Globalized English and users’ intercultural awareness: Implications for internationalization of higher education

2021 ◽  
pp. 204717342110376
Author(s):  
Abdelrahman A Salih ◽  
Lamis I Omar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Language Context ◽  
Collaboration Project

Globalized English offers interaction platforms, including cyber-based settings, for linguistically and culturally diverse speakers, particularly in the English as a second language/English as a foreign language context. Thus, it requires developing the intercultural competence of the parties involved. English users’ different perspectives may challenge effective communication and interaction. This paper results from a collaboration project between an Omani higher learning institution and an American higher learning institution and reports an exploratory study that examined the understanding and use of intercultural communicative competencies by 15 undergraduate users of English. Data was collected from the sample participants’ notes on material analysis, collaborative projects, test performances, and the instructors’ field observations. Data analysis examined the participants’ intercultural intelligence in various communicative settings in English. The findings showed the participants changed certain predetermined misconceptions about the “other culture” and developed positivity and acceptance of intercultural differences. Results also highlighted the significance of online academic internationalization and incorporating intercultural competence in the English as a second language/English as a foreign language curricula. The study further indicated the significance of the teacher’s role in nurturing learners’ intercultural competence and intercultural-awareness priorities for being the global citizens of today.

A dynamic, usage-based approach to teaching L2 Dutch

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-264
Author(s):  
Dietha Eugenie Simone Koster
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Teaching Program ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Language Context ◽  
The University

Language teaching follows trends in theory of second language development (SLD). In recent years, a dynamic, usage-based (DUB) approach to SLD has gotten theoretical foothold. With DUB principles in mind, a teaching program was developed for teaching Dutch as a second language (L2), where authentic input stood central. The program was based on a popular Dutch movie and has been applied in a foreign language context, working with advanced, German learners of L2 Dutch at the University of Münster (Germany). In an exploratory study, we examined what effect the program had on students´ motivation and general language proficiency. Results indicate that students appreciated the method in several ways (learning, motivation) and that they showed a significant increase in language proficiency. The aim of this report is to provide supported ideas for engaging and effective L2 teaching.

scholarly journals The Use of Literary Texts in EFL Coursebooks: An Exploratory Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Shaima Al-Saeed ◽  
Abdullah A. Alenezi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Important Research Area ◽  
And Linguistics

This exploratory study investigates the use of literary texts in English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks and examines the extent to which literature is used within the coursebooks, the types of texts used as regards authenticity and recency, the criteria for selecting and adapting the texts and the ways of improving the selection and adaptation process. Multiple articles written on this subject show that the evaluation of EFL coursebooks is a relevant and important research area in the study of language and linguistics. This study gives a survey of the extent to which literary texts are used in EFL coursebooks within institutions of higher learning in Kuwait and worldwide. In this study, 44 popular EFL coursebooks (between 2015 and 2019) within higher education institutes, including those in Kuwait, were analysed. The findings demonstrated that literary texts are not included in many of the coursebooks used nowadays and that the literary texts selected were primarily from an early period (more than a century ago). Furthermore, the results revealed that the coursebooks include a large percentage of inauthentic, ill-adapted works. Consequently, this study recommends incorporating authentic literary texts in EFL coursebooks comprising modern literature.

Networking-Based Strategies of Intercultural Communicative Competence Development Among Kazakhstani University Students

2019 ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Azamat Akbarov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Intercultural Understanding ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Language Communication

This chapter presents an empirical study of the intercultural communicative competence of students of Kazakhstani universities. The study results indicate that students should develop their cultural knowledge, intercultural receptivity, communication strategies, intercultural awareness etc. A number of issues related to the formation of intercultural competence in the process of teaching foreign-language communication, taking into account the cultural and mental differences of the native speakers, which is a necessary condition for a successful dialogue of cultures are also discussed. The concept of communicative competence in teaching foreign languages stipulates development of students' knowledge, skills and abilities that enable them to join the ethno-cultural values of the country of the studied language and use the foreign language in situations of intercultural understanding and cognition in practice. Conjunction of such knowledge, skills and abilities constitutes communicative competence. Based on the results of the research, proposals are made for the curriculum and teaching of intercultural communication and methods of developing intercultural communicative competence of students of Kazakhstan universities in a networked environment.

