Bridging the gap: developing global understanding through meaningful communication

 Abstract

Communication has been considered essential in the field of teaching and learning and as such, it influences teachers and learners. Considering that the curriculum design for foreign languages in most of the provinces have a communicative approach or a task-based approach, the purpose of this proposal is to analyse the results and effects of implementing a digital exchange program, as Global Scholars—which fosters international communication among children between eleven and thirteen years old in schools of Argentina. Research has established that students of English as a foreign language should be prepared before and during international communication exchanges to be aware of the cultural differences that may arise during the exchanges. This proposal will involve students from the city of Buenos Aires who are currently participating in the 2020 - 2021 Global Scholars Program. The proposed research will be conducted using the action research qualitative method. This research proposal aims to show field evidence of the development of such communication skills in the participant learners.

 Keywords: international communication, digital exchanges, communicative skills

Outline

Agüero, M. & Franco, G. (2021).Bridging the Gap: Developing Global Understanding Through Communicative Skills [Unpublished manuscript]. Departamento de Educación, Universidad CAECE.

Purpose: To assess the effects of implementing a digital exchange program in schools in Argentina.

Thesis statement: Digital exchange programs can foster the development of communicative skills. 

Audience: teachers of English as a foreign language, student teachers of English as a foreign language, education researchers.

I.                 Abstract

II.               Outline

III.             Introduction

    A.                 Literature review

IV.            Methods

    A.              Participants

    B.              Materials

    C.              Procedure

V.              Desired outcome

VI.            References

Introduction

This proposal is focused on the importance of facilitating participation in an international communication program called Global Scholars, created and managed by Global Cities Inc. (2020), which allows students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to exchange messages with students from member cities from different parts of the world and help its participants to develop their communicative skills. 

Some researchers have studied the relevance of international communication programs. “Building effective communication skills in a globalized world requires not only language proficiency, but also intercultural competence” (Lenkaitis et al., 2019, p. 2). According to Lenkaitis et al. (2019), students need to develop the skills that facilitate successful communication. Furthermore, in the report Far From Remote,Tiven et al. (2020) establish that “students enthusiastically engaged with a hybrid digital learning experience, one that connected them to their communities and one another in an international online classroom” (p.5). However, such assertion should be explored in the classrooms and demand further actions in order to evaluate the program implications for the classroom as a tool that encourages and motivates learners, improving communication in English as a foreign language in a real-world context.

Consequently, this study intends to explore this field within three primary state run schools in the city of Buenos Aires. The following questions will be asked throughout the research:

1.     How can the implementation of a program for communication between international peers help learners of English as a Foreign Language improve their communication skills?

2.     To what extent can learners of English as a Foreign Language of 7^th grade from a public primary school in the city of Buenos Aires improve their communication skills while they participate in an international communication program with peers of a similar age?

Therefore, the present research study aims to investigate how a digital exchange program for communication among students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) who are between eleven and thirteen years old from the City of Buenos Aires and different parts of the world can help its participants to develop their communicative skills. 

Annotated bibliograpies 

Tiven, M., & Fuchs, E. (with Bazari, A., &MacQuarrie, A.). (2018). Evaluating Global Digital Education: Student Outcomes Framework. Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://bit.ly/2RTwdOA 

Tiven et al. (2018) introduce the work of a program developed by Bloomberg Philanthropies that runs the digital exchange program Global Scholars. Impact on student global learning is measured in order to define what students should learn and to design formal evaluations to evidence the value of the program.

Tiven, M., Fuchs, E., Riegle-Crumb, C., Bazari, A., & Wilhelm, M. (2020). Far from remote: Survey evidence of student learning in digital classrooms. Bloomberg Philanthropies. https://bit.ly/3cDQvD0

Through a survey, Tiven et al. (2020) measure the program’s impact using specific indicators of learning outcomes to provide a clear assessment of students’ competencies to demonstrate how the implementation of Global Scholars helps students improve their digital literacy, language communication, academic engagement, and critical thinking. 

Lenkaitis, C., Loranc-Paszylk, B., &Hiliker, S. (2019). Global Awareness and Global Identity Development among Foreign Language Learners: The Impact of Virtual Exchanges. MEXTESOL Journal, 43(4). https://bit.ly/3cFLKbN

This study explores how virtual exchanges can contribute to global awareness development, which in turn, can lead to the emergence of global identity among foreign language learners.  

Chong, C. S. (2016, May 25). How to prepare students for international communication. British Council. https://bit.ly/3wz7kqF 

This paper explores the communicative skills that learners of English should have to communicate successfully in an international environment. The author states that learners of English should have a degree of intercultural awareness and the ability to detect possible misunderstandings.

Marlina, R., and Giri R. A. (2014). English ‘going to strange shores’ and its outcomes. In R. Marlina Editor & A. R. Giri Editor (Eds.). The pedagogy of English as an international language. (pp. 1-3). Springer. 

