Culture Exchange – Course Description

This document details the aims and approach of the course as well as content and course design. The course was commissioned in June 2019 by Cissy Li (Head of the Language Centre at Hong Kong Baptist University) with the following brief: “Devise an interactive and engaging online course for HKBU exchange students (Local and International) to enhance cultural awareness and help students prepare for cultural differences they may encounter.” It was designed and written by Sarah Toogood (Senior Lecturer and English Section Head of the Language Centre at HKBU). 

Summary

Culture Exchange aims to raise cultural awareness and preparedness amongst exchange students (local and international) by connecting students synchronously and asynchronously via virtual and physical face-to-face tools and activities. The online platforms use innovative features such as comical cartoon videos with 7 characters who impart knowledge, guide research and help direct learning of complex theories on culture, the need for awareness, how to connect with people from diverse cultures, as well as applications of cultural knowledge to learning and business environments. To deepen learning and encourage engagement, the platforms also allow for students to store and review their work as well as to share and reflect on their own learning and output, and that of their peers. The design and delivery of the course is highly bespoke and incorporates a Learner Autonomy pedagogy based on Self-Determination Theory from the field of psychology, to ensure learners’ basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence are met, as they learn in a hybrid environment.  

Introduction 

The course is offered by the Language Centre at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), in collaboration with the International Office, HKBU. It comprises 5 online units each containing 2 chapters with 20 animated videos, 12 research activities, 17 tasks, 6 reflections and 4 parties. Registered students access course information and activities designed for learning and socialising via online platforms hosted on an interactive website.

The course is designed as a hybrid to combine online learning with face-to-face gatherings. It targets learners preparing to embark on an exchange programme where they will experience the culture of another country but is also useful for any student wishing to raise their cultural awareness and participate well in a multicultural environment. The design has been structured in line with HKBU e-Learning Committee’s October 2018 circular on ‘Pan-university Standards for Adoption of e-Pedagogies for Effective Teaching and Learning’. It does not simply deliver a traditional course online but facilitates new modes of learning, which encourage enactivism and support self-directed learning by scaffolding for learner autonomy (Benson, 2001).
Specific course objectives aim to:
                       •    Raise awareness of the importance of understanding diversity in cultures
                       •    Comprehend contemporary theories behind classifications of cultural differences between nations
                       •    Identify and recognise values and behaviours of home vs host cultures
                       •    Develop the ability to communicate with empathy and sensitivity within a cross-cultural environment
                       •    Empower learners to cope with living in a different culture

The course aims to motivate and engage learners online by using a combination of humorous animated videos involving 7 cartoon characters for input and guidance; access to authentic articles and videos; access to comments from peers and a teacher who monitors work and encourages participation, and tasks requiring reflection and reaction. Tasks include the creation of video as well as written reflections, opinions and comments on input presented by the cartoon characters through humorous dialogue. The dialogues introduce themes and concepts presented in the literature on culture and cultural awareness raising. Research Time activities with links to a wide range of authentic and bespoke materials enable learners to delve deeper into the themes and concepts introduced in the dialogues while Tasks give learners an opportunity to put their newfound knowledge into practice. 

The course is bespoke in that it has been specially designed to address learners’ basic psychological needs by supporting learner autonomy, relatedness and competence in accordance with discoveries into motivation and self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). In order to avoid feelings of disengagement and isolation, which can impact motivation of learners on an online course (Kostina & LaGanza, 2012), provisions therefore contain constant opportunities for interactions with a teacher and with peers. To facilitate deeper connections and feelings of relatedness between classmates and the teacher, online provisions are complemented by a series of face-to-face gatherings known in the course as ‘Parties’. These can be conducted either in a physical or an online space. The gatherings are informal and party-like to motivate learner participation but also structured to engage learners interactions with peers, review course content and encourage the sharing of opinions and experiences.

Course Content 

Learners are guided through content (input videos, research activities and production tasks within each unit) via access to an online platform. They are also assigned a teacher and introduced to their cohort of peer learners, The role of the teacher is to monitor activity and engagement (using a teacher platform that intersects with the student platform, data tracking tools, messaging and by hosting the parties). Online, the teacher is able to interact  with learners when and where necessary through a messaging system and via access to the two online spaces described below.
Throughout the course, learners are asked to ponder, research, reflect, and respond to input and comments. Apart from the online space from which learners access input, they also have a variety of spaces in which to express themselves, review, reflect, plan, post their work, and interact with their classmates and teacher. The spaces are known as MYSPACE and SHARESPACE and SPACEBOX.
MYSPACE  is a place where learners establish a profile for themselves, reflect on and assess their progress, plan their learning and post responses to tasks. MYSPACE acts as a storage place for learners, a space where they can refer back to any of their posts for tasks and reflections, and adapt them as much as they wish.  Access to this space is mostly private. Student behaviour with the space is tracked using a selection of data tracking tools. In order to give motivating feedback and encourage students to reflect and share their work with the rest of the class, their teacher has access to view and comment on work posted here.

