Asynchronous (Online) Internationalization at Home: Virtual Cultural Exchange Among Korean and US College Students more

Fri, Apr 28, 12:00-Thu, Jun 1, 00:05 Asia/Seoul

This is a reflective report on experiences and impact of virtual exchange among Korean and US College students during the pandemic. Educational college students at a public university in the US had opportunities to virtually meet college students in Korea who are learning English across the disciplines at a large national university. Based on the pre-survey result, US educational college students showed their high interests in virtual language and cultural exchange. US students (n=10) and Korean students (n=20) met five times via Zoom for about an hour throughout one semester. The purposes of the project are as follows: 1) Making global friends; 2) Study abroad at home; 3) Developing intercultural communication competence (Deardorff, 2009); 4) Practice the ESL teaching skills; 5) Cultural exchange. The reflections of US students are discussed by sharing positive and negative impact of virtual exchange. At the end, future research plan of virtual exchange is suggested.