Widening language and pedagogical pe spec i es h ough
Vi ual Exchange
Alexand a Reynolds, Uni e si é de Bo deaux, F ance
ORCID 0000-0001-9758-5735
Abs ac
Academic i ual exchanges p o ide oppo uni ies o mee wi h inc easing demands on
highe educa ion es ablishmen s o in e na ionalize (O’Dowd, 2016; Helm, 2016). The
p esen s udy conside s an example o in e na ionaliza ion o home s uden s a
Bo deaux Uni e si y, F ance, who pa icipa ed in he E asmus + Vi ual Exchange
p og amme om 2019-21. E asmus i ual exchange enables s uden s o pa icipa e in
s udy mobili y p og ammes wi hou ha ing o physically a el ab oad o engage in
in e cul u al communica i e si ua ions. The E asmus Vi ual Exchange p og amme
(EVE), which ocused on he heme o Cul u al Encoun e s, ma ks he new ‘c i ical’ u n
in in e cul u al exchange (O’Dowd, 2016; Helm, 2016). In his con ex , F ench speaking
Chemis y Mas e s s uden s in e ac ed in English on his opic ia weekly 2-hou
webina s wi h o he non-na i e English-speaking s uden s om o he pa icipa ing
uni e si ies in Eu ope and he Medi e anean egion. Vi ual exchange he e o e
o e ed he s uden s he oppo uni y o go beyond English o Speci ic Pu poses (ESP)
in ela ion o Chemis y, and o use he ans e sal skills ha EVE can o e o he
wo kplace, including ‘so skills’ and in e cul u al compe ence (Nye, 2004; Ma in &
Nakayama, 2015). Consequen ly, he s udy add esses how i ual exchanges inci e
wide language and pedagogical pe spec i es o s uden s a Bo deaux Uni e si y. The
me hods used o add ess he esea ch ques ion we e he quali a i e analysis o he
s uden s’ e lec i e jou nals, ques ionnai e eedback on he p og amme and ocus
g oups wi h bo h s uden s and s a in ol ed. The s udy e eals new challenges o
educa o s p epa ing u u e g adua es o a complex mul i-lingual and mul i-cul u al
lea ning en i onmen whe e English is he cu en lingua anca. The s udy also shows
ha s uden s desc ibed i ual exchange as mo e au hen ic han he in e ac ions hey
had p e iously expe ienced wi hin he ESP class oom because hey we e no able o
e e o hei L1 and because o he ans o ma i e ea u es o he EVE cou se (Nole ,
2015).
Keywo ds: E asmus Vi ual Exchange, F ench Highe Educa ion, English o Speci ic
pu poses.
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WIDENING LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE
In oduc ion
This s udy d aws om a highe educa ion con ex whe e Mas e s’ s uden s om he
Uni e si y o Bo deaux ook pa in Sha ing Pe spec i es Founda ion’s lagship E asmus
+ Vi ual Exchange p og amme (hence o h EVE) om 2018 o 2021. The EVE
p og amme desc ibed in his s udy is pa o he in e na ionaliza ion@home o
Bo deaux Uni e si y unde he aegis o he NewDEAL p ojec 1.
In e na ionalisa ion@home is unde s ood as
The pu pose ul in eg a ion o in e na ional and in e cul u al
dimensions in o he o mal and in o mal cu iculum o all s uden s
wi hin domes ic lea ning en i onmen s.
(Beelen & Jones, 2015)
EVE is one o he nine ansdisciplina y in e na ionaliza ion@home p ojec s a
Bo deaux Uni e si y aimed a enabling home s uden s o in e ac wi h s uden s om
o he uni e si ies. These exchanges occu mainly h ough i ual exchange because
only abou 10% o unde g adua e s uden s ha e he oppo uni y o s udy ab oad (de
Wi , 2020) and he e is only a small pe cen age2o incoming in e na ional s uden s a
Bo deaux Uni e si y. The ansdisciplina y in e na inaliza ion@home cou ses
supplemen he g owing numbe o disciplina y EMI (English as a Medium o
Ins uc ion) cou ses al eady on o e a Bo deaux Uni e si y.
