Summary
– Main objectives of the Virtual Exchange
Grenoble (UGA): French students, too often frozen in a long reflection before speaking, must develop a spontaneous and more natural expression. We are trying to create a real need for communication and not, as in class, an “artificial” discussion led by a teacher who has a perfect command of their mother tongue and can help them, in their mother tongue, in case of difficulties of expression.
Ostrava (TUO): The students have been dealing with German since elementary school. They need contact with non-Czech-speaking partners in order to use their knowledge of German in practice and to recognize that in addition to English, German can also serve as a language of communication.
– Targeted learning outcomes
UGA: Students must develop reflexes to express themselves, make themselves understood and understand the partner, as in a real situation in a German-speaking country.
TUO: Orientation towards practical use of the language. Students should also practice the ability to communicate via the Internet and use their language more spotlessly and quickly.
– Global task description
UGA: As it is a question of developing automatisms and of putting the students in real situations, there is no preparation for this exchange. The themes in progress and during the discussions are different. Nevertheless, the vocabulary and grammatical structures learned in class can be reinvested during virtual exchanges.
TUO: Knowledge and topics used in the course complete the VE program.
Partners
| Partner / department | Course | Language of instruction | Number of students |
| Université Grenoble Alpes (F) | Phelma A2 | German | 16 |
| Technical University of Ostrava (CZ) | Jazyk německý c/III | German and Czech |
Start and end date
23/09/2019 – 30/04/2020
Duration
2 semester
Discipline
–
Integration and assessment
UGA: Students must accomplish 2 tasks: one oral expression (creation of a video) and one written expression (creation of a flyer) per semester. The written expression could not be realized due to time errors. The examples in parentheses are from the first semester. At the same time, the students record their exchanges by videoconference (but this more for Evolve than for the teachers); without an exchange with the partners the tasks cannot be carried out. As in the working world we focus on the end product and less on the way to get there.
TUO: The students have 2 tasks – they should 1) get to know their French partner, discuss the tasks and plan the end product and 2) present the result of the communication in front of the class in a form.
Technology tools used
– Learning environment
The students will have a worksheet with precise instructions. This worksheet is distributed just before the videoconference appointment. The goal of this telecollaboration is to develop spontaneity. There will therefore be no platform or other tools to prepare the students.
– Collaboration tools
Students used Zoom for oral exchanges and email for written exchanges.
– Reflection tool
A debate at the end of the telecollaboration to take stock of the difficulties encountered.