Fostering glocal intercultural awareness through virtual exchange in TESOL teacher education

Abstract

This article reports on a 7-week virtual exchange (VE) involving teacher candidates in three countries in co-creation of learning materials based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The aim of the study was to investigate whether and how the participants found a VE project focused on global citizenship education beneficial for their training as English language teachers. Through the lens of critical and reflexive interculturality, the researchers analyzed VE participants' self-reported data in relation to four categories on global competence: investigating the world, acknowledging perspectives, sharing ideas, and taking action (OECD, 2019). Participants reported that cross-cultural collaboration on a professionally oriented task was a potentially empowering activity enabling future teachers not only to gain intercultural and pedagogical self-awareness, but also to understand TESOL from both local and global perspectives. With relevance for teacher educators and teachers in the wider international TESOL community, the findings contribute to the growing body of research demonstrating the value of merging VE with global citizenship education in TESOL teacher preparation.