Getting to know one another
Your relationship with your partner – and your ability to work with each other – is one of the critical indicators of a successful VE project.
When your participants work with their intercultural counterparts, they will have you and your partner to facilitate them through the sometimes tricky process of communicating and collaborating across physical and cultural borders. In planning the VE project, you and your partner will have to manage this yourselves.
Many people I spoke to have found it most helpful to use a series of prompt questions to guide their initial conversations with their partner. This helps them to get to know one another and ensures that important logistical questions don’t get forgotten. (You would not believe how many VE projects have been abandoned at the last minute when the teams have realised the time difference makes it impossible for them to meet!)
SUNY COIL Center has created some tables for the collection of background information that they suggest partners complete before they begin designing a VE project. Covering a number of topics, these are a really helpful starting point for both understanding your partner’s context and for reflecting on your own.
The original tables are available on p11-19 of the Faculty Guide for COIL Course Development. Below are the same tables adapted for a non-formal education context.
Table 1: Contact information
It is important to ensure you have all the relevant contact information for your partner, and know their communication preferences.
| Contact information | Sample Responses Partner 1 | Sample Responses Partner 2 |
| 1.1 Name | Part A | Part B |
| 1.2 Email Address | partA@gmail.com and partA@institution.gov.uk | partB@hotmail.com and partB@charity.org |
| 1.3 Phone number (for calls and texts) | +44 (0) 7891 012345 | +37066654545 |
| 1.4 Preferred contact | WhatsApp / SMS / Email | |
| 1.5 Professional/Individual/Personal website(s) URL | www.institution.gov.uk | www.charity.org/myprofile |
| 1.6 Professional areas of interest | Employability skills | English |
| 1.7 Personal areas of interest | Stand up paddle boarding, cycling | Reading, running and weight training |
Table 2: Issues of time
When you are working across international borders, you will need to carefully consider the time you have available to collaborate with each other. You might find that your respective time zones or the availability of your participants mean it is only feasible to work together asynchronously. This is perfectly ok but it is helpful to know this right from the start so that you can plan the project accordingly.
| Issues of Time | Sample Responses Partner 1 | Sample Responses Partner 2 |
| 2.1 What time zone are you in? | GMT | EET (GMT+3) |
| 2.2 Is there daylight savings time there (i.e. when the time is moved forwards or backwards)? If so, when does it begin/end. | BST (GMT+1) runs from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday in October | EEST (GMT +4) 31 March 24 – 27 October 24 |
| 2.3 What are the best hours/days to contact you by phone/video call, taking into account time zone differences? | Wednesdays 1 – 5pm Fridays 9am – 5pm | Anytime during working hours (Mon-Fri 9:00-17:30), with a day or two notice |
| 2.4 During which dates could this VE run? | Ideally between May – September | August |
| 2.5 When do your participants meet (dates, days and times)? | We have 2 groups. One meets on Wednesday evenings 7 – 8pm and the other on Saturday morning 9 – 11am. They meet all year round. | Language Summer School runs from 01 – 30 August. We have classes at a range of times. |
| 2.6 Are there any holidays we should be aware of? | UK bank holidays: https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays | Public holidays in Lithuania: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Lithuania |
| 2.7 How many hours per week can you commit to the development of this VE? | 3 hours | 5 hours |
| 2.8 How many hours per week can you commit during the VE itself? | 3 hours | 2 hours |
Table 3: Issues of language
English tends to be the dominant language in Virtual Exchange and across the internet in general. However, you may have participants who are learning another language, or learning English as a second language. This could also be true of your partner’s participants. It is important to consider from the outset what the main language spoken will be, and to consider whether this will put one group at an advantage and the other at a disadvantage. It is important to address any differences in language proficiency at the outset so that you can plan activities accordingly.