In EVE, he pa icipan s (who do no sha e a common i s language) a e in ol ed in
in e ac i e si ua ions whe e hey ha e o nego ia e and achie e unde s anding h ough
“language lea ning in he wild” (Tho ne, 2010: 144); in his case he ‘wild’ being he
digi al a ena o online communica ion. EVE builds om he weal h o p ojec s based on
using “ o um exchanges, blogging, skyping, ex ing, e- andems and e- winning” o
achie e pu pose ul in e ac ions wi hin de eloping language lea ning communi ies
(Duda and Tyne, 2010:12). The pedagogical model o EVE is in keeping wi h i ual
exchange coali ions, such as UNICollabo a ion, as “ echnology-enabled, sus ained,
people- o-people educa ion p og ammes” (Millne , 2020: 1).
EVE combines he synch onic elemen o weekly webina mee ings in English, wi h he
asynch onous ac i i ies o ideo commen ing and logging so ha lea ne s can
p oduce language in in e connec ed and meaning ul ways e en hough hey a e a a
dis ance om each o he . The objec i e is ha pa icipan s de elop ans e sal skills
such as sel -es eem, cu iosi y and c oss-cul u al communica ion. EVE also enables
s uden s o pa icipa e in an in e cul u al exchange p og am wi hou lea ing home. As
in physical E asmus Exchange, EVE has an “o e a ching objec i e o b ing oge he
22% o all unde g adua e s uden s a e incoming in e na ional s uden s (2019-20) a he Collège Sciences
e Technologies, Uni e si é de Bo deaux.
1NewDEAL: Open, s uden -cen e ed and connec ed p og ammes, wi hin a amewo k o ans o ma i e
lea ning, 9,700, 000 € alloca ed o Uni e si é de Bo deaux by he F ench Minis y o Highe educa ion.
Mul ilingual academic and p o essional communica ion in a ne wo ked wo ld (2021)
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WIDENING LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE
you h om ac oss Eu ope in o de o os e hei sense o Eu opean iden i y and
encou age democ a ic pa icipa ion o you h” (Millne , 2020: 2).
The p esen quali a i e s udy he e o e conside s how EVE os e s a sense o online
communi y h ough which s uden s can widen hei academic pe spec i es.
Li e a u e Re iew
The echnologies o he digi al age enable lea ne s o di e en languages and cul u es
o p ac ice hei English language skills oge he online (Helm, 2016). Adding he
‘digi al’ o cu en highe educa ion English language lea ning models is in ended o
suppo in e cul u al awa eness and meaning ul in e ac ion (O’Dowd 2016, 2018).
In e ac ing in a sha ed second language o i ual exchange d aws us o conside he
concep o au hen ici y in ela ion o ELF. English as a lingua anca is unde s ood as a
language ea u e and ehicula ‘ ool’ ( a he han as a language) which is delocalised
om local language con ex s. Al hough using English as a lingua anca in EVE could be
deemed inau hen ic o he ex en ha i does no ep esen na i e speake English, i
could ne e heless be a gued ha English as a lingua anca is mo e ep esen a i e o
mos English speake s in he wo ld (Hul g en, 2020). I could also be a gued ha i is
mo e au hen ic o in e ac in ELF ( h ough i ual exchange) han i is o in e ac in L2
English among a closed g oup o L1 F ench speake s.
Au hen ic lea ne expe ience is a complex issue ega ding meaning ul communica ion
(Van Lie , 1996). Meaning ul encoun e s and mo i a ion a e o en ci ed oge he in
s udies on au hen ici y as lea ne expe ience in educa ion (Gilmo e, 2007; Gilmo e,
2007; Pinne , 2016). We he e o e aim o ind ou whe he he language lea ne
conside s his/he own expe ience o be au hen ic and bene icial o his/he academic
p og ession. Sus ainable educa ion models (Nole , 2015) also include he no ion o
ans o ma i e lea ning in ela ion o au hen ic lea ne expe ience. This b ings us o
con empla e how lea ne expe ience can bes be de ined wi hin he
digi al-communica i e p ac ices o English language lea ning.
P ac icing English be o e encoun e ing ELF in he wild is undoub edly o alue,
especially o inexpe ienced speake s o English. Cu en pedagogical me hods in he L2
class oom such as ole-plays, g oup wo k and access o cu en online media help o
achie e an imp ession o meaning ul lea ning in p epa a ion o u u e ex e nal
in e ac ions wi h o he speake s o English. Closed monolingual con ex s o English
lea ning in highe educa ion may seem less ele an o pos g adua e s uden s who will
soon be wo king in in e na ional con ex s whe e ELF will be used.
