. As a result, it has become essential for universities to provide learning opportunities that cultivate the skills necessary for thriving in an interconnected and digitalized world. One such educational innovation known as virtual exchange refers to diverse practices that engage students in online cross-cultural communication and collaboration with international peers from different cultural backgrounds as part of their academic programs. This chapter synthesizes the findings from 27 studies involving university students, and examines the role of virtual exchange in advancing the internationalization of language learning instruction in the following areas: inclusivity, language and intercultural competence development, digital literacy, and global citizenship development. It emerges from the data analyzed that virtual exchange represents a transformative approach to internationalizing university language education, enabling university students to develop linguistic, intercultural, and digital competencies within an inclusive and innovative learning environment.

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Facilitating Internationalization of Language Education through Virtual Exchange

  • Barbara Loranc

摘要

Internationalization, the process of incorporating an international and multicultural dimension into university instruction, has become one of the primary trends behind higher education worldwide. It gives institutions access to a vast worldwide pool of prospective foreign students and addresses how to best prepare them for success in a globalized workplace. As a result, it has become essential for universities to provide learning opportunities that cultivate the skills necessary for thriving in an interconnected and digitalized world. One such educational innovation known as virtual exchange refers to diverse practices that engage students in online cross-cultural communication and collaboration with international peers from different cultural backgrounds as part of their academic programs. This chapter synthesizes the findings from 27 studies involving university students, and examines the role of virtual exchange in advancing the internationalization of language learning instruction in the following areas: inclusivity, language and intercultural competence development, digital literacy, and global citizenship development. It emerges from the data analyzed that virtual exchange represents a transformative approach to internationalizing university language education, enabling university students to develop linguistic, intercultural, and digital competencies within an inclusive and innovative learning environment.