| Issues of language | Sample Responses Partner 1 | Sample Responses Partner 2 |
| 3.1 What languages do you read, write and/or speak? | English | Lithuanian, English, Russian |
| 3.2 What is the primary language spoken by your participants? | English, although participants are likely to come from a range of backgrounds. Common languages include Polish, Romanian and Urdu. | Primarily Lithuanian, also Polish, Russian and English |
| 3.3 What language(s) would you like participants to use during the VE? | English | English |
| 3.4 How fluent are your participants in this language? | First language speakers or advanced proficiency | B1 (Intermediate) + |
| 3.5 Would a bilingual approach be useful and viable for this VE? If so, what would the second language be? | Everything will need to be in English for our participants | Only English is needed |
| 3.6 How will you deal with language translation issues if/when they arise? | We have access to council translators if needed | I can act as translator |
| 3.7 Overall, how do you expect language skills to effect the VE, and do you see language learning as an important component for your participants? | It would be nice if our participants could learn some basic phrases in Lithuanian | Yes, our participants’ main aim is to improve their English language |
Table 4: Virtual Exchange content
Negotiating the VE content is important to ensure that it is beneficial for both partners and their participants. It is vital that this is collaboratively designed. However, your answers to these questions will ensure that you understand each other’s priorities and needs.
| VE content | Sample Responses Partner 1 | Sample Responses Partner 2 |
| 4.1 Please list the three most important goals you hope this VE will achieve for your participants. | 1. Improve their digital skills and confidence with technology 2. Gain practical experience of cross-cultural team working 3. Make new friends | 1. Develop English speaking skills 2. Learn about the cultural and business context of the UK 3. Be able to use their English language skills in a real-life scenario, including being able to work through issues when they arise |
| 4.2 Will this VE be part of an existing course? If so, what is the topic and the course learning outcomes? | It will be part of a support group for job seekers. It is not a course so there are no learning outcomes, but participants share their experiences and learn from and help each other. | Yes, B2 English. See CEFR Levels for more information. |
| 4.3 Have you thought of collaborative tasks, activities and outcomes that you think could support your goals? If so, what are they? | I think we could work on this together. | I would like there to be opportunities to communicate through both speaking and writing. The topic doesn’t really matter, but it would be nice to learn more about your city. |
Table 5: Assessment of learning
Assessment is not just for formal education. With any learning experience it is important to check whether the activities supported the participants in learning what you intended them to learn. This does not mean you need to give your participants a grade, but you should aim to include at least one activity that will demonstrate to you (and to your participants themselves) how they have progressed. Typically in VE, this is a reflective task such as writing or recording a video/audio in which participants describe what they did, what they found difficult, and what they learned as a result, and what they will do differently next time.
| Assessment of learning | Sample Responses Partner 1 | Sample Responses Partner 2 |
| 5.1 Do you typically assess your participants’ learning? If so how? | This isn’t a formal course so we don’t assess learning. We do use a feedback form to find out what worked for participants and what we could improve. | Yes, we use standardised tests that cannot be changed. |
| 5.2 How will you deal with student attendance during the VE? | Participants must attend 80% of the groups. | Attendance is typically high but we don’t offer marks for participation or mandate attendance in any way. |
| 5.3 Do you plan to use pre and/or post VE evaluations? Have you considered what types of questions you might ask? | We already have a post-group feedback form that we could use. I’m not sure what we would ask pre-VE. | Students must have passed the B1 level to attend the course. |
| 5.4 Have you considered how you could assess the intercultural learning that takes place? If so, what tools or methods might you use? | I have heard of some online tests that can be used before and after the course but I think they might have a cost attached. | We could send a questionnaire after the course is finished to see how it went for them. |
Table 6: Issues of technology
As you and your participants will be working primarily online, you will need to use some kind of technology to communicate with each other. You will therefore need to know what kind of devices/software you each have available to you and are comfortable using, as this will impact the activities you can do together. For example, if you or your partner only have a low speed internet connection then you will want to avoid having lots of video calls. Similarly, there are lots of tools out there for online collaboration, but some of them can be quite expensive. If one or both of you don’t have the funding to purchase licenses then you won’t be able to use them.
Many VEs make use of freely available, open-access applications such as Google Suite, or free versions of tools such as Zoom or Miro. Do remember to check whether your institution (or even country) blocks the use of certain tools, e.g. Google and YouTube are banned all across China.
