Speaker
Description
Virtual exchanges and COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) allow participants to communicate with peers around the world, an experience that can be highly motivating for students. Virtual exchanges often get off to an exciting start when students first meet their counterparts from another country. However, the exchanges soon start to suffer due to a lack of content that would foster engaging discussions. Extensive Reading provides students with input, but many students lack motivation to read. Combining the two can be a recipe for success. In this session, the presenter will discuss a proposed virtual exchange in which, each week, students prepare for a meeting with their partner in another country by reading a graded reader about a different aspect of their partner’s country. Example topics are school life, pop culture, holidays, traditional food, dating, etc. In addition to reading about a topic, students can prepare questions about points in the reading that they are curious about or did not understand. Entering the meeting with detailed knowledge of the topic and some related questions can result in more engaging interaction. Furthermore, the content of the graded readers could provide the basis for a final project between participants, such as a presentation.
| Keywords | Collaborative Online International Collaboration, Extensive Reading |
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