Foreign Language Learning as a Factor of Intercultural Tolerance (original) (raw)
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CULTURAL TOLERANCE AND ITS LINK WITH LANGUAGES
Individuals exposed to a new culture will soon experience and realize the existence of a languages barrier in their interactions with native speakers. The realization usually entails an attempt to familiarize oneself with the new language in the context of its culture. Prolonged exposure to that culture will enhance their capacity to use the language in an elaborate manner. Hypothetically, greater fluency in the language will lead to greater tolerance for the new culture. Individuals who are proficient in different languages thus can be assumed to have higher cultural tolerance. Supportive information is provided in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and the components of intercultural competence. However, the definition of intercultural competence is limited, as it does not incorporate the level of tolerance achieved by a culturally competent language user. To understand the role of multilingualism in cultural tolerance, a subsequent measure of the latter is pertinent.
Tolerance as a Theoretical and Methodological Aspect in Teaching a Foreign Language
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2023
The education of tolerance among students is one of the most important tasks of teachers of higher education, since with the beginning of education at a technical university; young people begin to communicate with people of a different faith, different culture and other outlooks on life. This article deals with the problem of interethnic tolerance and considers tolerance as a theoretical and methodological aspect in a foreign language teaching.
European Researcher. Series A, 2018
As human beings, we are aware of the constant changes that world is experiencing rather rapidly. Technology has an important impact on our present and very likely on our future as well. The population flow is increasing, caused by different reasons such as jobs, family, better future outlook etc. As a person moves, so their culture changes, willingly or not. In majority of cases, moving to another place forces a person to adapt to new cultures and that also includes learning the target culture's language. It is argued by many experts that through the learning of a new language a person can become very familiar with the culture itself. In that process, a certain filter is needed that will keep balance and minimize conflicts between the "old" and the "new" culture of an individual. That filter is intercultural education. The aim of this research was to determine the extent to which intercultural education has been established in tertiary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina through Foreign Language Learning. The instrument used for this research consists of 50 questions comprising four subscales: intellectual flexibility, interaction engagement, interaction confidence, and attitudes. The research sample consists of 160 students from three universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina two of which are private universities and one state university. The results show that the type of the university, students' educational level, and gender significantly affect their intercultural development. The significance of the findings of this study lies in the fact that they might be employed during the process of planning and execution of foreign language teaching and learning steps.
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2016
The following study is meant to be an extension of and completion to a former research paper entitled "The Role of Foreign Language Teachers in Developing Students" Intercultural Communication Skills" concluding that students of the University of Oradea, Romania, generally lack intercultural sensitivity and it falls to a great extent to foreign language teachers to change this state of affairs. When the former study came up with proposals for methods of enhancing students" cultural awareness (see simulation games on cultural differences like Barnga, BaFá BaFá, Randömia Balloon Factory and others), the present study focuses on an international comparison, though limited to only three academic institutions in three countries, regarding Eastern and Central European students" intercultural sensitivity. The initial idea was to see to what extent students of the University of Oradea, Romania, studying Economics, Medicine and Law dispose of intercultural skills. For this reason a Likert-type scale questionnaire was applied to more than 200 students of the above mentioned faculties. The survey was extended in the second round in Oradea, Romania, also to the Faculty of Environmental Protection and that of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, respectively to an international level asking students of the University of Debrecen, Hungary and the University of Maribor, Slovenia, the same questions. Although we are aware of the limitations of present study,-only three institutions included in the research, having in Debrecen and Maribor less respondents than in Oradea and only from some fields of study, Slovenian students not getting a Slovenian version of the questionnaire, which may have influenced their level of understanding issues, responses not always being consistent-its results have still an informative value. They confirm the author"s initial hypothesis that in spite of the extended international relations and travel opportunities Romanian students are not really aware of cultural diversity and its overwhelming impact upon people"s behaviour, reactions and way of thinking. As to our surprise there are no better results with the other two nations either, specific measures are to be taken in this respect including not only valuable contribution of foreign language teachers-as proposed in the former study-but also curriculum change by incorporating some form of intercultural training, too.
