‘FORE - UEK Telecollaboration 2017’ – virtual exchange in business studies (original) (raw)
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Telecollaboration is a learning scenario in which groups of foreign language learners communicate with geographically distant partner classes via the internet. Besides its principle focus on developing linguistic and intercultural competence, telecollaboration provides opportunities for rehearsing multiple literacy practices. These include media and academic literacy as well as the collaborative and critical thinking skills that are needed for academic and professional contexts alike. Drawing on studies of online intercultural exchange from the ields of Foreign Language Education and Business and Economics, this paper discusses the similarities and differences in approach to online exchange between the two disciplines and then shows how this informed the design of a multiliteracies model for telecollaboration projects that is tailored to the speci ic needs of students of Business and Economics.
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EDULEARN Proceedings
Communication is the cornerstone of organisational life, either at an internal level or exogenously [1]. As organisations expand internationally, having to interact with transcontinental intermediaries, distinct government agencies and institutions [2] or company foreign representatives, an adequate level of linguistic competence is likely to play an even more significant role in facilitating or hampering any global operation [3]. As language and culture go hand in hand, in today's globalised world it is also of paramount importance to develop cultural sensitivity. According to [4], it is not just helpful to business but a recognized essential, since businesses that understand and accommodate individuals from different cultural backgrounds are better equipped to scale and build a better reputation amongst their competitors. With over 1.5 million speakers worldwide [5], English has become not only the language of science and technology [6] but also the global language of business. The awareness that communicative competence in English is crucial in today's labour market is reflected in the study programme design of the 1 st cycle degree in Office Management and Business Communication (OMBC) held at the University of Aveiro (UA), which includes five 60-hour courses of Business English: English Language (1 st semester), English Translation and Terminology (2 nd semester), English Language and Business Communication (3 rd semester), English Documentation (4 th semester), and English Language and Organizational Culture (5 th semester). Literature demonstrates that student-centred learning environments, where practical and more realistic assignments can be developed, are likely to be more effective and conducive to a greater level of development of both technical and interpersonal skills [7]. Bearing this view in mind, the present paper aims to describe two project-works developed within two OMBC courses: English Language and Business Communication and English Documentation. In their first assignment (1 st semester, 2018/19), students were called to develop research on a country of their choice, analyse it through Hofstede's 6-D model, allocate it to Hall's high-/low-context cultures and identify each country's specific characteristics in terms of business etiquette. The results of their research, whose main purpose was the development of students' intercultural business communication skills, were displayed in poster format and presented to the class, simulating a conference setting. In their second projectwork (2 nd semester, 2018/19), those same students were challenged to conduct research on the impact of digital transformation on organizations, one of the topics of their syllabus, and again exhibit their findings in a scientific poster-this time not having the classroom as venue, but in the context of a conference organized at the UA. After following the regular procedures of an abstract and poster submission, selected students have the opportunity to present their assignment in a real scientific event, to their peers and to conference participants. In addition to the detailed description of these project-works, this paper also aims to present the results of a survey on students' perception of the activities. The gathered data indicates that both technical and interpersonal competences were successfully addressed.
Inter-Cultural Communication for Business Management in Contemporary World
2016
Culture is commonly defined as the ocean of values, attitudes, behaviors and transactions which govern the human life and civilization. Culture is the root of all policies, programmes, products, services and other activities which take place across the globe. In the world, there is no common culture, language, values and aspirations. There is ever growing need for constant communication across cultures. The cultural exchange programmes are becoming imminent in the age of globalization since businesses are becoming increasingly global in their operations. The multi-national corporations have understood the need for communication across cultures in view of their ever increasing business operations. Inter-cultural communication also enables the business organizations to understand the diversified needs of the customers across the globe and fulfill their demands. The cultural interaction has become an important means of facilitating inter-cultural relations which benefits the people reg...
Business Communication Teaching to Indian Students in the Times of COVID19
Covid19 has changed the world as we knew it. There has been a paradigm shift in the way the world does business. People and their interpersonal dynamics have altered as have their perspectives in life. Teachership in the times of the pandemic has been a challenge in its own right. Like many Indians across different professions, there is a digital divide among teachers as well. Transitioning to Online Teaching has been a unique and stimulating experience fraught with hits and misses. Business Communication Teaching and Interpersonal Skills Training too underwent a significant transition in the areas of lexicon, kinaesthetics, corporate attributes, digital/electronic communication. WFH (Work from Home), in itself a new word, brought with it the baggage of accompanying vocabulary. To probe these unusual working jargons, understand the shifting of focus from physical to virtual and its accompanying corporate etiquette requires immediate research attention. To this end, a survey was conducted to ask working professionals from different domains to contribute their valuable insights into the points of change noted during their communicative experiences in course of the Covid 19 pandemic induced WFH. This study and an analysis of the responses, is an attempt to address the different areas of change that we have undergone to arrive at Communication2.0. The paper is an honest experiential documentation of the shifts that are underway as well as those envisaged in terms of Teaching Communication in the times of Corona.
One of the most important aspects of cross-cultural competence of Economics students – the ability to overcome cultural barriers in professional communication at the international level is considered in the article. The author analyzes in detail the causes of cultural barriers, the role of stereotypes in communication, the prerequisites of adequate perception of partners’ statements and actions. Cultural barriers’ overcoming should be based on respect for national traditions, ideas, values and norms of behavior of foreign partners. The article notes that the task of studying interaction characteristics with representatives of various national business cultures is very complex and many-sided, so each teacher has to develop their own methodology that takes into account both modern approaches to cross-cultural competence development of future specialists in the field of business, and needs, interests and communicative competence of each particular group of students. The article gives a brief description of the technique of teaching English, which is aimed at developing skills of students to overcome cultural barriers in business communication. This technique consists of three phases (stages), each of which includes different kinds of tasks. The tasks of three stages of the given teaching model encourage students’ positive attitude to representatives of foreign cultures. The article emphasizes that this teaching technique should teach students to classify cultural business communication barriers, to find ways to overcome them, and include a variety of interactive teaching methods focused on the development of communicative skills in interpersonal cross-cultural communication.
Language and culture virtual exchanges in higher education: A case study
Apertura, 2017
This study describes a teaching intervention carried out in the field of telecollaboration on a university-level course. Two main goals were set for this didactic innovation, which was carried out through an Interinstitutional Teaching Project: firstly, to increase the time of exposure to the foreign language (English/Spanish) and secondly, to raise cultural awareness among British and Spanish university students. The qualitative method has been applied in order to describe the participation and involvement of the learners. This case study firstly describes telecollaboration and the research that has recently been carried out in this field. Secondly, it presents the three phases of the project: action plan, development and evaluation. Thirdly, participants’ perceptions (both positive and negative) are described. Students’ comments are analyzed mainly in terms of linguistic, cultural or other general features expressed by participants. Finally, this case study includes a conclusion in which planning strategies and task design are emphasized, since both have brought about a successful experience for university students.