Table 6 Examples: deductive categories and corresponding excerpts from the Focus Groups (FG) and Reflection Reports (RR) data

Metacognitive

“We kept everything simple, being respectful about their culture and not making assumptions, or asking things that could be offensive” (FG)

NA*

“Our group was critical in giving feedback. It was a challenge to give the US students feedback because the Dutch are quite down to earth and direct, so I didn't want to offend them”

(RR)

“I grew up on 4 different continents, I have experienced a lot of the different cultures, but never analysed them and thought about them in the way we did in this course” (RR)

Cognitive

“The similarities in culture were shocking to me. The students from the Netherlands expressed interest in the same artists, shows, and movies as me” (FG)

“It was fun to hear about life there versus here and how different it is and also how things are handled differently during the COVID” (FG)

“I was surprised to find out how inexpensive college is in the Netherlands compared to the US. (RR)

“We talked about politics. It's very interesting to hear what it's like as an American. The news here puts Trump in a negative spotlight, but in the US, many people vote for Trump, and sometimes you kind of forget how much support he has” (FG))

“It is weird to hear you can drive when you are 16 in the US, but you cannot drink alcohol when you are 18. And you can die for your country when you are 18, but you cannot have a beer” (FG)

“Students in my group was from the U.K and Botswana. That enhanced the experience for me. I could talk to them about what they knew or what they are experiencing in their country. Getting to know what they thought was interesting for me” (FG)

“During class students who were not Dutch would express their opinions about how things were in their countries. For me the differences were both shocking and enlightening” (RR)

Motivational

“I love learning about their culture. That was the coolest part for me” (FG)

“I have never worked with students from a different country, so this was a first for me. I enjoyed this project because not only did I get to try new things, but I also became friends with my group members” (RR)

“I’ve always wanted to travel around Europe and meet and interact with people who live in different parts of Europe. Having had this experience makes me more comfortable with the idea, because they seemed a lot like us” (RR)

NA

“I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that we got a chance to work with students from USA. it was a great opportunity for both, the Americans and us, to get to know different cultures better” (RR)

“I really enjoyed this course. Since I’m Dutch, I live in the Netherlands, and don’t travel much, working with students from different cultural backgrounds was interesting. I learned a lot” (RR)

Behavioural

“We were aware of the time difference and made sure we texted at a normal time and were not texting, waking someone up at 3:00am” (FG)

“English is not their primary language, so we had to make things simpler to understand. That way we weren't running into that barrier. When we did that, everything became easier.” (FG)

NA

“You have to ask a couple of questions before you get the real answer with some of the Americans. This took time. Dutchies are very direct, we let you know what the answer is straight away. This was sometimes challenging” (FG)

“I was ashamed of my English as it’s their native language, but it all went well, and collaboration went really well” (FG)

“Because the course was in English, I was pushed outside my comfort zone. This caused me to widen my vocabulary and understanding of the English language” (RR)