Exploring the transnational connections between blended learning spaces, trans-institutional collaboration, and intercultural awareness in transformative telecollaborative projects

Abstract

This introductory essay aims to shed light on the theoretical raison d’etre , the intersections within, and the main lines shared by the five essays that make up this section. The section is dedicated to transnational and blended learning spaces in telecollaborative, trans-institutional projects. This piece pivots on the increasingly important and pervasive theoretical notion of the “Spatial Turn” (Bachmann-Medick 2016, 211-243), which has become increasingly visible in, among other fields, pedagogy and cultural studies, and more specifically in the idea of boundary-crossing and hybridisation not only of physical but also of methodological spaces. This introductory essay shows how these five scholarly pieces contribute in different ways to enriching the interdisciplinary scholarly space at the intersection of intercultural awareness and technology- enhanced teaching and learning of foreign languages and cultures.