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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

This monograph on community colleges and international/intercultural education begins with a rationale for international education, which emphasizes North American students' low level of awareness of international affairs and events and the importance of a knowledge of other societies in an increasingly interdependent world. After citing various…

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)…

A study is described that scientifically validates the common assumption that travel and exchange programs abroad are educationally beneficial. A questionnaire was used to ascertain which areas of students' lives had benefitted from overseas experience. (TE)

The AFS Impact Study, initiated in 1977, is an attempt to document changes in learning and personal development associated with an intercultural "homestay" program. Completed in 1985, the study identifies several areas in which students show greater learning and educational growth than that shown by a group of students who had expressed interest…