While the benefits of cultural exchange and abroad field trips are numerous, there are obstacles in organizing them. For many students and teachers, the greatest challenge are the cuts in educational funding. As referenced through the TESOL International Association, the proposed 2018 federal budget severely limits funding for cultural and educational exchange programs through the Department of State (Cutler, 2017). For public school students, funding cuts made to such programs are especially impactful, eliminating opportunities they may not otherwise have to travel abroad and experience the different ways of knowing and living in the world. It is doubtful these cuts will be subject to change for some time. In light of this, educators may turn to using technology to provide these important language experiences, as an alternative to physical travel. 

 

 

 

It should not be expected that all students will be familiar with the technology proposed. Rather, students should have an active role in choosing their research groups they would like to be a part of, thereby selecting the kinds of technology they wish to use. The teacher must incorporate class tutorials of the communal technology programs, such as Google Docs and Prezi, that all students will use. Students who explore their own technology only used for their groups, like online programs such as Expedia, may be given time to explain the function of these sites and how they discovered to best use them via mini lessons for the class. The role of technology in this project is secondary to content, similar to that expressed in Castaneda’s (2013) study on digital storytelling. The intent here, like in the study, is for students to engage in interacting with and learning multiple literacies with multimodal technology.

 

-       In the process of completing this project, students will come into contact with and use a variety of English geography related terms, relevant to the standards appropriate for their grade. Examples may include: Cape, Prime Meridian, Bay, Plateau, Climate, Landform, Equator, Region, Hemisphere etc. Additional social studies related ideas that can be assessed at the end of the unit via Google Forms include important facts or knowledge on the country of study. For example: main religions, languages spoken, location on a map, brief history, important historical sites, government, and important cultural/linguistic knowledge or terms like “kilt” for Scotland or the use of “mate” to address others in Australia.

-       In addition, there will be a variety of interdisciplinary content that a teacher may choose to assess. For instance; Math (budgeting, comparing flight prices etc.), English (different literacies required i.e. reading travel brochures, digital literacy, navigating Trip Advisor etc.), Science (different landforms, weather/climate and how that may affect the trip) etc.

-  Modals (should, will etc.)

- Tenses (Past (history), Present and Future)

-  Comparatives/Superlatives    - Reading/Speaking/
Listening/Writing skills, such as identifying key information and summarizing.

-       Google Earth

-       Google Docs/Sheets (Using word processors and spreadsheets)

-       Kahoot!

-       Google Forms

-       Socrative

-       Prezi/Powerpoint

-       Padlet

Students will combine their findings on a class Padlet in order to make communal decisions for their trip. Voting will take place using Socrative, and information will be combined and organized between group members using Google docs/sheets. All groups will need to do online research, accessing a variety of websites, both on their own and some suggested by the teacher. In groups, students will present their findings to the rest of the class via Prezi and the completed, voted-upon, final proposal will be documented through the class Padlet. The culminating activity will involve a virtual “trip”, where the class period will be devoted to listening to traditional music from the country, eating traditional food and participating in a virtual field trip to one or several points of interest (for virtual field trips, students may use The Google Art Project or research virtual field trips available through museums and other tourist sites for the destination). The elements of this final “trip” day will be conducted by the students themselves, along with help from the teacher.

 

-       How the class gets to the country (using English websites, like Expedia, to compare flight prices, researching time zones, finding the closest airports, arranging transportation and choosing the best flight dependent on numerous factors like budget, length of voyage etc.)

-       The itinerary (researching online via English websites like  Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet books etc.)

-       Health concerns (What kinds of vaccines students may need, do students need to bring malaria pills, is the water potable etc.)

-       Where to stay and how to navigate transportation there (comparing hotel prices and value with the proposed budget, what kind of transportation is available and what is the best choice)

-       Budget/length of stay etc. 

-       What to pack (researching weather, activities, cultural dress expectations etc.)

-       Basic cultural/linguistic background of country of interest (brief history, food, holidays, tourist sites, natural resources, traditional clothes, language/culture differences etc.)

-       How the class should prepare for the trip (what books to read, videos to watch etc. to have background on the country before visiting).

 

The problem, then, is how do teachers create authentic cultural exchange opportunities for their students in order for them to practice language and experience different ways of living, all in the face of heavy budget cuts? The answer may rely on technology, increasingly made available in the educational sphere.

Student population: Primarily composed of ELLs, evenly mixed males/females

School: A public school, urban setting, USA

Proficiency level: Ranging from Emerging to Commanding

L1 backgrounds: Any; homogenous or mixed

Age: 10 – 12