The transformative potential of Digital Informal Learning (DIL) is evident in fostering cross-cultural understanding, with a special focus on Arabic cultural education in this case. Drawing from the case of Learn Cultural Identity (LearnCuID) groups, which are informal online learning communities, the discussion highlights how digital platforms,…

This qualitative study investigates learners' experiences in online international collaborative environments using both asynchronous and synchronous communication methods. Specifically, it focuses on the rewards, shortcomings, and difficulties learners encountered through posing critical questions about the nature of collaboration forms. Eight…

International Online Collaboration Competencies (IOCCs) are considered essential for global virtual teams, yet no consensus exists on what experts consider as IOCCs and which competencies are involved. To develop a framework to support higher education in designing learning tasks and evaluation instruments for the acquisition of IOCCs, a…

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of global competence, agility, empathy, and innovation in managing opportunities, crises, and problems. Global learning and engagement in higher education is the pathway towards developing learners' intercultural competence, fostering an appreciation of diversity, inclusion, and equity, and…

In Chapter 1, Betül Czerkawski and Margherita Berti focus on the challenges higher education faces when coping with new realities. How do learners acquire the skills necessary for effective cross-cultural communication? What professional learning opportunities do universities offer to language learners? What are some present practices found in…

Ireland's new strategy for foreign language education, "Languages Connect," identifies the establishment of Mandarin Chinese as a curricular language as a key goal for the coming years. Within the curriculum specification for Mandarin at Junior Cycle (ages 12-15), "using digital technology is identified as a core component: the…

This chapter is based on a workshop at IVEC 2020 which presented a model of Virtual Exchange (VE) facilitated by interactive, digital, and cultural artefacts created using a progressive web app developed by the EU-funded ENACT project team. The model offers an innovative approach to online intercultural exchange through the opportunity to create,…

Although L2 reading is traditionally framed as an individual enterprise, digital annotation tools (DATs) have recently been developed allowing groups of readers to collaborate and provide mutual scaffolding through collective annotation of texts (Blyth, 2014; Thoms, Sung, & Poole, 2017). These tools reframe L2 reading as an interactive process…

New Literacy Studies and related scholarship on the use of digital tools in classrooms support the argument that literacy practices can be understood as translingual and transcultural practices within the context of an otherwise monocultural and monolingual setting. Pushing for broader conceptions of "mono" settings and arguing for…

Twenty-first century schools are characterized by increasing diversity and use of technology. An opportunity exists for school counselors to utilize technology to create novel and innovative classroom guidance lessons designed to facilitate cultural exploration and promote cultural understanding. This article provides a rationale for how the…

The 2021 EUROCALL conference engaged just under 250 speakers from 40 different countries. Cnam Paris and Sorbonne Université joined forces to host and organise the event despite the challenging context due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally programmed to be held on site in the heart of Paris, France, the EUROCALL organising team and executive…

This chapter examines practical issues regarding Virtual Exchanges (VEs) for educational purposes in the university context and covers language use, cultural differences, time management, teacher collaboration, technology-related issues, assessment, and context specific factors. It charts the establishment of three academic collaborations between…

This article presents the design, implementation and outcomes of AlpConnectar, a Swiss project that exploits technologies for digitally-supported language exchange (LE) in primary schools. Launched in 2013, the project involves three Swiss cantons where different languages are spoken (namely German, French and Italian) and respectively taught as…

Today's learners routinely use technology outside of school to communicate, collaborate, and gather information about the world around them. Classroom learning experiences are relevant when they include communication technologies such as social networking, blogging, and video conferencing, and information technologies such as databases, browsers,…

Two cohorts of teachers participated in a professional development program in summer 2016 and 2017 focused on incorporating global perspectives and activities into K-12 classrooms using contemporary technologies. One part of this program required teachers to plan and carry out a global project with an international classroom as a means to…