Abraham is an English language lecturer from Florida Universitaria in Valencia (Spain), that has integrated Virtual Exchange in his lessons.
“I’ve so far done two virtual exchanges”, explains Abraham, “and the reason I decided to integrate them into my teaching programme is because I think Virtual Exchange (VE) is a wonderful way to raise student’s cultural awareness. I wanted my students to practice English as a lingua franca in a meaningful way with a view to preparing future primary school language teachers in how to use VE in their work. They also upgraded their digital skills and tools during the experience by using new platforms such as Moodle, Zoom, Padlet and others”.
“It was also challenging at times, as we had to coordinate a number of students across different time zones in different institutions with different requirements and timetables. I think that’s the most difficult thing we had to deal with”
"Overall, blending VE with an actual mobility added extra value and I feel this combination really gives students a boost for their future employability. It made students more aware of the importance of English and they were able to encounter different representations of the world. I think the whole institution benefitted from this experience in terms of the international dimension and interaction.”
Abraham’s student, Laura, experienced the virtual exchanges set up by his professor Abraham. She recently graduated as a primary school language teacher and hopes to use the experience in her future work.
“It was so enriching to speak with students from other countries. I learned about teaching practices in Coventry, UK, for example, as well as exchanging views on English as a Foreign Language traditions and culture.”
“It was useful to practice English in real time and in a real context instead of just texting. It helps us understand other perspectives and other ways of thinking”.
“The facilitator was really helpful as when we were having trouble communicating or understanding each other, they were able to help us move forward in our dialogue.
“As students, we got to experience what it’s like to be part of a Virtual Exchange. If you don’t do this, it will be hard to integrate it into your future programmes when you get a job as a teacher and then you’d miss out on all the advantages of the VE model. If you experience it, you understand how to replicate it.”
“The collaborative activities aimed at raising awareness were complemented by facilitated dialogue, and the session helped us be respectful and open-minded about other cultures. We also had the opportunity to understand how Spanish teachers are viewed abroad and this was surprising to me. Colleagues from other countries have the impression that we are far more traditional in our teaching methods than we are! I think it’s been a great help with our professional development.”
