Adapting Intercultural Communication and Spanish Classes at Shanghai University during COVID-19: Zoom, WeChat, and Beyond

This paper will discuss how intercultural communication (ICC) and Spanish classes at the Sydney Institute of Language and Commerce (SILC)-Business School at Shanghai University were adapted to be conducted virtually during COVID-19. The platforms used included Zoom, WeChat, and pre-recorded videos o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of education and development using information and communication technology Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 22 - 42
Main Author: Bradford, Mitchell R
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bridgetown International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology 01.01.2021
Subjects:
Business Schools
Coronaviruses
Course Content
COVID-19
Distance Education
Distance learning
Educational Change
Flipped classroom
Foreign Countries
Futures (of Society)
Higher education
Intercultural Communication
Lesson Plans
Likert Scales
Online instruction
Pandemics
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Spanish
Student Attitudes
Synchronous Communication
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Thinking Skills
Undergraduate Students
Video Technology
Videoconferencing
China (Shanghai)
ISSN:1814-0556, 1814-0556
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper will discuss how intercultural communication (ICC) and Spanish classes at the Sydney Institute of Language and Commerce (SILC)-Business School at Shanghai University were adapted to be conducted virtually during COVID-19. The platforms used included Zoom, WeChat, and pre-recorded videos of lessons. While the Spanish course met for short classes to practice speaking, the ICC course only discussed via messaging in a WeChat group. Both had pre-recorded videos of lessons. The merits and drawbacks of each of these will be discussed. Additionally, perceptions of these tools were collected via questionnaires with 25 Likert-scale items and 15 open-ended items conducted with the students of the courses and teachers of different subjects at SILC. Findings indicate that each have their strengths and weaknesses but could be used synchronously to achieve the best outcomes. For example, Zoom being used only for small groups to practice speaking and videos for lecturing. Interestingly, most teachers reported not using WeChat for teaching purposes despite the students being very familiar with it and finding it useful for several aspects. The paper ends with suggestions on how these methods can be used for classes after the pandemic, whether they are conducted online or in person.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:1814-0556
1814-0556