Innovation in Language Learning
Navigating the Healthcare Administration Systems in the US and Costa Rica
Donna Chambers, Penn State Berks (United States)
Belén Rodríguez Mourelo, Penn State Berks (United States)
Abstract
In an era where global tensions are mounting and university budgets are shrinking, is it still possible to implement language learning through immersion? The answer to that question is explored in this paper by introducing you to the Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) at Penn State University. EDGE is a project-based international virtual exchange program, known more commonly around the world as COIL (collaborative online international learning). Using language for a specific purpose, the EDGE project advances L2 languages and promotes intercultural communication as students learn the language skills and effective communication strategies needed to work with their international partners. The projects are delivered in synchronous and asynchronous formats, which teaches students certain cultural and linguistic differences that exist between the partnering institutions. Drs. Donna Chambers and Belen Rodriguez-Mourelo are partnering with the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica on a project called Navigating the Healthcare Administration Systems in the US and Costa Rica. Utilizing targeted L2 languages, students at both universities will learn about physical and mental ailments common among the populations of both countries, and the attitudes and barriers that may prevent them from seeking treatment for those conditions. Once the research is complete, students from both universities will conduct mock interviews with each other on topics that they have selected in consultation with one another. The US students will conduct the interviews in Spanish, and the Costa Rican students will conduct the interviews in English so that both sets of students can understand the language barriers that could potentially exist among patients. Students will conclude the project with a virtual presentation, in the L2 language, linking their understanding of healthcare systems as paths for intercultural communication and learning language for a specific purpose.
Keywords: Language for Specific Purposes, Project-Based Learning, E-Learning
REFERENCES
[1] Dooly, M., & Vinagre, M. Research into practice: Virtual exchange in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 55(3), 392-406, (2022). doi:10.1017/S0261444821000069
[2] Schenker, Theresa. The effects of a virtual exchange on students' interest in learning about culture. Foreign Language Annals 46.3 (2013): 491-507. DOI:10.1111/flan.12041
