Fostering intercultural learning through project-based learning in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classes: A participatory action research study

<p>Intercultural competence (IC) is increasingly recognized globally as a goal of education. In Vietnam, despite emphasis on intercultural competence in national language education, research has shown the peripheral role of addressing culture in EFL classes although research on the topic of how to cultivate intercultural language teaching and learning (ICLTL) is growing. This study investigated affordances for intercultural learning through project-based learning (PBL) in an EFL program at a Vietnamese university. It followed an interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research approach. It included two related studies. Study 1 was an ethnography-informed study, which involved 14 teachers, 265 students, 6 graduates and their employers. Data were collected from classroom observations, student focus group interviews, and interviews with teachers, graduates and employers. This preliminary research revealed few opportunities for intercultural learning in this program. Specifically, it found that culture was rarely addressed, and the main instructional method for culture was fact transmission. Moreover, teachers showed limited understanding of ICLTL and students expressed the need for further culture learning. Study 2 was a participatory action research study, in which a semester-long project was introduced to foster intercultural learning. Study 2 included two workshops, one at the beginning and one in the middle of the project. In these workshops, the researcher and three teachers collaboratively learned about ICLTL, and planned PBL lessons. Drawing on a thematic analysis of classroom data and teachers’ and students’ reports, the findings showed teachers’ improved practices and understanding of ICLTL and PBL, and indications of students’ IC development throughout the project. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on ICLTL by providing evidence for the efficacy of PBL for intercultural learning. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of teacher professional development on teaching practice and extends understanding of how to incorporate PBL in a textbook-based and exam-oriented EFL context.</p>

Fostering intercultural learning through project-based learning in Vietnamese tertiary EFL classes: A participatory action research study

<p>Intercultural competence (IC) is increasingly recognized globally as a goal of education. In Vietnam, despite emphasis on intercultural competence in national language education, research has shown the peripheral role of addressing culture in EFL classes although research on the topic of how to cultivate intercultural language teaching and learning (ICLTL) is growing. This study investigated affordances for intercultural learning through project-based learning (PBL) in an EFL program at a Vietnamese university. It followed an interpretive research paradigm and qualitative research approach. It included two related studies. Study 1 was an ethnography-informed study, which involved 14 teachers, 265 students, 6 graduates and their employers. Data were collected from classroom observations, student focus group interviews, and interviews with teachers, graduates and employers. This preliminary research revealed few opportunities for intercultural learning in this program. Specifically, it found that culture was rarely addressed, and the main instructional method for culture was fact transmission. Moreover, teachers showed limited understanding of ICLTL and students expressed the need for further culture learning. Study 2 was a participatory action research study, in which a semester-long project was introduced to foster intercultural learning. Study 2 included two workshops, one at the beginning and one in the middle of the project. In these workshops, the researcher and three teachers collaboratively learned about ICLTL, and planned PBL lessons. Drawing on a thematic analysis of classroom data and teachers’ and students’ reports, the findings showed teachers’ improved practices and understanding of ICLTL and PBL, and indications of students’ IC development throughout the project. This research contributes to the growing scholarship on ICLTL by providing evidence for the efficacy of PBL for intercultural learning. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of teacher professional development on teaching practice and extends understanding of how to incorporate PBL in a textbook-based and exam-oriented EFL context.</p>

Exploring the Impact of Learning Activities Supported by 360-Degree Video Technology on Language Learning, Intercultural Communicative Competence Development, and Knowledge Sharing

This study integrated intercultural learning activities into English as a foreign language (EFL) learning course in a vocational school in China. The study focused on improvement of students’ EFL abilities, intercultural communicative competence (ICC), and knowledge sharing (KS). A group of second-year students from China were partnered with a group of university students from Indonesia. 360-degree video technology was used to create an authentic and immersive intercultural learning environment in which students created content in English related to their culture and traditions, shared content with partners from the other culture, and reflected on their intercultural learning. We investigated whether learning activities supported by 360-degree video technology have positive impact on EFL learning, ICC development, and KS. The data was collected through questionnaires, tests, observations, and interviews. Three main findings were obtained in the study. The results demonstrated that 360-degree video technology-supported intercultural learning activities improved students’ EFL abilities, ICC, and KS. In addition, it was found that dimensions of KS and ICC have significant relationship with each other. Finally, the students had a positive attitude toward the learning activities supported by 360-degree video technology, were satisfied with the technology, and had intentions to use it in the future for learning. On this basis, we made several suggestions for educators and researchers.

Encounters with strangeness: Intercultural learning in an engineering course

This paper reports on an intervention whereby a critical approach to intercultural communication is implemented in a module for undergraduate students of engineering technology. The module centers on an encounter in which small teams engage with people and practices that represent cultural strangeness to them. A qualitative, exploratory study was carried out on how participating students perceive strangeness, on their motives for selecting their encounter, and on the insights as they reported and demonstrated them in their project reports. Students confirmed the primacy of first-hand experience in intercultural learning, and pointed at an open mind, a non-essentialist view of culture, and an awareness of stereotyping as key takeaways from the project. Providing additional teacher guidance could further support students in their acquisition of critical understanding, for instance through the development of validated (self-)assessment tools. The authors conclude that the described project can help to fill the observed lack of intercultural communication practices from a critical, non-essentialist perspective in engineering education. More generally, this study contributes to a wider pedagogy of encounter by elucidating the concept of strangeness as a linking concept for examining underlying dynamics in intercultural interaction.

