COIL: A New Way of Higher Education in the 2020s- Application in Japanese Culture Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide information and describe experience in managing COIL (collaborative online international learning), which is an important approach to problems solving in today’s world, as an alternative to traditional international education. It is a highly effective way to build capacity for coexistence in the global society. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Burapha University, in collaboration with Kagoshima University, Japan, has been implementing COIL in teaching and learning in the course of Japanese Culture since 2019. This started before the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Technology has been used to enhance effective teaching in order to create collaborative learning opportunities among the learners of the two universities and to build students’ skills in a holistic way. Educational achievement was assessed in terms of knowledge, thinking, attitude and behavioral development by using the BEVI (Beliefs, Events and Values Inventory), assessment questionnaire, both before and after the implementation. The findings showed that students from both universities had improved in every aspect; and 90% of them found this project an opportunity to learn and exchange knowledge with people from different cultures. This was consistent with the responses from Thai students after 3 years of study based on the results of the open-ended questionnaire. This paper, therefore, suggests that COIL is a new normal for higher education today, as it effectively develops holistic skills in terms of attitudes, conscience and competence of being a global citizen.