Two-Nation Group Formations to Enhance Cross-National Interaction to Enhance Learning Experience

Western universities have increasingly large cohorts of international students in addition to the large number of local students. This can enrich the learning experience as well as cause some challenges. The purpose of this research is to investigate how class rooms with students of different nationalities affect learning, interaction, benefits and challenges. There is a lot of literature discussing the non-interaction between foreign students and local students. In a world where cross-national interactions are becoming quite important in all types of careers, it is important that our students develop such skills. From an education point of view, student interaction is known to improve learning.We wanted to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention on learning, specifically designed to promote cross-national interaction. Specifically, we wish to investigate the experience of working in a small group of four which has students from two countries. The students worked on a group project over a long period of 8 weeks to give them sufficient time to develop relationships and interact. Then they were asked to answer some reflective questions about this group experience after submitting the group project. These answers will be analysed to provide some insight. The findings will be useful for us to take steps to enhance students’ learning experience in an increasingly international class environment