SHARESPACE is a place where learners can post their work from MYSPACE so they can showcase their own work, view, learn from, and comment on their classmates’ work. Comments must adhere to a strict code of practice in accordance with a comments policy accessible online. Learners only have access to this space if they post their work from MYSPACE. Selected data tracking tools are used to track student activity and provide information on student activity and progress for the teacher so s/he can support students by monitoring and commenting when and where useful. 

SPACEBOX is a space that is embedded into each unit and in connection to specific tasks. Learners use these spaces to store written or video link responses to tasks. Once work is created in a SPACEBOX, it is initially posted to MYSPACE and from there a learner can decide whether s/he wishes to share and showcase their work on SHARESPACE. Posting onto SHARESPACE allows a learner to also see, learn from and comment on work that classmates, who have also shared to this space have produced. Once a learner has shared work here, it can’t be changed. 

Cast of Online Cartoon Characters: 
  Su- Superhero and online guide
  Irene – Highly intelligent professor but not very empathetic 
  Fred – Irene’s not too bright student
  Michelle – Retired professor and exchange student host
  Kelvin – Clever and cheeky exchange student living with Michelle 
  Alvin – Unhappy and unsettled exchange student 
  Annie – Graduate of the Culture Exchange course and Alvin’s helpful but sassy sister 
The characters were created using Toonly (https://www.toonly.com/) software. Their voices are text-to-speech using a commercial version of Natural Reader (https://www.naturalreaders.com/) software. 

Course Flow

Students can access any part of the course at any time. However, the units are designed to build on input and learning in a sequential manner so, to gain the most from the tasks and research activities, it is recommended that students work through the units in a linear fashion. 

The course begins in face-to-face mode with Party 1. Upon course registration, students receive information about the party and how it will be held (virtually or physically). At the party students meet their teachers and classmates. They then participate in a range of socialising activities, are introduced to the online platform, and encouraged to set up their profile and begin reflections in MYSPACE. They are also encouraged to seek out their new friends on SHARESPACE.

After the initial party, students can work through the first two units of the course before they attend Party 2. See below for details of flow and content. 
Post Registration Party 1 (2hrs) – Welcome, Introduction to course, Introduction to new classmates and teacher through a range of socialising activities.

Online Unit 1: Culture (7 videos,4 Tasks, 2 Research Time) 

1.1 What’s In A Word

      Video 1- Michelle + Irene + Su (1:58)
      Task 1 -What I Think Culture Means 
      Video 2 - Su (1:13)
      Research Time 1 – Popular Definitions 
      Video 3 - Su (0:32)
      Task 2 - My Definition Of Culture
      Video 4 – Su (0:30)

1.2 Icebergs and Onions: Why Understanding Is So Important!

      Video 5 - Irene + Fred (1:58)
      Task 3 - Iceberg Onion Word Game  
      Video 6 - Fred + Irene + Su (1:46)
      Research Time 2 - France: Burkinis And Burqas 
      Video 7 – Su (1:14)
      Task 4 - Why Understanding Is So Important

Online Unit 2: What Can Go Wrong? (2 Videos, 4 Tasks, 2 Research Time)

2.1 Stereotypes and Faux Pas

      Video 1 - Kelvin + Michelle + Su (7:16)
      Task 1 - Stereotypes I Can Think Of 
      Research Time 1 – TED Talks – Reactions To Stereotypes
      Task 2 - Why I Believe Stereotyping Is Unfair And How To Avoid Making Faux Pas

2.2 Culture Shock 

      Video 2 - Annie + Alvin (11:37)
      Research Time 2 - Culture Shock Stories
      Task 3 - How To Cope With Culture Shock
      Task 4 - Culture Shock!

Post online study of Units 1+2 students register for and attend Party 2 (2 hrs) - Connecting to share learning as well as insights and challenges from online units 1&2 through participation in a variety of group activities including a unit and exchange country-based trivia quiz

Online Unit 3 Knowing Me, Knowing You: Ah Ha! (5 Videos, 5 Tasks, 5 Research Time)

3.1 Cultural Diversity And The Theory Heroes

      Video 1 - Irene + Fred + Su (4:41)
      Research Time 1 - High And Low Context Communication
      Video 2 - Fred + Irene + Su (1:12)
      Research Time 2 - Hall’s Theory On High And Low Context Cultures
      Task 1 - A Summary Of High And Low Context Communication And What Is Important To Know If You Move From One Context Culture To Another 
      Video 3 - Irene + Fred + Su (2:00)
      Research Time 3 - Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
      Video 4 - Fred + Irene (1:24)
      Task 2 - The Dimensions Puzzle 
      Research Time 4 - Hofstede Explains His Dimensions 
      Task 3 - My Understanding Of Hall And Hofstede’s Theories On Culture

