Two models of Online Intercultural Exchange in Higher Education Contexts

This chapter will look at intercultural learning through online intercultural exchange (OIE)—also known as telecollaboration and more recently virtual exchange—in higher education. Whilst the internet has been heralded for the infinite opportunities it offers for intercultural contact, it has also been recognized that people do not actively seek interaction with cultural others, as internet traffic within national borders has grown more rapidly than cross-border communication. OIE offers significant opportunities for promoting intercultural dialogue as well as fostering the development of language skills, intercultural communicative competence, and online literacies. OIE is not an alternative for face-to-face intercultural exchange (e.g., through study abroad) as the online world and the many communication modes it offers is a high-stakes intercultural context in which we are increasingly required to operate. OIE offers contexts in which learners can engage in authentic intercultural communication rather than practice intercultural communication through role-play and simulation. This chapter will illustrate two different models of online intercultural exchange programs which have been implemented in higher education contexts: the bilingual, bicultural exchange model and the lingua franca, facilitated dialogue model. The chapter will present the origin of each of these models, their general objectives, and examples of how and where they have been implemented in higher education contexts.