While the benefits of short-term study abroad programs are well documented, especially with respect to enhancing cross-cultural competency in the participants, fewer than one percent of college students in the U.S. benefit from this experience. The principal barriers to studying abroad are actual and opportunity costs and its perceived worth. An…

This study explores the experiences of short-term study abroad faculty at a liberal arts university in the Midwestern United States. We distributed a qualitative survey to all faculty who taught short-term study abroad courses at the institution, interviewed four short-term study abroad leaders, two short-term study abroad co-leaders, and reviewed…

The purpose of this article is to describe and report on a Globally Networked Learning (GNL) course among students in Germany and the United States. Specifically, we examine how GNL is an innovative method for international virtual exchange, which contributes to meaningful intercultural communication through more equitable access to international…

The myriad of possibilities brought about by the advent of Web 2.0 in terms of communication and interaction have revolutionised educational practices over the past few years. One of the most promising educational approaches resulting from this revolution is online intercultural exchange or telecollaboration, which has been reported to contribute…

Italy, a country with a great cultural tradition and a founding member of the European Union (EU), since 2004 very actively contributes to the cultural cooperation activities of EU with non European countries. This paper is a detailed review of the status of those activities, which can be subdivided into joint "Master Mundus" Actions and…

This study analyses the results of two parallel two-month online exchange projects launched during the spring semester of 2018. The first project was a bilingual one-to-one English/Spanish exchange project for undergraduate business students. The second one was a monolingual one-to-many intercultural practice in English between native and…

A U.S. and Chinese university developed a short-term student exchange program in public/community health. The program--which consisted of lectures, seminars, field trips, cross-cultural experiences, and a synthesis excursion--resulted in high levels of program satisfaction, increased intrapersonal awareness, and skill acquisition. Program content…

This article discusses some practical ideas associated with a pilot intercultural telecollaboration project. The aim of the project was to connect students from five countries: Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland and Spain, and to make them interact using social media, such as Facebook, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. There were success stories…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of online intercultural exchange (OIE) to mediate a cross-cultural project with pre-service teachers in two countries. Design/methodology/approach: Using a population of convenience, students from one American and one German university were assigned to mixed multi-cultural project…

The concept of task has become central not only to an understanding of language learning per se, but also to the design and research of Online Intercultural Exchanges (OIEs). While research on the design of tasks in OIEs has been very productive, we still lack insights into how teachers develop competences in task design on the micro-level.…

Language students in the UK undertake their "year abroad" with high hopes for a linguistic and social "immersion" experience. However, past research shows that language learning success, while real, can be uneven, and that many Erasmus exchange students form social relations largely with other international students. New…

As research on the effectiveness of study abroad programs continues to evolve, the author notes a gradual shift in focus from "Is study abroad effective?" to "What can be done to improve the quality of the study abroad experience?" (e.g., Pederson, 2010; Shaheen, 2004). The author writes that he believes this broadened…

In recent years, countries around the world have promoted international experiences for student teachers' development of the knowledge and skills necessary in these interdependent and global times. Using a rigorous qualitative approach, this study explored 10 Turkish student teachers' international opportunities in several European countries…

The aim of this study was to examine the value and benefits obtained from a semester length academic exchange for Australian early childhood teacher education students in equivalent programs in selected European sites. The data obtained from interviews conducted in this qualitative study indicate that students involved in the international…

The need for higher education institutions in the U.S. and foreign countries to engage in an exchange of students, faculty members, and educational and cultural information is stressed. The current program of exchanging student and faculty members in Japan and the U.S. is summarized. The use of the College and University Partnership Program (CUPP)…