Action-research and role-reversal-informed creation of a Zoom breakout room guide for e-CIIC mediators

This paper reports on how a Zoom breakout room (BoR) guide for E-CIIC (e-Classroom Interactional and Intercultural Competence) mediators was created as an unexpected outcome of project ViVEXELT (Vietnam Virtual EXchange for English Language Teaching). ViVEXELT was funded by the British Council and the National Foreign Language Project in Vietnam (digital learning innovation fund pilot – response to COVID-19, 2021-2022). The grant was awarded to provide research and insights to respond to specific questions about remote or digital capacity building during/post COVID not yet investigated in Vietnam. The ViVEXELT team delivered two iterations of a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Virtual Exchange (VE) course, in June-July 2021 and in October-November 2021 and reached over 200 participants, from 41 different educational institutions in Vietnam and five in the UK. The evaluation of the project was carried out with a mixed method approach. Rich qualitative data were collected from both individual interviews and reflective journals. The journals were analysed using NVivo software and a significant finding was the participants’ interest for both the use of BoRs and the way they had been managed by e-mediators during the ViVEXELT synchronous sessions. As a result, an action-research-informed Zoom BoR guide for e-Classroom Interactional and Intercultural Competences (e-CIIC) mediators was created. It was an ‘expert student’ (who was also part of the ViVEXELT core team) who had the initial idea to co-create a guide with the other ViVEXELT participants. This paper will report on the research-informed process that led to the design of the guide.