Retooling Study Abroad: Digital Approaches to Linguistic and Cultural Immersion

Study abroad is the ideal option for world language students to immerse themselves in the target language and culture. However, circumstances beyond control may make travel challenging, if not impossible. Technology has the potential to engage students, and to provide an opportunity for linguistic and cultural immersion from home. In addition to immersing students in the target language and culture, the author shows that technology can be implemented in all world language courses to foster connections and comparisons, and most importantly, create community in and outside of the classroom. Current research demonstrates how digital tools in traditional language classes support ACTFL’s 5 Cs (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities), but this book bridges the long-established gap between language and advanced content (film, literature, art, etc.) courses. Each chapter highlights one digital tool, along with activities that can be applied at the home institution. These digital tools and activities correspond to a specific stage or moment during a student’s time abroad: familiarizing oneself with new surroundings upon arrival (digital maps), making friends abroad (social media), and building one’s confidence in speaking and listening in the target language (telecollaboration). Each chapter will also focus on one of three modes of communication (presentational, interpretive, and interpersonal) and touch on various skills from the 21st Century World Language Skills map. Using examples throughout the book, the author also demonstrates that digital tools have the power to make language learning inclusive of and accessible to all students, thereby fulfilling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals of higher education.