Skills needed for telecollaboration in a multilingual environment: framework and task

Abstract

In this article, we propose a framework of skills for telecollaboration in a plurilingual environment. It can be used by language teachers in higher education to prepare students for telecollaboration, using plurilingual practices and digital resources. The framework we have designed is anchored in a humanistic conception of education (Maslow & Rogers, 1971; Ryan & Deci, 2017). More specifically, we place the skill of collaborating at distance (Henri & Lundgren-Cayrol, 2003; Daele & Charlier, 2006) at the very centre of the telecollaboration skill. Digital literacies (Ollivier et al., 2018) and plurilingual practices (CARAP, 2012; REFIC, 2019) complete the skills framework. An example of a task, which relies on the framework, is proposed. The task is intended for engineering students and doctoral students from two French higher education institutions.

Keywords

• language learning
• multilingualism
• telecollaboration
• skills framework