This presentation shares the opportunities and challenges in virtual students' exchange and collaboration between two teacher training education institutions based in Japan and Denmark.
The study reflects the significant disparities in social, and foreign language development and levels of proficiency between two comparatively wealthy, and developed countries. The subjects had asynchronous but academic interactions through the social media platforms such as Messenger and Line. They were directed to choose and discuss 5 from the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within their allocated groups. Presentation of findings took place at the end of the project.
Findings from the study demonstrate that all the participants had positive experience. Yes, choosing an SNS platform and time zone differences were initially challenging. However, discussions took place after agreements were reached on these two factors. Moreover, cultural differences was a big factor. In most cases, the Japanese students deferred initiatives for discussions to their Danish counterparts. Furthermore, high level of English proficiency of the Danish teams compared to the relatively lower levels of those of their Japanese counterparts exhibited unbalanced discussion time.
The study produced a number of challenges for teaching, learning and curriculum development. There were variation of interests within the groups with respect to the SDG topics. Moreover, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) projects need to be integrated into the curriculum of relevant courses and be given adequate guidance by the relevant instructors to facilitate balance in discussion times. The integration of the project will drive students' motivation and engagement.

Authors:
Kolawole Olagboyega, Tsuru University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Prof. Kolawole Waziri Olagboyega is currently Professor of English and Applied Linguistics at Tsuru University, Japan. His research interests include Second Language Acquisition and World Englishes.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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