| Issues of technology | Sample response Partner 1 | Sample response Partner 2 |
| 6.1 Please describe your confidence levels in using online tools (e.g. video calling, online whiteboards, discussion boards, etc) | Reasonably confident and happy to try out new things. | Fine with the tools I am used to. |
| 6.2 Does your institution have access to any online applications that might be useful? Please name them. Would your institution be supportive of allowing people outside your institution to access/use them? | Only email and a Zoom subscription. We can set up Zoom meetings for anyone to join, but can’t provide anyone with a login. | We use Canvas (LMS) for sharing resources for our course and can add guests to spaces. |
| 6.3 Please describe your participants’ level of digital skills/confidence | Very varied. Most will be confident with email and word processing etc, some are very confident using their phones to create videos/take photos and using social media. Some will rarely have used a computer before. | All will at least be able to use email, access Canvas and take online quizzes etc. |
| 6.4 Does your institution have dedicated IT support? Please describe | Yes, and they can give advice but won’t be available to troubleshoot during the project. | Yes, but they cannot help with this. |
| 6.5 Please describe the bandwidth (speed and capacity of the internet connection e.g. slow, fast, etc.) available to you and your students at your institution | Fast but prone to disruption. | Slow. |
| 6.6 Please describe the bandwidth (speed and capacity of the internet connection e.g. slow, fast, etc.) available to you and your students at your homes or where you or they work | Fast. | Fast. |
| 6.7 Do you or your participants pay by megabyte for your online data usage? And is this a limitation to you and your participants’ use of the internet? | Some of our participants may only have access to the internet via pay-as-you-go on their phones outside of our sessions. | Yes. |
| 6.8 What hardware (devices) do you and your participants have available? | I have a desktop computer at work, and a laptop and smart phone at home. Our group is very varied and some will have top-of-the-range tech, others will only have phones (may not even be smart phones) and rely on the local library for access to a computer. | We all have access to a laptop and a smart phone. Some will be more high spec than others. |
| 6.9 During the course, do you wish to engage in synchronous (real-time) activities such as video calls? If so, have you considered potential time-zone differences and bandwidth demands? | Yes, I think this would be a good way to build community. It would be best to do this during our usual group session times, if possible. | Yes, during class time. |
| 6.10 Would you like your participants to work together outside of your scheduled meeting times? Why or why not? | I am concerned about their internet access so I would be happy for them to be working independently (on their own), or with other members of the group, but not on any tasks that require them to be online. | Ideally, yes. I want them to be practising their language as much as possible, especially in situations where they don’t have me to ‘rescue’ them. |
| 6.11 Will asynchronous activities, such as email, discussion forums, and sharing photos/videos be an important aspect of the VE? | I think it would help with getting to know each other if we can see photos/videos of everyone, their local environment etc. | Yes, I’d like to use a variety of written and spoken communication. Using photos and videos will help bring the activities to life. |
| 6.12 What issue of technology appears most troublesome or threatening at this stage? How might you overcome those issues? | Access to the internet outside of group time. It would help to limit synchronous activities to fit with our group timetable. If we need to, we can set up our participants in groups so that at least one of them has access to a computer and internet connection, or book them time in a local library. | The internet connection on site is poor. It can handle video calls but we may need to be patient. |
Table 7: Institutional cultures and expectations
Once you start working together with your partner you will likely start to notice differences in the way your institutions do things, and what you expect of participants. We can’t cover everything about how you work in one table, but these questions should help you think about the basics. It is critical to understand what each other (and your participants) are able to commit to in terms of workload and flexibility, and the level of confidence they will have with collaborative tasks.
| Institutional cultures and expectations | Sample response Partner 1 | Sample response Partner 2 |
| 7.1 Are your participants willing and able to complete work independently (outside of any scheduled meeting times)? How much time are they willing to commit to this? | This will be entirely voluntary so any outside work will need to be purposeful so they can see how it will benefit them. | Yes, they are expected to practise their English and complete homework tasks outside of class. This is usually about 2 hours per week. |
| 7.2 Are your participants able to commit to regular in-person or online attendance? | Yes, when they sign up to the group they must commit to attend 80% of the sessions. | Yes, we rarely have issues with attendance. |
| 7.3 Do your participants already know each other or will this be a new grouping? | Depends on when we start the VE. Our groups run for 12 weeks so they could have only just met, or they may have known each other for several weeks. | They will meet each other for the first time about a week before the VE starts (ideally). |
| 7.4 Will your participants be confident in getting involved in discussions, or will they need some support? | They will need support. | They are confident to speak up in their own languages but will need encouragement in English. |
| 7.5 Is there anything you think your partner should know about your participants, their culture, and how they communicate? | Our participants will be from a range of backgrounds (not all are British, so there are a lot of cultures in the room). | I don’t think so. |
Featured image by Mark Duffel on Unsplash
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