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WIDENING LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE
Me hods and Pa icipan s
The quali a i e da a (ques ionnai e, dia y, in e iew and ocus g oup ansc ip s) we e
collec ed o e a h ee-yea pe iod3in o ex ual co po a and ead o epea ed
eme gen hemes h ough con en ional con en analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005).
P io o he EVE cou se, s uden expec a ions we e coded acco ding o eme gen and
epea ed hemes in hei open esponses. Du ing Yea 2 o he s udy, s uden s we e
p e and pos assessed o language p o iciency using he ELAO es . This was
subsequen o s uden s in Yea 1 claiming ha hei English p o iciency had imp o ed
hanks o he EVE cou se.
107 S uden s wi h high B1 o CI le el o English p o iciency we e in i ed o en ol, on a
olun a y basis. The pa icipan s we e Mas e ’s Chemis y s uden s om he Science
Facul y o Bo deaux Uni e si y. The pa icipa ing s uden s we e exemp om hei ESP
cou ses o one semes e so hey could a end a en-week EVE p og amme whe e
Chemis y was no discussed.
Resul s
The p e-cou se ques ionnai e enabled us o gain in o ma ion abou why he s uden s
had decided o en ol on EVE ins ead o a ending hei usual English cou se. The esul s
show ha he s uden s’ answe s we e posi ioned o he ex en ha hey we e seeking
‘some hing new’ and some hing ‘di e en ’. The s uden s posi ioned hei expec a ions
in ela ion o wha hey had expe ienced be o e as lea ne s. S uden expec a ions ell
in o ou main ca ego ies, namely:
Expec a ion 1.A desi e o alk o o he people om di e en coun ies.
Expec a ion 2.To imp o e o al English p o iciency.
Expec a ion 3. To lea n speci ically abou he opic o Na ional and Cul u al
Pe spec i es.
Expec a ion 4.To expe ience a new pedagogical app oach.
The analysis o he iangula ed da a es ablished ha he abo e condi ions we e me ,
esul ing in a gene ally posi i e ou come o he EVE p og amme. The desi e o ‘ alk o
o he people om di e en coun ies’ (Expec a ion 1), was achie ed hanks o he EVE
cou se a chi ec u e which b ough oge he up o eigh s uden s om di e en
uni e si ies oge he o e a 10-week cou se.
The objec i e ‘ o imp o e o al English p o iciency’ (Expec a ion 2) was me in ways
beyond he scope o a adi ional language p o iciency assessmen . All o he
pa icipan s epo ed on imp o ed English language p o iciency pos cou se despi e
32018-19: 6 M2 Chemis s, 2019-2020: 32 M2 Chemis y s uden s, 10 M1 Chemis s, 2020-21: 59 M2
Chemis s. The inc ease in en olmen igu es om yea 1 o yea 3 shows he g owing popula i y o he
EVE cou se
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WIDENING LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE
emaining a he same CEFR le el4pos EVE cou se. An imp o emen in con idence and
s ance was desc ibed by he EVE pa icipan s. S uden s also epo ed on being able o
be e unde s and o he non-na i e ypes o English hanks o he EVE cou se5. In his
sense, ‘imp o ing English o al p o iciency’ was no ela ed o es ed language
p o iciency, bu o s uden sel -assessmen s o being able o in e ac wi h speake s
wo ldwide in a lingua anca in ela ion o he opic o Na ional and Cul u al
Pe spec i es.
Communica ing wi h people all a ound he wo ld did imp o e my
communica ion skills and e en i i 's some imes ha d o unde s and wha
people wan o say I can say ha I p og essed. I'm no a aid anymo e o
exp ess mysel in a o eign language in on o people and ha 's a good poin !
