International Exchange and Study AbroadCOIL
Online international collaborative learning
What is COIL?
Reitaku University has been implementing COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) since 2019.
COIL is an educational method that uses ICT tools to achieve collaborative learning between two or more countries, and was launched in 2006 by the COIL Center at the State University of New York (SUNY).
We develop joint syllabi between subjects from overseas and domestic universities, collaborate with each other, and conduct project-based learning in which students from the two countries form teams to tackle common tasks.
Portland State University x Reitaku University <Intercultural Communication>
Twelve first-year students (English subjects) from the Faculty Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and four students from the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University participated in the joint class with our US partner school (Graduate School of Education at Portland State University) for about seven weeks from October 2019. The purpose of this program was for the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University to support the improvement of the English communication skills of undergraduate students taking English subjects at our university through collaborative activities.
The COIL program with Portland State University continued in the second semester (Fall semester) of 2020, with a new theme of "Universal Mark," and activities to create pictograms of the Universal Mark through collaborative learning were incorporated into classes at both universities.
・Course name: Intercultural Communication
・Participation requirements: TOEIC score of 600 or above *Requirements for students of this university
・Method: Zoom
・Theme: Thinking about universal design
University of Marburg (Germany) x Reitaku University <German Social Studies B>
In a collaborative class with a German partner school (Graduate School of the University of Marburg), students in their third and fourth year majoring in German and German culture are given the opportunity to "study using German". In the class, students deepened their knowledge of German culture from a variety of materials, and improved their expressiveness by practicing describing things in German. The students from the University of Marburg who participated in this class are studying German language education, and in addition to preparing and teaching themes about German culture (everyday culture) to students at our university, students from our university and students from the University of Marburg formed small groups of two each and worked on assignments online outside of class hours.
This collaborative learning has helped students hone their intercultural communication skills, known as intercultural competence, in both Japan and Germany. Based on the basic skills they have acquired in their first and second years, students are expected to continue to learn about the culture behind the language and improve their communication skills by studying German with German students in their third and fourth years.
*The "German Language and Culture Major" will be renamed "German Language and Europe Major" from 2021.
・Course name: German Social Studies B
Target: 3rd and 4th year students majoring in German and German culture
・Method: Zoom
Other Program Examples
Other activities we have undertaken include joint classes with Jotseno Institute (Finland), learning activities with students studying Japanese at a nursing school in Indonesia, and intercultural exchange with Naresuan University and Phayao University (Thailand).
・ Japanese Language Education Institution (Indonesia) × Reitaku University <International Volunteer Seminar>
The benefits of COIL
Through COIL, students can experience different cultures without leaving their own country, and they can learn from each other across borders (even within the same country) at no cost. This also has the benefit of increasing the possibility of collaborative research for faculty, and we hope that it will lead to the "internal internationalization" of the university and the internationalization of the local community.
Reitaku University aims to implement more COIL programs and provide more learning opportunities for students.
