Intercultural Orientation and Exchange Among Global Tourism Students in TESM T208 Tourism Geography
Amy M Johnson, TESM
By participating in Indiana University-Indianapolis’ Office of International Affairs Virtual Global Learning Fellowship, I began working with my international partner and co-instructor, Lilian Velásquez. Lilian teaches tourism students at DuocUC in Concepcion, Chile. Together, we worked for several months to create a unique collaborative online international learning (COIL) experience between my asynchronous IU-Indianapolis classroom made up of IU Honors students taking TESM T208 Tourism Geography and a live classroom of students learning tourism concepts in English at DuocUC in Concepcion, Chile. Fifteen US students and sixteen Chilean students participated.
Our objectives for this exchange included collaborating cross-culturally and applying tourism-related topics in a role-play between a customer and a travel agent in a final infographic, reflecting an understanding of both cultures and sharing an understanding between Chile and the US, respecting different cultures, and making friends worldwide. We hoped students would gain cultural knowledge and self-awareness regarding cultural biases related to tourism studies with an overarching goal to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, provide lifelong learning opportunities, eliminate gender and income disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education. This virtual exchange provided a platform and collaborative opportunity for students to connect, talk, and learn from each other.
Students were divided into pre-determined groups with equal numbers of US and Chilean students. Meetings were made up of both large group meetings and individual group meetings. Their task was to share information about each other’s home countries, cultures, and tourism opportunities, which they then shared in their final infographic project. Exciting points shared included common slang terms, things they like to do in their free time, favorite places for tourism in their home area, and fun facts about where they live, including food, transportation, family traditions, and everyday life activities. Our last meeting showcased each group sharing their infographic about the other countries’ tourism and culture.
The students’ final reflections included what they learned about themselves, their behaviors, and biases in their own and different cultural communities. Many shared being surprised by learning they all had more things in common, such as going to school, having a job, spending time on social media, and having meals and drinks with friends and family. They also realized the beauty, opportunity, and desire to learn more about the new culture. This exchange made them more comfortable conversing with other cultures and potentially traveling there. The critical reflection US students shared was their expectation or bias that the Chilean students would easily speak English. US students were humbled by the additional efforts of their Chilean counterparts to be able to communicate in a non-native language. Students shared their excitement and enjoyment in each meeting and the fun they had in their time together through this collaboration. Most agreed they now have new friends and would remain in touch with one another.
