Abstract: The paper presents the web-based resources for intercultural training CultureGrams and Culture Crossing which are used successfully in the study of intercultural communication at University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev”, Bulgaria. These resources illustrate an innovative educational paradigm with a significant potential for the establishment of long-lasting interest towards the intercultural issues among the trainees in the higher education system – young people who can undoubtedly be characterized as digital generations. On the basis of the identified cognitive characteristics of the so called “digital natives” the necessity for the establishment of a new culture of teaching and learning is outlined – a culture combining some elements of the theory of connectivism, the social learning theory, and networked learning theory. Using the theoretical grounds of these theories, as well as the main approaches towards the understanding of intercultural training, the paper interprets the practical application of the indicated web-based integrated resources in the study of Intercultural Communication as a university module.
Keywords: digital generation, intercultural teaching and learning,CultureGrams, Culture Crossing.
Rhetoric and Communications E-journal, Issue 16, January 2015, rhetoric.bg/, journal.rhetoric.bg, ISSN 1314-4464