3.2 Identify Your Culture Comforts And Peeves

      Video 5 - Irene + Fred + Su (2:29)
      Research Time 5 - Comfort and Peeve links
      Task 4 - My List Of Culture Comforts And Peeves
      Task 5 - My Cultural Identity And My Cultural Awareness

Online Unit 4 Flying the Flag (3 Videos, 2 Tasks, 2 Research Time)

4.1 Understanding Your Culture 

      Video 1 - Michelle + Kelvin + Su (2:45)
      Research Time 1- Pellegrino Riccardi’s Cross Cultural Communication
      Video 2 - Michelle + Kelvin + Su (2:33)
      Research Time 2 - Hofstede’s Country Comparison Website
      Task 1 - Vlog Script For: Top 10 Things You Should Know About My Culture 

4.2 Representing Your Culture 

     Video 3 - Michelle + Kelvin + Su (3:51)
     Task 2 - Vlog: Top 10 Things You Should Know About My Culture 

Post online study of Units 3+4 students register for and attend Party 3 (2 hrs) - Connecting to share learning as well as insights and challenges from online units 3&4 through participation in a variety of group activities including a unit and exchange country-based trivia quiz.

Online Unit 5 Taking the Leap And Diving Into A New World  (3 Videos, 2 Tasks, 1 Research Time)

5.1 Them And Me – How To Connect

      Video 1 - Annie + Alvin + Su (7:15)
      Research Time 1 - My Host Country
      Video 2 – Su (0:46)
      Task 1 - My Culture And My Host Culture 

5.2 Advice For My Future Self

      Video 3 Annie + Irene + Su (5:30)
      Task 2 An Email To My Future Self -My Feel Better Letter

Post online study of Unit 5 students register for and attend Party 4 (2 hrs) – Connecting to share learning, insights and challenges from online Unit 5, through participation in a variety of group activities including a unit and exchange country based trivia quiz. Wishing each other bonne voyage and a fruitful exchange of knowledge in whatever multicultural environment they find themselves in. 

Intended Learning Outcomes 

Assessment Methods

The course aims to scaffold for learner autonomy and encourage intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000) in learners, which is why there are no graded assessments. Instead, the course encourages assessment of progress and knowledge acquisition through showcasing and  reflections (self/peer/teacher). The course also aims to motivate through comedic input and learning prompts for continued discovery and deeper learning. To address the basic psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence, learners are able to control their own asynchronous access to a wide and rich range of materials and activities online, whilst also being encouraged to become engaged participants of a group. 

Deciding when and where to study as well as how often to repeat and review materials is not enough to help learners meet all three of the basic psychological needs. So, embedded within the course are spaces where learners are guided and encouraged to reflect not only on work they produce but also on how they are studying. Teachers and peers are on hand to complement the online provisions. Engagement with teachers and peers is purposefully scaffolded so learners actively participate in socialising activities designed to meet the psychological need of relatedness whilst at the same time allowing them to deepen knowledge acquired and self-motivate to discover more. 

List of References

Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. London: Longman.
Bochner, S. (2003). Culture shock due to contact with unfamiliar cultures. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 8(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.9707/2307- 0919.1073
Chi, R. B. (2015). What is Intercultural Communication? The SISU Intercultural Institute
            “Intercultural Communication”. Retrieved from the Shanghai International Studies
              University Online Course. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/interculturalcommunication
Hall, E. T. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviours, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G.J, & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of
the mind. Revised and Expanded 3rd Edition. New York: McGraw Hill.

Hong Kong Baptist University e-Learning Committee (2018, October). Pan-university
             standards for adoption of e-pedagogies for effective teaching and learning. Retrieved from: https://buelearning.hkbu.edu.hk/

Kostina, M., & LaGanza, W. (2012). The golden climate of distance learning. Hampton: Mindstir Media. 
Kulich, S. J. (2015). External intercultural adjustments – My first ‘culture shocks” in Chinese contexts. Retrieved from the Shanghai International Studies University Online Course. https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/intercultural-communication 
Littlewood, W. (2002). Cooperative and collaborative learning tasks and pathways towards autonomous interdependence. In P. Benson, & S. Toogood (Eds)., Learner Autonomy 7: Challenges to Research and Practice (pp. 29-40). Dublin: Authentik. 
Oberg, K. (1960). Culture shock: Adjustment to new cultural environment. Practical Anthropology, 7(4), 177-182. doi: 10.117/009182966000700405 
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 66-78.
An enactivist approach to teaching and learning critical reasoning in ODL, Progressio, 35(1), 190-205.

Prepared by: Sarah Toogood 2021