scholarly journals KSZTAŁTOWANIE POSTAWY OTWARTOŚCI INTERKULTUROWEJ NAUCZYCIELI JĘZYKÓW OBCYCH W ŚWIETLE ZALECEŃ UNII EUROPEJSKIEJ I NA PRZYKŁADZIE ASYSTENTURY COMENIUSA

Neofilolog ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 265-277
Author(s):  
Anna Grabowska
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
National Language ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

Learning a foreign language is not only limited to the development of linguistic competences. Learning a language also means learning about the culture and life of another country, which very often may be a future destination for educational or professional purposes for foreign language learners. Teaching intercultural competences within foreign language education is a subject of academic research. Official documents of the European Union, which affect the national language education strategies, also confirm the importance developing intercultural competence. Experts agree that foreign language teachers play a crucial role in building intercultural awareness of their pupils. Thus, in order to act as intercultural mediators they should acquire intercultural skills and competences themselves. This article analyses the development of future foreign language teachers’ intercultural competences as a consequence of their participation in Comenius Assistantship, a component of the Lifelong Learning Programme.

Students’ Sensemaking of Self-Other Relations in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-166
Author(s):  
Minah Harun ◽  
◽  
Syarizan Dalib ◽  
Norhafezah Yusof ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Interpersonal Interaction ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Social Acts ◽  
Communication Competencies ◽  
Intercultural Interactions ◽  
Group Interviews

This paper discusses how Malaysian university students relate to the culture of others on campus based on sensemaking. More specifically, it articulates the sensemaking idea of self-other relations in which the individuals make sense of their experiences as they interact with others, how they view others around them and the others’ responses through socialising and their reflections of such acts. The paper is driven by the idea that to be effective global citizens, students should acquire intercultural competence by understanding their own social acts through interacting with others. Such competence is witnessed and enacted during interactions with culturally diverse others. The interactions are often taken for granted given that these acts are observable only among the interlocutors. The self-other understanding in interpersonal interaction requires people to understand not only what is said and meant in the process but also how to display proper conduct in performing the acts. Drawing from a series of focus group interviews with students in three Malaysian universities, the findings reveal that these students comprehended interaction with others using the language that reflects mindful acts, varied accommodating moves and appropriate cultural mannerisms. Such findings reflect the students’ meaning making of the interactions. It reveals the ways in which the students make sense of how the interactions influenced them and the conversant partners. The paper provides some implications including the need to embrace proper communication competencies in intercultural interactions in the campus and in other social or public spheres. Keywords: Sensemaking, self-other relations, mindful language, intercultural competence, Malaysia.

BOARD GAME AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
A. S. Opanasets ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Historical Material ◽  
Creative Project ◽  
Before And After

The paper analyzes the project-based method as a means of developing the intercultural competence of university students in the course of learning a foreign language. The application of this method is caused by the high requirements of the university academic programs and the necessity to search for pedagogical technologies, methods, and approaches that contribute to the imitation of real communication situations in the course of studying a foreign language by students of non-linguistic specialties. The author describes the project-based method as an approach in teaching undergraduates of the academic program “Advertising and public relations” to make a creative project. The paper presents the results of a survey regarding the students’ preferences in the forms of educational activities used in class; describes the students’ experience in creating a board game as a creative project for the Foreign Language course. The stages of the project activity – preparatory, technological, and final – are described in detail, the meaning of each stage is explained, a detailed description of the exercises used at all stages is given. The author paid particular attention to the criteria for evaluating the project activities. The paper presents the results of monitoring that identifies the level of students' proficiency in lexical, cultural, and historical material on the given topic before and after the implementation of the project-based method. The author underlines the potential of the project-based technique in enhancing the existing intercultural awareness and cognitive interest of the students, improving their skills of learning new information as well as lexical, cultural, and historical material.

