This document discusses how to maximize intercultural learning in international school exchanges. It begins by stating that intercultural learning and competence are main goals of exchanges, alongside language learning and global citizenship. However, simply immersing students in another culture is not enough for learning to occur automatically - pedagogical guidance is needed. The document then outlines what content should be covered, including concepts of culture and cultural differences. It recommends preparing students before exchanges, guiding them during via tasks and projects, and debriefing after to process learnings. Specific activities are provided as examples for each stage. The outcome should be exchanges designed intentionally as educational programs with measurable learning objectives and impact.

1. Intercultural learning in the context of
international school exchanges:
How to maximize the learning effects of
intercultural encounters?
DUNJA ZIVANOVIC
Belgrade University
The European Federation for Intercultural Learning

2. Content
• How present is intercultural learning in school
exchanges?
• How can we enhance educational content of school
exchanges?
WHAT
WHEN
HOW

3. Intercultural learning and competence
• One of the main goals of international school
exchanges, along with active global citizenship
and foreign language learning
• Defined in a number of ways, depending on the
context
• In the context of education in Europe one of the
dominant frameworks has been created by
Council of Europe (Byram)

4. Intercultural competence model (Byram 1997)

5. School exchanges and ICL
• Common belief that intercultural encounters are a sufficient
condition for learning to take place
= Immersion hypothesis and master narrative of study abroad (Vande
Berg 2009)
• Is such a belief justified?
• How successful are exchange programmes in achieving
intercultural learning goals?
• How do we evaluate their impact and check if they are really
educational programmes different from ordinary tourist trips?

6. School exchanges and ICL
• А number of pieces of research shows that learning does not
happen automatically, but that a more systematic
pedagogical guidance is required in order for learning to take
place
(e.g. Root, Е & Ngampornchai 2012; Paige and
Vande Berg 2012; Pedersen 2010; Kitsantas 2004)

7. What should be the content of
intercultural pedagogy?
Depending on the setting it should vary, but in any case it
should include:
• The concept of culture (Culture vs. culture; material vs.
subjective)
• Cultural differences both on surface and deeper levels
• Communication styles
• Intercultural understanding, adaptation and dialogue

8. When should pedagogical
interventions take place?
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle
Concrete
experience
Reflective
observation
Abstract
conceptualization
Active
experimentaton

9. When should pedagogical
interventions take place?
For the contact to acquire educational value, it must
be prepared for, facilitated, and debriefed (Bennett
2012).
Before the
exchange
(preparation)
During the
exchange
(on-site tasks
and fieldwork)
After the
exchange
(debriefing)

10. Which activities should be implemented
into exchanges? (HOW)
BEFORE the exchange
• Students find out about the host country as homework, they debrief
in class (online, from books)
• Introduction of the concept of culture (Culture vs. culture, culture
iceberg)
• Games which simulate intercultural encounters (Albatross, Bafa-
Bafa, Derdians)
• Students prepare a presentation about their country that they will
present to their guests/hosts on a specific topic (for example
school, how teenagers spend their free time, customs and
traditions)

11. Which activities should be implemented into
exchanges? (HOW)
DURING the exchange
• Students’ projects – explore certain aspects of the host country
(e.g. family life, school system); students can be given a list of
guiding questions that their research should answer. The output
can be a video/paper/presentation.
• Parallel projects for host students: introduce the guests to their
culture, language, customs (e.g. carry out an introductory language
or national dancing lesson)
• Community service project in the host community, with the objective
of becoming aware of world issues and nderstanding problems of
other communities

12. Which activities should be implemented into
exchanges? (HOW)
AFTER the exchange
• Debriefing workshops – students should process what they have learnt
during the intercultural experience.
• What did you expect? What was exactly the way you had expected and
what was unexpected?
• What was the best point of the exchange experience?
• Were there any difficulties that you encountered? How did you deal with
them?
• What were the biggest cultural differences that you observed?
Very useful resource: Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters by Council of
Europe
• Participants of the exchange can present their experiences to the
school/community.

13. Outcome
• Exchanges as educational programmes with clear
learning objectives
• Tangible output creates the possibility to evaluate the
effects of exchanges
• Improvement in the quality of the programme and
participant experiences

14. THANK YOU