Practice Reports

The application of the Global Competence Matrix in a virtual exchange program with US and Brazilian students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.3.35804

Keywords:

virtual exchange, teletandem Brasil, Global Competence Matrix, language learning, feminism

Abstract

This paper presents the details of a virtual exchange project conducted with 14 university students from Brazil and 14 university students from the US during the US spring quarter of 2019. This virtual exchange was part of the Teletandem Brasil Project, which has been developed by São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil and aims at promoting cultural and language learning in tandem. Students watched videos about current topics in Brazil and in the US and discussed them with their international partners. After the mediation sessions, the participants analyzed the results of their conversations through the Global Competence Matrix, a set of guidelines created by the US global competence task force in 2011. The results point to the importance of using an educational tool to promote a deeper cultural understanding, which in this paper focused on the issue of feminism in Brazil and in the US.

Author Biographies

Ana Cristina Biondo Salomão, São Paulo State University (UNESP)

Ana Cristina Biondo Salomão holds a PhD in Linguistic Studies. She is currently a professor at the Department of Modern Languages of the Faculty of Sciences and Languages of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara campus, where she also coordinates the Teletandem Project. She is currently coordinator of the Brazilian Virtual Exchange (BraVE) Program at the institutional level. She is an accredited lecturer in the Postgraduate Program in Linguistics and Portuguese Language at the same institution, conducting research at Masters and PhD levels.

Eduardo Viana da Silva, University of Washington

Eduardo Viana da Silva is an associate teaching professor and coordinator of the Portuguese Program at the University of Washington, Seattle, United States. Eduardo received his Ph.D. in Luso-Brazilian Literature with an emphasis in Applied Linguistics from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He holds an interdisciplinary degree in teaching “Certificate in College and University Teaching” from UCSB, a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) graduate certificate from Brigham Young University (BYU) and an M.A. in Luso-Brazilian literature, also from BYU.

Published

2020-09-10

Issue

Vol. 3 (2020): Special Issue IVEC 2019

Section

Practice Reports

Copyright (c) 2020 Ana Cristina Biondo Salomão and Eduardo Viana da Silva

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