scholarly journals Interculturality in ESP Classrooms: A Contributing Strategy to Meet the Job-Market Expectations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Fatma ZAGHAR
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Positive Attitudes

In the present time’s globalized atmosphere, the need for intercultural communicative competence in the workplace runs high. Accordingly, in the area of foreign language education, English teachers need more than ever to incorporate intercultural awareness and cross-cultural understanding in their syllabi. This article reports on a case study that involves the use of many research instruments including questionnaires, classroom observation, and assessment of assignments and exam sheets. This paper tends to suggest a cultural teaching based on standards for intercultural learning elicited from related literature in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) setting, addressed to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Master students approaching the end of their course of study and getting ready to enter the world of job-market. It proposes ways of instilling multicultural awareness into these language learners through the implementation of intercultural activities, helping them better understanding diversity and developing positive attitudes in the workplace. The research goals comprise increasing students’ intercultural global awareness, promoting their tolerance, and helping them remedy negative attitudes towards the target culture and other alien cultures. Findings of the study show that the proposed intercultural approach stimulates students’ thinking, helps them better comprehend how to immerse in diverse perspectives on complicated international issues, and how to become global citizens able to deal effectively with multiculturalism in the work environment.

scholarly journals Fostering Intercultural Competence of Students during Translation Classes at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Werkwinkel ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-112
Author(s):  
Muriel Waterlot
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Catholic University ◽  
University Level

Abstract Intercultural communication has become a scientific discipline which aims at improving communication during intercultural contacts by means of fostering the intercultural awareness and competence of the interlocutors involved within the intercultural communication process. In view of the intensifying European and international contacts the interest for this competency has grown during the last decades. This can among others be observed within foreign language teaching, but also in the training of translators at university level where new didactical approaches and teaching methods are being developed in order to improve the intercultural of future translators. This article presents a preliminary collaboration between the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and non-profit organization of translators, as well as the theoretical and practical backgrounds of a project which that they envisage to realize in future in order to transform its participants into intercultural competent translators.

Exploring BA students’ intercultural awareness and their expectations of translation courses

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Žana GAVRILOVIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Philosophy Department ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Competence Acquisition ◽  
Methodological Eclecticism

The aim of the research in this paper is to investigate how the third- and fourth-year BA students of English as a foreign language perceive what they should be provided with in new translation courses that Pale Faculty of Philosophy (Department of English) is introducing, and to explore their perception about the difficulties in the process of gaining the translational competence. The premise is that the students are not sufficiently aware of the translation as a part of intercultural communication, and the cross-cultural elements that it should be focusing on. The survey also relates to on the teaching methods and styles most commonly used in translation courses, the results they are providing, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. The results of the research may serve as a reliable basis for enhancement of the teaching process and the translation competence acquisition process, first and foremost through methodological eclecticism, then raising the awareness of intercultural components in translation and encouraging the communicative approach to teaching, through a positive classroom atmosphere creation. In the end, several points are made on how to raise the awareness of the students in the process of intercultural competence development.

Developing Intercultural Awareness Within Teacher Preparation Program

2017 ◽  
pp. 189-206
Author(s):  
Wenying Zhou ◽  
Sheila Austin
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
The U.S

As more expatriate Chinese language teachers are recruited to teach in American K-12 schools, there is an increasing need for American university teacher preparation programs to address the challenges they are experiencing, as well as how they should cope. With years' experience and a uniquely cross-cultural breadth, this book chapter first examines the cultural differences between the U.S. and China in classroom management, class communication, teaching styles and instructional strategies. To identify the cross-cultural teaching difficulties, as well as the situational and cultural factors that impact the failure of teaching in cross-cultural situations, literature was then reviewed from the fields of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and cross-cultural Chinese language teaching. Last, employing Byram's intercultural competence model, this book chapter suggests ways in which intercultural awareness and intercultural competence be incorporated in higher education foreign language teacher preparation programs in the U.S.

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