VIRTUAL EXCHANGE AS A SYNTHESIS OF THEORETICAL APPROACHES AND EMPIRICAL INSIGHTS A CASE STUDY IN THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGES FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
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The paper deals with virtual exchange (VE) as an approach to teaching English for specific purposes in higher education. It comprises a theoretical and empirical part based on a pilot project of a virtual exchange conducted at the Faculty of Law in Osijek, Croatia and the University of Giessen in Germany within the framework of the Legal English course. A mixed methods research was applied including pre- and post-VE session questionnaires, task analysis and student reflections. The research results show positive effects of the exchange on motivation, development of professional identity and strenghtening of language and intercultural competences, but they also indicate challenges related to language competence, differences in legal education systems and intercultural differences. The findings confirm that VE represents a motivating and effective approach to teaching the English language for specific purposes, while at the same time raising questions about the limitations of the pilot project and directions for future research.
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