Language awareness and cultural awareness in international online cooperation: a mixed-method approach

Abstract

This paper reports on research conducted within the frame of an international online cooperation between Germany and Israel (CoGI). Diverse, multilingual student groups co-construct multilingual websites on educational initiatives. The aim is to raise prospective teachers’ language awareness (LA) and cultural awareness (CA) for cooperation in international contexts. 75 students and five instructors from four different campuses in Germany and Israel took part in the project in 2019. Individual and cooperative learning was combined with online and face-to-face as well as student conference learning. A mixed-method approach was used to investigate the effects of the 10-week cooperation with respect to the emergence of LA and CA as well as perceived language proficiency. The results show a significant increase in participants’ perceived English language proficiency and CA. The qualitative analyses give evidence of co-constructive group cooperation which revealed LA and CA in the process of negotiating shared understanding. The study highlights the importance of international online cooperation in teacher education.

ABSTRACT GERMAN

Dieser Beitrag berichtet über ein Forschungsprojekt, das im Rahmen einer internationalen Online-Kooperation zwischen Universitäten in Deutschland und Israel (Cooperation Germany Israel: CoGI) durchgeführt wurde. Kulturell und sprachlich diversifiziert zusammengesetzte Studierendengruppen ko-konstruieren mehrsprachige Websites zu einem von ihnen selbst gewählten Thema im Rahmen einer zwingend notwendigen Bildungsinitiative. Ziel ist es, Language Awareness, LA, und Cultural Awareness, CA, bei den zukünftigen Lehrkräften im Rahmen einer internationalen Kooperation zu fördern. 75 Studierende und fünf Lehrende von vier verschiedenen Hochschulen in Deutschland und Israel nahmen 2019 an dem Projekt teil. Individuelles und kooperatives Lernen wurde mit Online- und Face-to-Face-Lernen sowie mit Studierendenkonferenzen kombiniert. Mit einem Mixed-Method-Ansatz wurden quantitative und qualitative Daten erhoben, um mögliche Wirkungen der zehnwöchigen Zusammenarbeit in Bezug auf die Entstehung von Language Awareness und Cultural Awareness sowie eine mögliche Änderung der subjektiv wahrgenommenen Sprachkompetenz zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse belegen einen signifikanten Anstieg der von den Teilnehmenden subjektiv wahrgenommenen englischen Sprachkenntnisse und von Cultural Awareness. Die qualitativen Analysen belegen die Entstehung ko-konstruktiver Gruppenkooperation, in welcher bei der Aushandlung eines gemeinsamen Verständnisses Language Awareness und Cultural Awareness eine tragende Rolle zukommt. Die Studie unterstreicht die Bedeutung internationaler Online-Kooperationen in der Lehrkräfteausbildung.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY

This paper reports on international online cooperation between Germany and Israel (CoGI). Diverse student groups design multilingual websites to offer solutions to pressing educational challenges. The project aims at building bridges between participants of diverse backgrounds to raise language awareness (LA) and cultural awareness (CA). 75 students and five instructors from four different campuses in Germany and Israel took part in the project in the summer term of 2019. Fourteen groups cooperated in online learning, student conferences and face-to-face meetings. The implementation followed principles of the theoretical models for trust-building in online environments (TEC Model), for multi-perspective learning (Human GPS Model), and autonomous learning (LMR-Plus Model). Different methods were used for data collection and data analyses to investigate the influence of the 10-week online cooperation. The results show a positive influence on the participants’ CA and LA as well as perceived English proficiency and group engagement to reach shared understanding.

Keywords:

• Language awareness
• cultural awareness
• attitudes
• pre- and post-survey
• mixed methods
• international online cooperation

Acknowledgements

We want to thank all project participants and partners for their fruitful and amazing cooperation. For editing advice, we would like to thank Professor Dr. Joanna White, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada and Professor Dr. Zaline Roy-Campbell, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y., USA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The original CoGI survey includes additional items on biographic data, CA as well as attitudes towards technology and a polarity profile on expectations and reflections on the course.