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Publication Date

3-1-2003

Abstract

With the aid of computer technology and students’ firsthand experiences, the Transnational Classroom (TC), a pilot innovative project created and developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), was implemented in the summer of 2002 for a duration of three and a half weeks. The participants were two groups of students from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures: a study-abroad group in Costa Rica and a Spanish class on the U.S. campus. The main objective of the project was to give the U.S. campus students the opportunity to participate in the foreign culture through their peers’ experiences and thereby to raise their desire to participate in a study-abroad experience themselves and to continue studying Spanish. Participants engaged in daily e-mail communication in Spanish and a weekly photograph exchange. As was envisioned, the TC resulted in a positive outcome. Evaluations, journals, and portfolios showed that the “appetite” for studyabroad programs was enhanced, and the students in Costa Rica examined their own experiences with greater appreciation. Following the completion of this pilot project, the original model was revised and modified for future Transnational Classrooms.

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