Global Chatmates is an international eTwinning project involving students from Croatia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, and Jordan. The project was conceived and coordinated by Jelena Kovačević, teacher advisor at the secondary vocational school Ekonomska škola Požega in Croatia, in collaboration with her colleagues, teachers Sofia Konstantinea from Greece, Rula Sabban from Jordan, Nafisa Murzalieva from Kyrgyzstan, and Robert Carlos Palomino Bustamante from Peru.
This collaboration originated from friendships formed during a five-week stay at the University of Montana in the USA, where the aforementioned teachers met as SUSI (Study of the U.S. Institutes) educators, during a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in the summer of 2023.
In order to foster the global communication and cooperation promoted by the SUSI program, these educators aimed to utilize their experience in their classrooms by providing students with authentic opportunities to promote the English language, acquire cultural, geographical, social, and digital skills, overcome stereotypes, and gain a broader understanding of the international community and a sense of global citizenship.
The project brought together approximately 50 students, divided into about 15 small international groups of 2-4 students each. From November 2023 to May 2024, students participated in five Zoom video meetings, guided by detailed instructions, topics, and assignments provided by their teachers.
The activities and discussion topics were derived from the English language curriculum and included the following topics:
1) Introductions: Students introduced themselves, shared information about their families, hometowns, hobbies and common interests to break the ice and establish rapport.
2) My Country: Students presented information about their countries, including population, tourist attractions, history, landscapes, and weather, fostering interest and expanding knowledge about global geography.
3) Education: Students described their schools and educational systems, discussed similarities and differences, their favourite subjects and future goals, enabling them to share their lives, concerns, and dreams with peers from other countries.
4) Festivals and Holidays: students gained useful insights into how different societies celebrate holidays, feasts and festivals, enhancing cultural awareness and understanding of diversity.
5) Food and Music: given the universal appeal of these two topics, students presented their national dishes, shared photos and recipes, explored new musical genres, and introduced their country's music to their peers.
6) Deep Thinking (optional meeting): students discussed future expectations, anticipated scientific and technological advancements and shared their perspectives on societal trends.
Meetings were held without the presence of teachers organised and conducted by students, at times and dates arranged independently, considering the four different time zones. This autonomous approach fostered initiative, responsibility, and enjoyment of conversation without the stress of teacher supervision. However, these video conversations were recorded and uploaded to a storage platform for teachers to discreetly monitor progress, provide feedback, and draw useful conclusions. After each meeting, students filled out a brief form to document their progress, acquired knowledge, and feelings during each session.
In addition to the meetings, the students had the opportunity to participate in several "Best screenshot competition" challenges, where they worked together to create collages or screenshots with regard to the topic of the meeting. Teachers then voted on the best screenshot, and the winning students were awarded small gifts.
At the very beginning and at the end of the project, all participants, students and teachers met to introduce themselves, share greetings, vote on ideas, play quizzes and exchange their expectations and experiences.
Following the final meeting, each participant prepared a short presentation or video describing their experience, newly acquired knowledge and new friends, which they presented to their classmates.
Despite challenges such as cultural differences, varying time zones, language barriers, and connectivity issues, the students successfully completed the project. Through it, they gained valuable insights into distant cultures and honed essential life skills such as adaptability, tolerance, understanding, flexibility, and openness. Empowered with newfound confidence, students reported feeling better prepared to embrace the global community.
Written by: Jelena Kovačević
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