Abstract:
This chapter focuses on the pedagogical applications of the “take action” component of the Global Competence Matrix in a virtual exchange with 48 university students from Brazil and 44 from the United States. This initiative is part of the Teletandem Brasil Project (Telles & Vassallo, 2006) and it is a continuation of a previous virtual exchange practice in which the Global Competence Matrix was implemented with a group of students in the Spring quarter of 2019 (Salomão & Viana da Silva, 2020). In the 2020 experiment, we incorporated the “take action” element of the matrix by encouraging the students’ participation in social media campaigns and other initiatives fostering the protection of the Amazon Forest, Alaska, and of Indigenous populations. The virtual exchange between the two institutions (in Brazil and in the U.S.) has been conducted for the past 5 years and the implementation of the Global Competence Matrix is a way to deepen the dialogue and to respond to the needs of forming global citizens in a world facing many adversities, such as climate change. Several studies have focused on the meaning of being a globally competent student, with particular attention to the K-12 school system, where the Global Competence Matrix seems to be mostly applied (Abdel-Kader, 2020; Boix Mansilla, 2019; Sheya, S., 2018; et. al). We hope this study contributes to the dialogue on language education and global competence by applying it to university students taking world languages.