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Article published In: Decolonial Approaches to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Applied Linguistics: Addressing local and global EDI challenges
Edited by Kyria Finardi, Marina Orsini-Jones and Azirah Hashim
[AILA Review 38:2] 2025
► pp. 262–293

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Internationalisation at Home through Critical Virtual Exchange

ORCiD logo with link | The Open University
 | Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
 | Newcastle University
 | Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with The Open University.

Published online: 11 December 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.24044.hau
Abstract
Virtual Exchange (VE) refers to structured online collaborative learning between geographically and/or culturally diverse groups of students, aimed at fostering intercultural dialogue through digitally mediated project work. VE is a research-informed practice and serves as a valuable tool in advancing Internationalisation at Home (IaH) in Higher Education (HE), integrating intercultural dimensions into curricula, and expanding opportunities for global learning beyond physical mobility. However, despite its potential, we argue that VE is not inherently inclusive or equitable, as it is influenced by Western hegemonies and inequalities in access to technology, socio-economic and socio-political factors, and often also institutional constraints. Critical Virtual Exchange (CVE) has emerged in response to these concerns, focusing on addressing epistemic injustices, promoting inclusive participation, and aligning educational practices with global challenges, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). CVE emphasises equitable access to technology, prioritises the needs of underrepresented students, and encourages the systematic integration of local contexts into global learning projects. CVE also advocates for translanguaging, thus promoting multilingualism and multimodal communication as essential components of intercultural exchanges. This article draws on Hauck’s CVE framework ( (2023). From Virtual Exchange to Critical Virtual Exchange and Critical Internationalization at Home. The Global Impact Exchange, 2023(Spring), 9–12. [URL]; (2025). Critical Virtual Exchange: At the interface of Critical CALL, Critical Digital Literacy, and Critical Global Citizenship Education. In E. Britton, A. Kraemer, T. Austin, H. Liu & X. Zuo (Eds.), Advancing Critical CALL across Institutions and Borders (pp. 291–54). Sheffield: Equinox. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and presents and interrogates the tenets of CVE. We use VE project examples from the Global South that “gesture towards” CVE involving HE institutions from Angola, Brazil, and Mexico to illustrate new opportunities in VE when focusing on equitable exchange student project work. Our predominantly conceptual contribution highlights the importance of VE project design that prioritises social justice, addresses power imbalances, and fosters socio-politically relevant intercultural dialogue, i.e., CVE, that can contribute to the decolonisation of HE in the shape of critical IaH.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Virtual exchange (VE)
  • 3.Critical virtual exchange (CVE)
  • 4.Exchange examples “gesturing towards” CVE
    • 4.1Sounds and knowledges
    • 4.2Indigenous peoples
    • 4.3Hydrology and philosophy
    • 4.4Summary of examples
  • 5.Preliminary conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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