Challenges and possibilities for creating genuinely intercultural higher education learning communities

This article synthesises and analyses the existing research and literature that has discussed the challenges and possibilities of providing intercultural learning environments for diverse students in the context of higher education. A genuinely intercultural learning community provides equitable learning possibilities for all, is characterised by social justice, and allows all participants to feel a strong sense of belonging. Based on this review, the main challenges in creating equitable learning communities in higher education relate to institutional barriers, such as institutional racism and discrimination, monolingual higher education policies, and neoliberal educational agendas that contradict the principles of social justice. Interpersonal challenges (such as lack of intercultural competence) also exist, as do challenges related to acknowledging intercultural perspectives in curricula and pedagogy. The conditions that the existing literature suggests will create genuinely intercultural learning communities include rethinking the strategies, policies, and curricula of higher education institutions; supporting students’ and staff’s intercultural competences; and developing pedagogical approaches for acknowledging social justice and diverse learners. Based on the literature reviewed for this article, it is obvious that there are no easy tricks that can ‘fix’ the situation and create genuinely intercultural learning communities, but intercultural approaches and aspects ......

ДІАГНОСТИКА РІВНЯ СФОРМОВАНОСТІ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ МАЙБУТНІХ ВИХОВАТЕЛІВ ЗАКЛАДІВ ДОШКІЛЬНОЇ ОСВІТИ

Статтю присвячено вивченню професійної культури студентів – майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти у процесі їхньої професійної підготовки у закладі вищої педагогічної освіти. Здійснено теоретичний аналіз психолого-педагогічної літератури з проблеми дослідження, розкрито сутність поняття «професійна культура майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти». Запропоноване власне трактування поняття «професійна культура майбутнього вихователя закладу дошкільної освіти, а саме: професійна культура майбутнього вихователя – це наявність у педагога духовного багатства (високоморальних цінностей), яскраво вираженої творчої індивідуальності, готової та здатної до нововведень і перетворень; особливих особистісних якостей (гуманізму, любові до дітей, педагогічного оптимізму, толерантності, тактовності тощо); компетентностей педагогічної діяльності в галузі дошкільної освіти; зовнішньої естетичної привабливості. Визначено основні критерії формування професійної культури (духовно-творчий, когнітивний, мотиваційно-ціннісний, рефлексивно-перцептивний, операціональний). Описано рівні сформованості професійної культури майбутніх вихователів, а саме: початковий, адаптивний, репродуктивно-прогностичний, пошуково-творчий. Здійснено добір діагностичних методик за всіма критеріями. Розроблено авторську діагностичну методику «Професійна компетентність майбутнього вихователя закладу дошкільної освіти». Проведено діагностичне дослідження рівня сформованості професійної культури студентів спеціальності «Дошкільна освіта» факультету педагогіки і психології Національного педагогічного університету імені М.П. Драгоманова. В дослідженні застосовувалися теоретичні методи – аналізу, узагальнення, систематизації, порівняння; емпіричні методи – спостереження, анкетування, бесіда; а також діагностичні методики, спрямовані на виявлення рівня сформованості професійної культури майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти. Здійснено аналіз результатів діагностичного дослідження. Виявлено недостатній рівень сформованості професійної культури майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти, особливо за духовно-творчим та рефлексивно-перцептивним компонентами. Накреслено перспективи подальших досліджень, які полягають у розробці та впровадженні в освітній процес закладів вищої педагогічної освіти технології формування професійної культури майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти. Література Белоусова, Т.Ф. (1989). Педагогическая практика как фактор формирования основ педагогической культуры. (Автореф. дис. канд. пед. наук). Ростов-на-Дону. Гальченко, В.М., & Семенча, Л.Г. (2020). Професійна культура як системоутворювальний фактор успішності майбутніх педагогів у професійній діяльності. The XXI century education: realities, challenges, development trends (Monograph). In prof. Hanna Tsvietkova (Ed). (c.509–522) Hameln : InterGING. Гальченко, В.М. (2019). Творча індивідуальність як основа професійної культури майбутніх вихователів закладів дошкільної освіти. Professional development of a teacher in the light of European integration processes. In prof. Hanna Tsvietkova (Ed). (c. 531–549). Hameln : InterGING. Головина, Е.С. (2005). Педагогическое содействие формированию профессиональной культуры будущих социальных педагогов в вузе. (Автореф. дис. канд. пед. наук). Екатеринбург. Зязюн, І.А., & Сагач, Г.М. (1997). Краса педагогічної дії. Київ : АПН України. Исаев, И.Ф. (2004). Профессионально-педагогическая культура преподавателя. Москва : Академия. Павелко, Н.И. (2004.) Культурологическая парадигма теории профессионально-педагогической культуры преподавателя высшей школы (Дис. д-ра культурологии). Краснодар. Радул, В.В., Кравцов, В.О., & Михайліченко, М.В. (2007). Основи професійного становлення особистості сучасного вчителя (Навчальний посібник). Кіровоград : «Імекс-ЛТД». Birkeland, Å., & Ødemotland, S. (2018). Disorienting Dilemmas – the Significance of Resistance and Disturbance in an Intercultural Program within Kindergarten Teacher Education. psych. Behav., 52, 377–387. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-018-9433-y Jokikokko, K. (2016). Reframing Teachers’ intercultural learning as an emotional process. Intercultural Education, 27(3), 217–230. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2016.1150648. Weston, K., Ott, M., & Rodger, S. (2018). Handbook of School-Based Mental Health Promotion. Cham : Springer. Moreno, V.M. (2020). The Ideal Teacher Different Images. Hu Arenas. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-020-00148-0