The Acceptance and Recognition of Cultural Diversity in Foreign Language
The Acceptance and Recognition of Cultural Diversity in Foreign Language, 2010
Since we live in a multilingual and multicultural world, people having diverse cultural backgrounds are beginning to interact with each other more than ever. Therefore, in the study, the notions of cultural diversity, cultural awareness, intercultural competence and cultural dimension have been introduced. According to these concepts, people see and interpret things around themselves in different ways. What may be considered an appropriate act in a culture may not be considered so in another because when two or more people from diverse cultures try to communicate with each other, problems may arise due to their differing personal and social lives, customs and traditions, world views and so on. This is mostly because of the different foreign languages and cultures the interlocutors possess. Hence, learning and teaching a language requires having knowledge about another culture. In order to be a competent language learner, it is crucial to know the cultural context of which the language is a component. To do so, culture has to be incorporated into foreign language teaching. This can be achieved by helping the students overcome barriers that would hinder the growth of intercultural competence. Also, the teachers should help their students to gain an insight into different cultures. The learners should be aware of the fact that there are various cultures to be accepted, recognized, tolerated and respected other than theirs. Özet Çok dilli ve çok kültürlü bir dünyada yaşadığımızdan dolayı, çeşitli kültürel geçmişleri olan insanlar birbirleriyle şimdiye kadar olduğundan daha fazla etkileşim içinde bulunmaya başlamıştır. Bu yüzden, çalışmada, kültürel çeşitlilik, kültürel farkındalık, kültürlerarası yeti ve kültürlerarası bo-yut kavramları tanıtılmıştır. Bu kavramlara göre, insanlar çevrelerindekileri farklı yollarla görür ve yorumlar. Bir kültürde uygun olan bir davranış başka bir kültürde uygun olmayabilir. Çünkü çeşitli kültürel geçmişleri olan kişiler birbirleriyle iletişim kurmaya çalıştıklarında, kişilerin sahip oldukları farklı kişisel ve toplumsal yaşamlar, gelenek ve görenekler ve dünya görüşlerinden dolayı problemler ortaya çıkabilir. Bunun en büyük sebeplerinden biri farklı dillere ve kültürlere sahip olmalarıdır. Bu yüzden, bir dili öğrenme ve öğretme diğer kültür hakkında da bilgi sahibi olmayı gerektirir. Yetkin bir dil öğre-nicisi olmak için, dilin içinde bulunduğu kültürün de kazanılması gerekir. Bunu gerçekleştirmek için
2012
The pacific coexistence of the European nations, as well as their economic development, depends upon the mutual understanding and cooperation of the European states, based on the equality of rights and duties. Contact areas, where cultures and languages have interwoven and nations have coexisted for ages, represent the European laboratory for mutual coexistence and understanding, born of political and historical challenges well before the implementation of EU strategies. Communication and information exchange are cornerstones that help to improve an understanding of the economic, social and cultural situations of the nations that have decided to follow a common path. Yet, acquiring a satisfactory level of proficiency in a foreign language for communication is no longer sufficient. Participants in conversations bring into their interpersonal communication individual aspects and cultural elements of the environment in which they live. Content transmission depends not only on the langu...
Relation between Communicative Tolerance and Intercultural Adaptation in International Students
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2015
The paper presents the results of a study of the connection between the parameters of the communicative tolerance and the intercultural adaptation in the international students from a multinational university (Peoples' Friendship University of Russia). A total of 337 respondents took part in the research, including 182 young men and 155 young women from five parts of the world: Latin America, Asia (China), Arab countries, Africa, the countries of the Central Asian region. The level of the communicative tolerance was measured with the technique "General communicative tolerance" by V.V.Boyko. The Questionnaire of the adaptation of the person to the new socio-cultural environment (APSCE) by L.V.Yankovsky, in T.G.Stefanenko and M.S.Panov's modified version was used to define the features of the intercultural adaptation of the international students. The Kruskal-Wallis non-parametrical criteria, the Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and the correlation analysis (Spearman Rank Correlations) were used for the statistical analysis. The study revealed that the rates of the communicative tolerance, as a whole, are positively related to the efficiency of the intercultural adaptation of the international students in Russia (especially for the students from Africa, Arab countries and Latin America).
Выкладання мов у вищих навчальних закладах освіти на сучасному етапі. Міжпредметні зв'язки, 2023
Positive intercultural interaction and positive changes aggravate crosscultural communication problems in modern society, caused by contradictions between the values and lifestyles of different peoples. In this regard, the search for ways to transform cultural diversity as a factor hindering intercultural dialogue into a means of mutual understanding and enrichment, into a tool for the development of a socially active and independent personality, capable of being a full-fledged participant in the dialogue of cultures, is becoming more relevant in education. The purpose of the article is to compare the functions of speech activity and culture and show their close relationship; to demonstrate that the methodological meaning of this unity is that speech acts cannot be learned in isolation from culture, and intercultural learning is not just interaction with another culture, but the cultural development of the learner; to consider the intercultural approach peculiarity in learning a foreign language through cognition, evaluation, and comparison of the native culture with the culture of the nation whose language is studied. The research methodology consists of theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific ______________________________________