Internationalization opportunities through FBICC
Majority of the participants had this FBICC as their first online course taken. It opens up new perspective for them for they learned to appreciate foreign language and culture. Pinky was ecstatic in saying that the program has “exceeded her expectations”. There are also other participants who had changed their perspective towards internationalization such as Susan who admitted she had no interest in Indonesia at first, but after enrolling in the online course she now appreciates Indonesian culture and language.
“As the first international program I have ever joined, it exceeded my expectations especially when they provide us with the virtual tours of the city and the school.”-P7 “FBICC is a great opportunity, it is a great experience that I will remember not because it is my first online class that I attended but because through this, my perception changed. Before I am not interested in Indonesia especially their language and culture because it is way different to ours and I find their language a bit strange. But with this online course, it opens my mind and heart. And it leads to appreciate what Indonesia had, may it be in their culture or language.” – P10
During this pandemic, Internationalization at Home through online learning has significantly increased due to the pivot of online teaching [13]. However, one cannot simply judge participation of an individual by only the quantity and length of someone’s post in the platform they are using, or the number of attendance to the online sessions. Yet, at least by appreciating other’s culture and interest in learning a new language could pave a way for wider opportunities for internationalization of higher education. Designs of online courses should be carefully considered to achieve both the learning outcomes and internationalization agenda.
“It also have advantage and disadvantage. Online educational environment helps me to learn Indonesian language without the hassle of going to other places or countries but at the same time learning online causes expenses like to buy load to be able to access it in the internet.”-P11 “Meeting new people is always the best thing for me especially in a strange environment. Yes, I found new friends. And I think it is one of the advantages of FBICC.” – P15