Connecting Hemispheres: Digital Citizenship and Intercultural Learning

Edouard Piccoli, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

In September 2025, undergraduate students enrolled in an intermediate-advanced academic grammar course within a Languages and Culture program were invited to move beyond the syllabus and into a ten-week intercultural learning journey known as The Hemispheres Connection  project. What began as a focus on advanced grammar for academic discussions soon transformed into a global collaboration, linking students from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), Ibeu Inglês Global (Brazil), and the Greek Institute of Foreign Languages (Κέντρο Ξένων Γλωσσών Ευη Γραμμένου). Together, they explored digital citizenship, practiced respectful online interaction, and reflected on both the similarities and differences that shaped their cultural contexts. This illustrated Byram's view that language education is not only about communicative competence, but also about preparing learners to act as intercultural citizens in diverse communities. In this case, those principles found a digital dimension, as students discovered how grammar and intercultural dialogue could meet in online spaces.

Typically, the goal of this academic grammar course is to strengthen students’ ability to use English effectively in both social and academic contexts. To achieve this goal, learners are expected to use advanced language structures consistently and to analyze critical issues of today’s world. However, when the Hemispheres Project was introduced, this approach to grammar took on a new direction. These classroom activities were no longer limited to the course space; they became resources for real communication with peers from other parts of the world on sociocultural topics. Thus, grammar became the bridge that gave students the opportunity to express themselves clearly, respectfully, and meaningfully in a global dialogue — a shift they had not anticipated when registering for this course.

With this perspective, the pedagogical approach joined grammar practice with intercultural and digital reflection. Each week, students participated in online discussions guided by prompts that encouraged thoughtful responses rather than simple agreement or disagreement. They were reminded to quote peers when responding, to avoid sarcasm, and to use respectful language. These guidelines modeled the principles of intercultural communication in digital spaces. More importantly, they helped students see that grammar and interaction could go hand in hand to build dialogue. As Byram and UNESCO emphasize, language education today is not only about grammar rules; it is also about preparing learners to act as citizens in diverse and digital communities.

To support this, the project used Canva and its discussion fora, where students were divided into two larger groups. Each forum began with an introductory comment, and students could post their entries beneath it. Peers who wished to respond did so directly under those posts, creating threaded exchanges that included text, audio, or video. In week five, they met online in a live session for the first time, introducing themselves, sharing expectations of the project, and talking about their favorite books and the places where they live. Prompts came from everyday life and culture — food, celebrations, screens, favorite books, music, school, and intercultural lives. Through these familiar yet varied themes, students saw how grammar could help them express themselves in real ways while also opening small windows into the lives of their peers. These weekly exchanges laid the foundation for the collaborative presentations that followed.

In the second part of the course, students collaborated in groups to explore a special place in their own communities. The task involved more than describing a location; it asked them to observe how people interacted there, reflect on cultural practices, and communicate those insights with their international peers. As Hoff (2020) highlights, intercultural competence is not an abstract theory but a lived practice in classrooms, and here they experienced it directly by linking grammar, culture, and digital interaction. In week ten, the groups met online for the second and final time to socialize and present their projects. While the Brazilian and Greek teams chose slide presentations, the Colombian students prepared videos of their visits to the actual places. This closing session, shared in front of all participants, became a celebration of grammar as dialogue, of intercultural curiosity, and of the creative ways language can connect lives across borders. Combined, the weekly interactions and the final project counted for 10% of the course grade. It may have been a small percentage, yet it helped students see that their dialogue and intercultural reflection mattered as much as the other assessments in the course. 

All in all, the most significant takeaway from this journey was not the grade or the grammar structures themselves, but the opportunity students had to discover that language can be experienced as dialogue. The Hemispheres Project allowed them to use grammar as a powerful resource to build trust, spark curiosity, and foster respect across continents. The weekly interactions and final presentation showed that citizenship today is at once national, digital, and intercultural. As Baker (2024) points out, intercultural communication involves negotiating cultural resources and identities, and this was evident when students balanced humor, formality, and respect in their exchanges

From a teacher’s perspective, one of the most memorable aspects of this initiative was seeing students move from hesitation and fear that their grammar was not strong enough, and that classroom activities were exclusively academic, to engaging openly with peers abroad. They realized that mistakes were not a barrier but a resource: errors helped organize ideas, built confidence, and encouraged attentive listening to others. Just as importantly, the project gave new depth to the course’s existing focus on analyzing critical issues of today’s world and sociocultural topics. Within the Languages and Culture program, these themes were already central, but participating in the Hemispheres Project allowed students to approach them in authentic ways — not as abstract exercises, but as conversations shaped by real intercultural encounters.

This experience showed that grammar could be more than a set of rules; it could be a tool for connection and growth. Two Colombian students, for instance, described the atmosphere of Botero’s museum in Bogotá and were surprised when their Greek peers compared it to their own open‑air museums and historical places. This sparked an exchange about how art, museums, and public spaces bring people together and create a sense of nation and belonging. Similarly, one Brazilian student reflected on the role of cafés in everyday life and how they shape social interaction. Through these reflections, all participants came to see that Greece, Brazil, and Colombia, despite their differences, share traditions of public spaces that foster community and dialogue. In this way, the Hemispheres Project gave new authenticity to the course’s focus on sociocultural topics, showing how grammar and intercultural exchange can meet in lived conversations that connect local realities with global perspectives.

Edouard Piccoli, M.A. in Foreign Languages Pedagogy, teaches academic writing, speaking, and grammar at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. His work connects language learning with intercultural citizenship and digital pedagogy, emphasizing authentic, student‑centered communication.

References:

Baker, W. (2024). Intercultural communication and English language teaching. ELT Journal, 78(1), 3–12. 

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. Multilingual Matters.

Hoff, H. E. (2020). Intercultural competence in language teaching: Bridging theory and practice. Routledge. UNESCO. (2022). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. UNESCO Publishing.

UNESCO. (2022). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. UNESCO Publishing.