Facilitating Transformative Learning Toward Productive Bilingualism: Innovations in Teaching English for Intercultural Communication in China

Author(s):  
Xuan Zheng ◽  
Yihong Gao
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2 (176)) ◽  
pp. 201-226
Author(s):  
Anna Korwin-Kowalewska

The field of Intercultural Communication has attracted attention of specialists from various disciplines, including such distant fields of research as linguistics and international business studies. Most authors, however, focus on the scope of knowledge and skills in terms of learning objectives. Students’ own perspectives and various conceptions they construct with ascribed meanings, as well as the “architecture” of their learning process remain under-researched. This study provides an example of a replicable analysis of the Intercultural Communication learning process, based on subjects’ perspectives. Most participants of this study are first- and second-generation immigrants. Serious issues present in a multicultural setting based on the perception of the “Other” emerged, with implications for communication, collaboration and potential conflict. Two main transformation patterns were identified in the intercultural learning process, conditioned by mono- and multiculturalism. This study reveals a range within the self-conception transition framework, as well as the deep ontological aspect of the phenomenon. The findings extrapolated into a wider context should contribute to a more conflict-free environment in multicultural societies in general. The phenomenographic approach, variation theory and the threshold concept were applied to explore the semantics, the syntax of the learning process and the critical aspects of the transformative learning experience. * This research was supported by the Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Mount Royal University (No. 2013–49a). Initial design was inspired and partly supported through collaboration with The Institute for Teaching and Learning at Mount Royal University. There has been no public presentation, nor publication of any part of this analysis. This is not part of a thesis or dissertation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 415
Author(s):  
Zukhra A. Motygullina ◽  
Leila A. Nurgalieva

<p>The purpose of this article is to compare the concept of "youth" in two genetically unrelated languages – Tatar and English. The study implements methods of comparative, definitional, component and contextual analysis and ethnic-linguistic-culturological comparison. An exceptional importance of the concept of "youth" made it one of the key concepts of many peoples. In this paper, based on English and Tatar dictionaries, we presented the concept of "youth" in the form of a frame. We identified the distinctive and similar features of the concept of "youth" in English and Tatar. The materials of this article can be used in the practice of intercultural communication, in the translation process of teaching English to the Tatar audience at higher education institutions and schools in order to develop intercultural communication among learners.</p>


Author(s):  
Elena Osadcha

The aim of this study is to analyze the ways empathy influences the effectiveness of the process of teaching English. The problem of empathic communication in the educational process is considered. The genesis of the concept of empathy is traced in behaviorism, psychoanalysis and in humanistic psychology. The aspects of empathy are distinguished and characteristics of the empathic process are determined. The role of empathy in the educational process and in the teacher’s behaviour is described. The significance of empathy in intercultural communication of English learners is assessed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 622
Author(s):  
Elham Heidari ◽  
Bahram Mowlaie

Concerning the significant role of translation as a significant field which contributes to intercultural communication, assigning valid criteria for teaching translation is necessary to make sure that the best practices are employed by instructors’ to teach translation skills. This, in return, would help translation students be equipped with better translation skills. However, little research has been conducted to see what training practices translation instructors employ in their translation training classrooms. More significantly, it has been little research to determine the criteria that are behind the practices instructors employ in their translation training classroom. The purpose of the current research was to determine what practices instructors follow in their English translation classrooms and what criteria are behind these practices. To serve this purpose, the classrooms of ten English translation instructors were observed in an Iranian academic context using an observation checklist. Subsequently, the instructors were asked to write about the criteria behind their teaching practices in an open-ended questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the instructors’ practices were consistent with some of the principles made in the literature an inconstant with others. The instructors referred to the criteria behind the translation teaching practices they employed in their classrooms. Implications that these findings have for the field of translation are presented and some suggestions for further research in this area are given.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 525
Author(s):  
Xiantong Zhao ◽  
Xu Liu

International academic visits by university faculty members are common around the world. While most researchers approach such an international experience in terms of intercultural communication and acculturation, in this study we view the travel experience as a learning opportunity in light of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT). Drawing on Singleton’s ‘3H model’ (head-heart-hands), we find that the outcomes of transformative learning (TL) are related to cognitive, affective and behavioral domains, the prevalence of which were then explored among 314 visiting scholars. The results are further interpreted by drawing on key concepts from TLT to better understand the learning process. We conclude that the international experience is beneficial for scholars’ sustainable development, and call for more study abroad opportunities for Chinese university faculty.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Hussain Ahmed Liton

Cultural assimilation and intercultural awareness has been an important hub of modern language and communication studies, underlining a shift that reflects a greater significance of the inseparability of language and culture, and the need to prepare students for effective intercultural communication to thrive in a global work environment. A thriving global workplace requires effective communication skill across cultures in this era of globalization and mass migration. Under the tutelage of such backdrop, this article addresses the terrain of adopting intercultural awareness in EFL classroom teaching/learning and aims at linking culture with language in pursuit of excellence in borderless effective communication. The study, in other words, investigated the linguistic aspects that could be affected by certain cultural dimensions (e.g., beliefs, traditions, taboo words, habits, and norms, religion, social factors, etc.) in intercultural communication. This paper uses a questionnaire device to receive some university teachers’ self-reported feedback. This article maintains qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The analytical research result shows that in teaching English, it is necessary to incorporate and develop aspects of cross-cultural awareness as a part of course curriculum to immerse students in effective intercultural communicative competence (ICC).


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