The first chapter of this book presents the sociolinguistic reality of English as a result of globalisation and how this situation has prompted a paradigm shift in the field of English Language Teaching. 

 

Methods

The proposed research will be conducted using the action research qualitative method. The qualitative method, being descriptive, will provide insights as regards attitudes, beliefs, motivations and behaviours of participants. For this purpose, research tools will include questionnaires and observations.  

Participants 

This proposal will involve the following participants: students from the city of Buenos Aires who are currently participating in the 2020 - 2021 Global Scholars Program. They are students between the ages of eleven and thirteen years old from three different public primary schools in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Those schools are General Lavalleja school, district 14, Monseñor Franceschi school, district 14, and Dominguito school, district 15. Moreover, the three teachers of English as a foreign language who work at the schools mentioned above will be interviewed. 

Materials 

The researchers will prepare the following materials: (a) one form that will be completed with personal information in order to obtain some background information from both student and teacher participants; (b) a parental consent in the form of a note will be prepared and delivered to the student participants to obtain the consent from their parents to participate in this research study; (c) a questionnaire in Google Forms will be designed for the participant students including questions about the program and their level of engagement and communication skills; (d) one questionnaire in Google Forms for the participant teachers including questions about how the students build and develop their communication skills through the Global Scholars program; (e) two students per school will be interviewed, after their parental consent is completed and signed, using a set of questions prepared in advance by the researchers; (f) a set of questions will be prepared in advance by the researchers to be asked and answered during the interviews with the teachers; (g) a communicative skills inventory will be designed for the researchers to use during their observations of the students' interactions in the Global Scholars program e-classrooms, and (h) an observation sheet will be prepared focusing on class interactions with the international peers from other member cities.

Procedure

First, the participant students will be required to complete a form with personal information and the questionnaires prepared in Google Forms. Second, the participant teachers will be administered their respective questionnaires. Then, the interviews will be conducted. The participant teachers will be interviewed in the first place using the interview questions. After their interviews, the teachers will be asked to introduce two students from their classes for an interview that will be conducted at their schools and, if possible, alone with the researcher(s).The interviews will be recorded and later transcribed. The participant classes will also be observed and the researchers will take down notes of their observations. Preselected student learning outcomes designed by the Global Scholars program team members will be used as the basis for the analysis of the answers obtained from the questionnaires and interviews.

A report will be prepared in Google Forms with the interview answers and the data obtained from the questionnaires. Such a report will be the basis for the analysis of data and a final report of the results.

Desired Outcome

This proposal will address how digital exchanges between state run primary school children, aged between eleven and thirteen years old from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and children from other cities of the world can help its participants build communication skills.

Such students will benefit from contacting and creating a dialogue with the students from other cities while learning and discussing important topics that are engaging for children of those ages, such as consumption. The students will also learn how culture influences their consumption choices and through the digital exchanges, they will be able to share their ideas with their international peers and find different perspectives on the same topic.

As stated by Tiven et al. (2020) “a digital exchange program can help students improve their digital literacy, language communication, self-efficacy, academic engagement, and critical thinking” (p.1). This research proposal aims to show field evidence of the development of such communication skills in the participant learners.

Obtaining evidence that the students are building their communication skills will benefit both teachers of English as a foreign language, who will be able to implement similar programs in their classes to facilitate the learning process, and those educators who are engaged in designing educational policies, since those digital exchange programs are frequently offered to educational authorities and are implemented through them. Moreover, materials designers would also benefit from the evidence sought by this proposal, since they could create new materials to facilitate the implementation of such digital exchange programs in the classrooms. Providing field evidence would be beneficial for all the stakeholders in the English language teaching and learning process.

 

References

Chong, C. S. (2016, May 25). How to prepare students for international communication. British Council. https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-prepare-students-international-communication

Lenkaitis, C. Loranc-Paszylk, B., &Hiliker, S. (2019). Global Awareness and Global Identity Development among Foreign Language Learners: The Impact of Virtual Exchanges. ResearchGate,43, 1-11.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337294135_Global_Awareness_and_Global_Identity_Development_among_Foreign_Language_Learners_The_Impact_of_Virtual_Exchanges/citation/download

Marlina, R., and Giri R. A. (2014). English ‘going to strange shores’ and its outcomes. In R. Marlina Editor & A. R. Giri Editor (Eds.), The pedagogy of English as an international language. (pp. 1-3). Springer Cham Heidelberg. https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=qOUpBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Tiven, M., & Fuchs, E. (with Bazari, A., &MacQuarrie, A.). (2018). Evaluating Global Digital Education: Student Outcomes Framework. Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Evaluating-Global-Digital-Education-Student-Outcomes-Framework.pdf

Tiven, M., Fuchs, E., Riegle-Crumb, C., Bazari, A., & Wilhelm, M. (2020). Far from remote: Survey evidence of student learning in digital classrooms. Bloomberg Philanthropies. https://www.globalcities.org/ffr