Informace o publikaci
Designing a Multi-Cultural Video Conferencing Language Programme
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2008 |
| Druh | Další prezentace na konferencích |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | The introduction and use of information and communication technologies in education at university level have accelerated the interest in changes of traditional teaching methods and learning processes towards intercultural skills and competences. Masaryk University in Brno (Czech Republic) is the promoter of the European INVITE (http://invite.lingua.muni.cz/) project (Leonardo da Vinci Programme), whose aim is to facilitate programmes of cooperation between learning groups from different cultures, professional and educational environments and disciplines with multipurpose teaching goals, and to create teaching materials focused on development of intercultural skills within language teaching environment. Masaryk University (MU) and Aberystwyth University (AU) implemented ICT into some of their joint programmes that were generally focused on English as a second language. None of the students involved in the programmes were native speakers of English and the seminar groups facilitated for students of between 2 and 11 nationalities. Moreover, the background cultures of individual students were very diverse, both from European as well as global prospective. The interactive cooperation between these groups of learners included both synchronous (videoconferencing) and asynchronous (e-mail, blog, web-pages) communication, which enhanced the intercultural dynamics of the language learning programme. Thus, cultural knowledge was not taught but acquired through shared experience and student negotiation as a secondary product of language teaching. During the lifetime of a pilot course, new material, course designs and methods were created, tested and analysed as to their relevance and usefulness for language teaching in intercultural environment. Examples of successful designs, materials and methods used in the joint MU/AU programme will be presented and discussed with regards to those areas that may promote intercultural competences. |