Intercultural Communication with Students of Other Languages: A Native English Speaking Teacher's Narrative (original) (raw)
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ISSUES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
The increased globalization of the economy and the interaction of different cultures was a reason for the concept of world culture to emerge. It is an idea that traditional barriers among people of different cultures will break down the traditional barriers among people. Intercultural communication takes place between nations and governments rather than individual to individual and it is quite formal and ritualized. Thus successful communication depends on shared cultural norms. The concept of interculturalization emphasizes communication as the primary goal of language learning, sees culture and language as closely linked; recognizes that culture is always present when language is used, sees cultural skills as important as language skills in language learning. When the communication takes place between people of different cultures and they share a common language, things can certainly go wrong. Moreover speaking the language does not mean that you have the background knowledge that native speakers assume you have. The issues of IC such as barriers in communication, stereotypes, ethnocentrism, culture shock and conflicts will be discussed in this study in terms of English language teaching. Key words: intercultural communication, ELT, globalization, foreign language, teaching.
Intercultural communication in English language teacher education
ELT Journal, 2005
As a result of their sociocultural backgrounds and previous educational experiences, both language learners and teachers bring to the classroom certain norms and expectations concerning appropriate teacher and learner roles and the learning-teaching practices they believe to be conducive to language learning. To prevent frustrations and failure due to mismatches between the teachers' and learners' expectations, teachers need to consider to what extent the underlying principles of their chosen methodology will correspond with the set of assumptions that learners bring to the classroom. To prepare teacher trainees for making more socioculturally informed pedagogical decisions, sociocultural awareness raising and scrutiny need to be incorporated into TESOL teacher education. This article outlines how information about intercultural communication that is integrated with methodology training can foster greater awareness of sociocultural relativity in teacher trainees, and facilitate their reflection on their preconceived notions of target learner groups as they make methodological decisions.
Language Awareness
These days, many pre-service and in-service language English language teachers now complete at least part of their professional training overseas. There is, thus, an important question concerning the impact of intercultural encounters on teachers' perspectives towards the English language and the teaching of English. This paper reports on a study of how a small group of in-service teachers interpreted their experiences of intercultural communication in the UK whilst completing an MA TESOL degree, illuminating the nature of teachers' perceptions of language and culture and how teachers translated insights derived from reflection on experience into pedagogic insights for the teaching of English as a global language. The findings reveal that participants' views shifted away from highly normative conceptions of English language use as they recognised the variability and fluidity of communication in real-life intercultural encounters. Based on critical moments in their communication experiences, teachers articulate the importance of broadening their own learners' perspectives on diversity within the English language and helping them develop cognitive and attitudinal tools to interact appropriately with diverse others. The paper contributes to understanding of the facilitative potential of teachers' reflections on their own experiences of linguistic and cultural diversity in coming to formulate pedagogical ideals and concrete methodological possibilities.
Investigating Intercultural Communication Competence In Narrative Texts Of English Learners
2019
The purpose of this research was to investigate the current levels of intercultural communication competence in fourth and fifth grade English Learners through narrative text composition within the researcher's English Learner classroom environment. This mixed-methods research was conducted as a response to the need for curriculum changes in preparing EL pre-service educators within the higher education system to become more proficient in the implementation of intercultural communication pedagogy. This action research was supported by a literature review including topics of intercultural communication pedagogy, linguistic relativity hypothesis, linguaculture, and English language development. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) How is intercultural communication competence (ICC) in fourth and fifth grade ELs developed by narrative writing? (2) Does ICC impact the English language development process in a positive manner? The narrative writing samples collected from the participants were graded using the Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2010) by the researcher. After quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data, the results exhibited that fourth and fifth grade English Learners can successfully develop ICC in narrative writing. The study was unable to fully answer the research questions as limitations of study included hinderances in gaining all the required data. Recommendations for pre-service and current EL educators are provided for the effective use of intercultural communication pedagogy within their classrooms. They are: Educators should build positive relationships with ELs; they should implement intercultural iv communication pedagogy within the EL classroom that includes cultural self-awareness; knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks; empathy; verbal and nonverbal communication; curiosity; and openness; they should conduct continual assessment of Intercultural Knowledge and Competence; and finally, they should collaborate with EL educators who effectively utilize intercultural communication pedagogy in their EL classrooms.
Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics, 2010
Educational linguistics is known for examining phenomena that are situated on the boundaries between two distinct but related areas of intellectual inquiry (applied linguistics and education), or investigating "those parts of linguistics directly relevant to educational matters as well as those parts of education concerned with language" (Spolsky 2008, p. 2). While pursuing questions and concerns that are informed by the situated challenges and constraints of practical ("real life") problems, educational linguists marshal the theoretical and methodological tools that they need to address the issues at hand and recommend new directions forward. In this way, the researcher "starts with a problem (or theme) related to language and education and then synthesizes the research tools in her/his intellectual repertoire to investigate or explore it" (Hornberger and Hult 2006, p. 78). Because such problems and themes often come out of a particular learning or teaching situation, this "problem-oriented discipline… focuses on the needs of practice and draws from available theories and principles of many relevant fields" (Spolsky 1975, p. 347). Within this large-scale endeavor, questions about language learning and language teaching have often taken priority: "in educational linguistics, the starting point is always the practice of education and the focus is squarely on (the role of) language (in) learning and teaching" (Hornberger 2001, p. 288). The relationship that exists between the language issues identified by teachers, researchers, and/or teacherresearchers and the various theoretical and methodological approaches used to investigate them has inspired research that is theoretical but applied, situated in specific contexts but influenced by larger (institutional, ideological, structural) processes, and reflective of the nested nature of local-global processes.
Cultural dimensions in intercultural communication & implications for English language teaching
This paper presents a critical review of literature on major values directing communication across Western-Anglo cultures and Asian-Confucian cultures, and hence influential to communication between people of different cultures even when the same language (e.g., English) is in operation. Given that these values exist in all cultures and among all individuals at various levels of prevalence, an effort is made to present these values in a bipolar dichotomy. From the insightful understanding of the operation and influence of the difference in cultural values on intercultural communication, the paper suggests implications practical to the teaching and learning English as a foreign language.