JoLIE 8/2015
INTERCULTURAL ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE EYES OF STUDENTS: FEEDBACK FROM THE IEREST PROJECT
Neva Čebron
University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia
Irina Golubeva
University of Pannonia, Veszrpém, Hungary
John Osborne
University of Savoy, Chambery, France
Abstract
The first module of intercultural education resources for Erasmus students developed within the IEREST (Intercultural Education Resources for ERASMUS Students and their Teachers) project was piloted in spring 2014. This paper discusses the theoretical and methodological issues behind the development of intercultural learning activities for this module, and compares these with the expectations and perceptions of students, as evidenced by feedback obtained from pre-departure Erasmus students after they had participated in the piloted activities.
Results indicate that while a cross-cultural or neo-essentialist approach still seems to shape students’ expectations regarding intercultural issues, the intercultural or critical cosmopolitan learning approach that informs the IEREST project does appear to have a favourable impact on the students’ perceptions of the outcomes of such a course. Although the data analysed in this paper were gathered in the specific context of higher education student mobility in Europe, most of the findings and conclusions may be applied to a broader intercultural learning context.
Keywords: Intercultural communication competence; Student mobility; Non-essentialist approach; IEREST Project; Intercultural education.
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How to cite this article: Čebron, N., Golubeva, I., & Osborne, J. (2015). Intercultural activities through the eyes of students: feedback from the IEREST project. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 8, 59–72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2015.8.4
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