By Ms. Kyunghee Hong
We participated in the 2020 IVECA program with Butler Ross Tech High School in the USA and Hayah International Academy in Egypt. Because of COVID 19, I was worried this semester, but our students didn’t give up and they were willing to participate in IVECA class.
The IVECA activities this semester were based on UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our school social teachers and English teachers shared this topic and collaborated on the extended classroom project. In social class, they researched the issued areas that our community needs to solve. And they discussed the differences and similarities among the communities in three countries in English class. The IVECA program enriched our existing curriculum and students’ activities during the class.
Through the IVECA program, students are able to develop intercultural competence by discussing their activities including exchange ideas, cultures, and global issues. During this pandemic, our students’ activities were very limited, but thanks to the IVECA program, I could provide a wonderful experience to them. Using technologies involved in IVECA, I could offer opportunities to apply their understanding and discuss the activities with team members anytime in this pandemic situation. It was a little different from the way it used to be, for example, students from Butter and Hayah participated in our live class at home through an online program individually and we shared recorded culture performances. It was good to see students’ faces much closer and hear their voices clearly. Because of COVID 19, we showed new forms of a live class and extended the way of the IVECA program.
As a teacher, I always wanted to provide authentic activities and great experience to my students. I recommend this program to teachers who teach English as a foreign language. It would be a great opportunity to offer authentic activities and opportunity to meet global friends. I really appreciated teachers who collaborated this semester and also the IVECA team. It was a great honor to work with them. I hope we meet again. Thank you.