(EVE pa icipan , dia y en y 9)
Th ough Expec a ion 3 s uden s epo ed ha hey had en olled o ‘lea n speci ically
abou he opic o Na ional and Cul u al Pe spec i es’. Wo king on a opic ou side o
he ield o Chemis y was a sou ce o in ensi ied in e es due o he un amilia i y wi h
his opic as a basis o English language exchange. The s uden s alued discussing ‘ eal’
wo ld issues ou side o hei ield and hey epo ed ha his had helped hem o
widen bo h hei in e es and compe ence a eas:
We a e doing Science all day long, all week long. I is nice o ha e a
change.
(EVE pa icipan du ing a ocus g oup 10.04.2020)
Al hough Expec a ion 4 may ha e changed subsequen o he COVID pandemic, p io
o he pandemic, s uden s we e keen o s ep-ou 6o he language class oom and ‘ o
expe ience a new pedagogical app oach’ (Expec a ion 4). By a new pedagogical
app oach he pa icipan s mean mee ing s uden s online o weekly synch onic
dialogues and managing hei own cou se wo k and p og ession online.
Expec a ion 1 ( o mee o he people om o he uni e si ies) achie ed he highes
lea ning ou come o e he h ee-yea s udy. In e ac ing wi h o he people in English
h ough EVE was desc ibed as ‘mo e meaning ul’ in bo h he ques ionnai es and du ing
he in e iews, ein o cing he alue o conside ing au hen ici y in ela ion o EVE:
The exchanges we e au hen ic as a human connec ion. Fo me
au hen ic is in e es ing and meaning ul. I p e e he [EVE]
6Subsequen o he isola ion s uden s expe ienced du ing he epea ed COVID lockdowns, and
o e -exposu e o ZOOM mee ings, hey we e subsequen ly keen o s ep back in o he class oom in 2021
so hey could physically mee up wi h hei pee s.
5Second language speake s o English a e no gene ally used as examples o speech in he ELAO and
TOEIC lis ening es s, o example.
4Yea 2 coho ELAO sco es: C1: 8.57%, B2: 54.29%, B1: 31.43%; A2: 5.71%
Mul ilingual academic and p o essional communica ion in a ne wo ked wo ld (2021)
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WIDENING LANGUAGE AND PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH VIRTUAL EXCHANGE
p og amme. I would no hesi a e, bu you need o be engaged and
ake i se ious. I is no jus a co ee. I is good o alk abou se ious
opics.
(EVE pa icipan in e iew, 21.03.2019)
Discussion
The esul s a e in keeping wi h K ebe e al.’s (2007) de ini ions o au hen ic lea ne
expe ience in educa ion as being ela i e o lea ne agency wi hin ans o ma i e
lea ning. T ans o ma i e lea ning is unde s ood as “ he p ocess o becoming mo e
conscious and gaining in sel -awa eness and sel -knowledge, as one ha comes abou
p ima ily h ough c i ical e lec ion” (K ebe e al., 2007: 28). EVE also emb aces
Nole ’s ou -poin ans o ma i e model o educa ion (Nole , 2015) which in ol es
collabo a ion (1) be ween lea ne s and p o ides oppo uni ies o in e cul u al
dialogue and pa icipa ion. T ans o ma i e lea ning also engages in he whole
educa ion sys em by being in e disciplina y (2). Inno a i e (3) pedagogical app oaches,
which he s uden s had asked o , pu hem a he cen e o he lea ning p ocess whe e
hey could a icula e and ques ion hei own alues and agency. Pa icipa ing s uden s
we e able o hink c i ically (4) abou dominan ideologies ela ing o Na ional and
Cul u al Pe spec i es, in an ac i e and pa icipa o y manne .
Conclusion
The esul s show he ele ance o EVE o ans o ma i e and au hen ic lea ning wi h
o he speake s o English wo ldwide.
Re e ences
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Mul ilingual academic and p o essional communica ion in a ne wo ked wo ld
P oceedings o AELFE-TAPP 2021 (19 h AELFE Con e ence, 2nd TAPP Con e ence)
ARNÓ, E.; AGUILAR, M.; BORRÀS, J.; MANCHO, G.; MONCADA, B.; TATZL, D. (EDITORS)
Vilano a i la Gel ú (Ba celona), 7-9 July 2021
Uni e si a Poli ècnica de Ca alunya
ISBN: 978-84-9880-943-5
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial--NoDe i a i e 4.0
In e na ional License.
Mul ilingual academic and p o essional communica ion in a ne wo ked wo ld (2021)
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