The Multifaceted Field of Virtual Exchanges in Teacher Education: A Literature Review

  • Claudia Ingrisch-Rupp Faculty of Education at the University of Education Freiburg, Germany
  • Vasileios Symeonidis Faculty of Education at the University of Education Freiburg, Germany
Keywords: internationalisation, literature review, teacher education, professional development, virtual exchange

Abstract

Virtual exchanges can be seen as a powerful tool in fostering digital- pedagogical, intercultural, and foreign language competences in teacher education. Since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, virtual exchanges in teacher education have gained increasing attention both in research and practice. Despite a growing number of publications and various fields and themes covered by research and reports, few publications are concerned with connecting and systematising the discourse on virtual exchanges between 2020-2023. This paper, thus, aims to offer a comprehensive overview of how virtual exchanges are employed in teacher education by adopting a scoping study approach and examining research papers published in this period of time. Our findings cover the planning, implementation, and evaluation of virtual exchanges, as well as some overarching recommendations for improving the delivery of virtual exchanges in teacher education as they are provided in the research papers. Virtual exchanges in teacher education are a multifaceted field since it has multiple aims, usages, and impacts, which largely depend on the (mostly voluntary) work of teacher educators, the institutional framework within which the exchanges take place, and student teachers’ motivation to participate. The future of virtual exchanges in teacher education would benefit by opening up beyond foreign language teacher education and combining small-scale with large-scale studies to better inform research and practice.

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References

Research Papers Included for Literature Review

Bartsch, S., Kittirath, P., Müller, H., & Youyabouth, C. (2021). Inquiry-based learning and digital storytelling in virtual exchange: an approach for reflecting on food consumption in the Global South and Global North. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 4 (SI-IVEC2020), 47–69. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.4.37152

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Dietrich, S. E. (2022). Unexpected affordances of virtual exchange as teacher education: learning about, with, and from students in a conflict country. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 5(SI-IVEC2021), 24–41. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.5.38345

Dooly, M., & Sadler, R. (2020). “If you don’t improve, what’s the point?” Investigating the impact of a “flipped” online exchange in teacher education. ReCALL, 32(1), 4–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344019000107

Drixler, N. (2022). Features of Online second language interactional competence in a German-Israeli Virtual exchange. TESOL in Context, 30(2), 65–95. https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2022vol30no2art1568

Eren, Ö. (2023a). Negotiating pre-service EFL teachers’ identity orientations through telecollaboration. Innovation in Language Learning & Teaching, 17(2), 469–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2022.2085280

Eren, Ö. (2023b). Raising critical cultural awareness through telecollaboration: insights for preservice teacher education. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36(3), 288–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1916538

Fuchs, C., Snyder, B., & Tung, B. (2022). The value of mediation for task design and implementation in a US-China virtual exchange. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 5 (SI-IVEC2021), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.5.38197

Garcia-Esteban, S. (2020). Telecollaboration for Civic Competence and SDG Development in FL Teacher Education. European Journal of Education (EJE), 3(2), 129–141.

Garcia-Esteban, S., Villarreal, I., & Bueno-Alastuey, M. C. (2021). The effect of telecollaboration in the development of the Learning to Learn competence in CLIL teacher training. Interactive Learning Environments, 29(6), 973–986. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1614960

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Hauck, M., Müller-Hartmann, A., Rienties, B., & Rogaten, J. (2020). Approaches to researching digital-pedagogical competence development in VE-based teacher education. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 3(SI), 5–35. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.3.36082

Hilliker, S. M. (2020). Virtual exchange as a study abroad alternative to foster language and culture exchange in TESOL teacher education. The Electronic Journal of English as a Second Language, 23.

Hilliker, S. M., Lenkaitis, C. A., & Ramirez, A. (2021). expanding teacher candidate linguistic knowledge: Analysing Recorded virtual exchange sessions. The EUROCALL Review, 29(1), 19–26.

Hilliker, S. M., & Loranc, B. (2022). Development of 21st century skills through virtual exchange. Teaching & Teacher Education, 112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103646

Hilliker, S. M., & Yol, O. (2022). Virtual Exchange in Teacher Education: Focus on L2 Writing. ELT Journal, 76(1), 11–19.

Jaramillo Cherrez, N., & Gleason, B. (2022). A virtual exchange experience: Preparing pre-service teachers for cultural diversity. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 38(3), 126–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2022.2083732

Jørgensen, M., Mason, A., Pedersen, R., & Harrison, R. (2022). The transformative learning potential in the hybrid space between technology and intercultural encounters. Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(3), 318–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315320976030

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Lenkaitis, C. A. (2020a). Recorded video meetings in virtual exchange: a new frontier for pre-service teacher reflection. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 3, 39–58. https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.3.35750

Lenkaitis, C. A. (2020b). Teacher candidate reflection: Benefits of using a synchronous computermediated communication-based virtual exchange. Teaching & Teacher Education, 92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103041

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Madden, O. N. (2022). Fostering foreign language student teachers’ “glocal” competence through telecollaboration. Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(3), 1–21.

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Pu, C., & Weng, S. (2023). Developing teacher candidates’ global teaching competence through virtual exchange. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2023.2235304

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Rets, I., Rienties, B., & Lewis, T. (2023). Transforming pre-service teacher education through virtual exchange: a mixed-methods analysis of perceived TPACK development. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(3), 1229–1241. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1826983

Rienties, B., Lewis, T., O’Dowd, R., Rets, I., & Rogaten, J. (2022). The impact of virtual exchange on TPACK and foreign language competence: reviewing a large-scale implementation across 23 virtual exchanges. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(3), 577–603. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1737546

Sardegna, V. G., & Dugartsyrenova, V. A. (2021). Facilitating pre-service language teachers’ intercultural learning via voice-based telecollaboration: The role of discussion questions. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 34(3), 379–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1871028

Symeonidis, V., & Impedovo, M. A. (2023). Where internationalisation and digitalisation intersect: designing a virtual exchange to enhance student teachers’ professional awareness as European teachers. European Journal of Teacher Education, 46(5), 821–839. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2023.2243644

Üzüm, B., Akayoglu, S., & Yazan, B. (2020). Using telecollaboration to promote intercultural competence in teacher training classrooms in Turkey and the USA. ReCALL, 32(2), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344019000235

Üzüm, B., Yazan, B., Akayoglu, S., & Mary, L. (2022). Pre-service teachers’ translingual negotiation strategies at work: Telecollaboration between France, Turkey, and the USA. Language and Intercultural Communication, 22(1), 50–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2021.1981360

Üzüm, B., Yazan, B., Mary, L., & Akayoglu, S. (2022). Teacher agency for social justice in telecollaboration: locating agentive positioning in virtual language interaction. Language Learning Journal, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2022.2080857

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Published
2025-03-25
How to Cite
Ingrisch-Rupp, C., & Symeonidis, V. (2025). The Multifaceted Field of Virtual Exchanges in Teacher Education: A Literature Review. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 15(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1741