The following list of resources available on the Internet has been compiled with two principal aims in mind.
The first is to provide teachers with supplementary resources on the topics and issues raised within the ten IEREST activities contained in the Manual. The second is to provide students, particularly those preparing to study abroad, with a variety of texts, videos and websites where they can find further information and advice, or simply personal experiences of students who have studies abroad, that they can draw from. In both cases, we would like to specify that the opinions expressed in such sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the IEREST consortium. We would advise both teachers and students to view the resources critically: some may even be seen as providing the opportunity to analyse how dominant discourses are put together and, by doing so, deconstruct them. In particular, the individual voices of the students should be taken precisely as that: individual. In other words, care should be taken not to generalise and attribute to a singe individual the capacity or authority to speak in the name of others. The variety of voices that appear in the different websites should help users understand that there is not one single experience of study abroad, of encounters with others, nor of interpreting the world and people’s actions within it. This is, in our opinion, what interculturality is about.
The resources have been divided into three broad sections: Student Testimonials (including blogs, as well as other written and video testimonials), Information and advice on student mobility, and Tools for intercultural preparation for student mobility. We have aso included the homepage, as well as suggested pages that may be of interest. Finally, we have indicated the languages used in the website, as well as a brief description of the resources, to help users choose those most relevant to them.
The list does not intend in any way to be exhaustive, as there is a growing plethora of websites and blogs appearing daily. Our intention is rather to provide a sample of available resources that can supplement those included in the IEREST activities themselves.
Student testimonials
| Source | Home Page | Suggested pages | Language | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blogs and other written testimonials | ||||
| Exchange 360 | exchange360.org/ | go to page | English | A blog written by students giving accounts on their international exchange experiences. |
| At Home in Europe | go to page | English + other languages | Erasmus citizen-reporters round Europe and beyond. Clear division by county and a number of interesting video-clips commented by blogs. | |
| AISEC | aiesec.org | go to page | English | Some blogs on the internship abroad. |
| Stuart's Blog | go to page | English | A former exchange student's blog with comments on life abroad, Do's and Dont's, and other various comments. | |
| Exchanges and Study Abroad Blog | studyoverseas.soton.ac.uk | go to page | English | Blogs and pictures by students of the University of Southampton. |
| Erasmus Welt | go to page | English | Some personal accounts, tips from personal experience and similar by Erasmus students. | |
| go to page | English | A number of personal accounts of the Erasmus exchange experience in the form of blogs and short video recordings. | ||
| Search for Study Experiences | www.stexx.eu | go to page | English | Over 73.000 student reviews of their Erasmus experience. Practical tips for all aspects of student life. A well organised webpage, easy to search by county or institution. |
| Third Year Abroad | go to page | English | Advice and students’ experiences on study abroad | |
| Check-in Europe | go to page | go to page | English | Check-in Europe is a platform of the Erasmus Generation which tries to connect it with companies, universities and cities around Europe and around the world. |
| Video Testimonials | ||||
| vimeo.com/58885070 (Amsterdam) | Musical background | Personal presentations of the Erasmus Experience including Erasmus Mundus Programme, thus reaching beyond the European experience. It consists mainly of pictures, video impressions mostly with a musical background, often letting the viewer supply the missing text. The clips in this collection cover very many destinations and the few comments are made in many languages. Comments under some video clips are well worth considering too. | ||
| vimeo.com/78022681 (Paris) | Musical background | |||
| vimeo.com/25819275 (Porto) | Musical background | |||
| vimeo.com/35937837 (Austria) | English captions+ musical background | |||
| vimeo.com/82882232 (Istanbul) | Musical background | |||
| www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgf6WlBgZAQ | English | A discussion on advantages of a year abroad for students. | ||
| www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRTtv60VTEE | Musical background | Erasmus life in 24hrs | ||
| https://isepstudyabroad.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/... | Musical backround+English | A series of video testimonials with personal accounts of Erasmus students (blog) | ||
Information and advice on student mobility
| Source | Home Page | Suggested pages | Language | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate 15 | https://www.gate15.be/en/home | go to page go to page |
English Flemish |
A very well organised webpage with a lot of useful information for students, including international students, regarding study, leisure, practical tips (accommodation, transport, finding work) |
| AEGEE EUROPE | www.aegee.org | go to page | English | AEGEE is one of Europe’s biggest interdisciplinary student organisations, striving for a democratic, diverse and borderless Europe. It creates a space for members of different backgrounds to meet and learn about cultural differences, in order to foster mutual understanding. |
| Erasmus blog Bluefrog | en.erasm.us | go to page | English | Ranking of various destinations, advertisements, FaQ. |
| Erasmus+ Programme | www.erasmusprogramme.com | go to page | All EU languages | The official site of Erasmus+ Programme, which contains information on all activities and funding opportunities, partner countries and institutions. |
| ERASMUS+ UK | go to page | go to page | All EU languages | A website giving information about the programme itself, how one can participate and the benefits of getting involved. It includes a well-organised newsletter and a blog that report in part on students' experience. |
| Erasmus Student Network (ESN) | www.esn.org | go to page | English | The page offers many useful tips for students planning to go abroad, various projects, etc. |
| Erasm.us - The Erasmus Helping Hand | en.erasm.us/ | go to page | English, French, German, Spanish, Polish | Useful information and tips for students, including “culture shock”. |
Tools for intercultural preparation for student mobility
| Source | Home Page | Suggested pages | Language | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAGICC | www.unil.ch/magicc/home.html | go to page go to page |
English, French, German | Pedagogical scenarios and an on-line portfolio on multilingual and multicultural academic communication. Includes a conceptual framework. |
| LanQua | www.lanqua.eu/introduction | go to page | English | A Toolkit mapping the practices in teaching languages in higher education in the EU. Includes case studies into intercultural learning. |
| The Interculture Project | go to page | go to page | English | Many useful suggestions for teachers. A rich database collected over many years. |
| CEFcult | www.cefcult.eu | go to page | English | A learning environment for assessing your intercultural communicative competence, meant to improve professional intercultural communication. |
| Inca Project | www.incaproject.eu/home.html | go to page | English + 6 EU languages | Proposing teaching materials to motivate early learners to foreign language learning and to improve intercultural understanding and multilingual comprehension |
| FREPA CARAP | carap.ecml.at | go to page | English, French, German | Descriptors and teaching materials for teachers of all subjects with an interest in plurilingual and intercultural education |
| Education for Intercultural Citizenship | www.annalindhfoundation.org/home | go to page | English, French, Arabic | Programmes and resources for educators and youth leaders, with a focus on promoting dialogue skills and intercultural citizenship learning. |
| go to page | for students for staff |
English | Funded by the Higher Education Academy, UK, the project aims to engage students in an innovative process of encounter and reflection during the Year Abroad. | |
| Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters | www.coe.int/t/dg4/autobiography/ | go to page | English, Italian, French, Russian, Polish | Includes on-line AIE form, Facilitator's Notes, a list of core concepts and theories. Various versions: adult learner, young learner |