Challenges of the transatlantic cross-disciplinary ENVOIE-UFRUG project

Abstract

This paper reports upon the interdisciplinary exchange between a group of students at the University of Groningen (UG), The Netherlands, enrolled in a course on Hispanic literature and a group of students at the University of La Frontera (UFRO), Chile, enrolled in a course on journalism. The study focusses on three challenges: first, the way sociopolitical factors, i.e. a student strike, can affect an exchange; second, how to integrate learning goals from two disciplines in one Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE); and third, how to ensure reciprocity and interdependence between students. After describing how we addressed these challenges, we evaluate to what extent we have been successful at doing this. Departing from student and teacher surveys and field observations, we will show how the contextual constraints at socio-political, course, teacher, and learner level influenced the development of this OIE. Finally, we summarise the main lessons learned and in the conclusions we draw new lines for further improvement and research.