The Use of Communities in a Virtual Learning Environment

Introduction

At the latest Ascent meeting of Siemens, Berlin 2007, the new CEO was introduced as a leader who commands six languages and who had obtained his MBA in Hong Kong. To grow in the company, Siemens’ managers have to take up several three-year assignments in a country abroad. Executives of different origins are sent abroad as well as Germany. At present, on the board of eleven, two members are not German. All board members are male. At the meeting, it was declared this situation had to change, as a core goal of management policy is leadership in an intercultural environment. At the same conference, a leadership guru, Dr. Jim A. Crupi, argued that the nature of planning lies in being visionary at “playing the new game” in the footsteps of companies like Google. These innovators seize new opportunities. For example, they “reward” their staff when a mistake is made. Their goal is to create fundamental change instead of optimizing performance. How they play is determined by “what could be” and not “by the rules.”

Google, the site of the year 2007 in Flanders, is an appealing platform, not only challenging other companies but also students. They “Google” the Internet for information. But is this innovative learning within the “new game,” or is this rather “the same game” as traditional learning?

In traditional learning, students are considered empty vessels who need to be filled with as much information as possible, which they are then able to reproduce at the right time, at the right place and social context, set by the teacher. Hence, the students plagiarize and “empty” their vessel to replenish it with new information. Companies, however, need people who do not reproduce what they are taught, but who are fast learners in a changing environment of diversity, also across cultures. Communication is a key competence in enabling them to sense what is at stake, relate it to the core goal and act accordingly. How can students get access to this kind of leadership competence in a communicative perspective?

In a learning environment of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), non-linguistic graduates need to enhance their opportunities not only to enter the labor market but also to acquire life-long learning skills in their professional lives. It is a concern shared by the Thematic Network Project in the Area of Languages III, a Socrates-Erasmus Program in 2006-7. The results of the project clearly show “growing awareness among all stakeholders — university management, students, graduates and employers — of the vital importance for graduate employability of language and intercultural competences and the ability to perform professional tasks and functions in foreign languages” (TNP, 2007, p. 10). Study programs that unite languages and a professional area may provide the necessary linguistic proficiency enabling professionals to function in their specialist area in target language workplaces as well as in the country concerned. The project report continues by stating that:

In its recommendations, the TNP-3 project for higher education promotes the collaboration of education providers and companies to take up and consider the experiences, needs, and possibilities of both partners. The challenge for a syllabus designer thus is to formulate meaningful tasks and to go one step further by creating a learning environment in which students fill in their own job description to prepare them to be future leaders who feel confident with English as their target working language. For young alumni, multi-tasking, project management, intercultural communication, and defining their own tasks are the most crucial steps to conquer as a beginner. Are they prepared?