International Conference: language education for sustainable development

Virtual exchange (VE) can be a powerful framework for fostering critical literacy and discourse competences needed for tackling controversial sociopolitical topics of global significance, yet traditional approaches generally fail to fully leverage this potential (Hauck 2019, O’Dowd 2019, Krengel 2021, Öztürk 2022). The Israel-Hamas War is a contemporary example of a highly complex global issue surrounded by controversial discourse. Against this backdrop, this study explores the experiences of EFL student teachers participating in two sustainability-focused VE projects with a partial focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and partners located in Germany, Israel, and Türkiye.
The study investigates three research questions: (1) What are the challenges faced by participants when participating in a VE in the context of an ongoing conflict? (2) What strategies can be employed to overcome these challenges? (3) What are the reported learning outcomes?
To address these questions, the explorative study draws on semi-structured interviews with and written reflections by participants. Students of the first intervention (April – July 2024) are interviewed with a delay of several months, while students in the second intervention (October – December 2024) are interviewed near the end of their project. The reflections are in both cases written near the end. The data is treated with a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2022).
Preliminary findings indicate that students are initially hesitant and wary. One reason is a self-reported lack of knowledge about the ongoing conflict and its history. In one case, a critical incident required a thorough intervention by the teacher trainers. However, participants generally consider the experience important for awareness-raising purposes and report increased motivation to seek out information and to engage in political action and activism.
Critical VE is an emerging field with increasing momentum. More research and coordination between active practitioners are needed to identify good practices and to investigate learning outcomes.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis: a practical guide. SAGE.
Hauck, M. (2019). Virtual exchange for (critical) digital literacy skills development. European Journal of Language Policy, 11(2), 187-210.
Krengel, F. (2021). “Glocal Education” Through Virtual Exchange? Training Pre-Service EFL Teachers to Connect Their Local Classrooms to the World and Back. Global Education Review, 8 (2-3), 138-153.
O’Dowd, R. (2019). A Transnational Model of Virtual Exchange for Global Citizenship Education. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/38719816/A_transnational_model_of_virtual_exchange_for_global_citizenship_education
Öztürk, S. Y. (2022). Intercultural communicative competence and global citizenship education of ELT student teachers through telecollaboration. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/intercultural-communicativecompetence-global/docview/2763567956/se-2

Fabian Krengel is a research assistant and PhD student for English Language Teaching at the University of Regensburg. His doctoral research focuses on the interface between virtual exchange, global education, and controversiality in teacher education. He has experience working with VE partners in Brazil, Chile, Israel, Sweden, and Türkiye.
Dr. Samed Yasin Öztürk holds BA, MA, and PhD degrees in Applied Linguistics/English Language Teaching. His research interests include Virtual Exchange, Telecollaboration, ICC, and learner autonomy. He currently works at Muş Alparslan University Faculty of Education English Language Teaching Department.