• Undergraduate
• Graduate
• Young Adult

American University of Sharjah’s Virtual Language Exchange provides participants in the United Arab Emirates and the United States a unique cross-cultural experience by examining diverse worldviews, languages, and cultures while critically thinking about media representations that shape their world knowledge.

Activities

This program examines linguistics, culture in both historical and geographical contexts, and the use and interpretation of signs and symbols in participating communities. The Virtual Language Exchange builds meaningful relationships among a diverse group of participants through collaborations on visual projects and open dialogues that strengthen multi-cultural understandings.

Through collaborative projects, participants create content for a social media campaign. Projects include showcasing songs, dances, and welcome messages; engaging in dialogue concerning the impact of historical and cultural forces in shaping language; creating video stories; conducting interviews with community members and adding subtitles in their respective languages; creating online language flashcards; and developing language games based upon features of their language.

Program Details