Addressing Media Literacy through an International Virtual Exchange: A Report of One ESL-EFL Collaboration

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on the value of Virtual Exchanges (VEs) in the field of technology-mediated language learning. Specifically, we report on a pilot program for high school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Slovakia and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in Michigan, USA who engaged in a 10-week, international VE focused on media literacy. Learners in both countries collaborated on a project that involved developing and administering a survey on media literacy beliefs and practices among high schoolers at their institutions and provided feedback on their international peers’ survey designs and presentations of survey findings. Learners also worked to raise awareness about misinformation through a media literacy campaign implemented in their social media networks. To guide language educators interested in implementing VEs, we also address the technological tools that enhanced the VE program and discuss several pedagogical issues that are important to consider in VEs for language learners.