The Role of Intercultural Competence in Teaching a Foreign Language

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-70
Author(s):  
M. Martynova
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Health Care Context ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
General Competence ◽  
Medical University

The article focuses on a relevant issue of the development of intercultural competence in the health care context. Intercultural competence is a necessary component of any healthcare professional’s general competence. This is a demand not only at the federal level, but the cultural diversity of the population of is an ever-growing reality. The author also emphasizes the importance of learning a foreign language not only as a means of communication and cultural development, but also as a means of developing intercultural competence in health care. The results of the empirical part of the study are introduced. The survey was carried out among medical university students. The aim of this study is to analyze the preparedness of students for interaction with patients of different cultural backgrounds in health care profession. The method of questionnaire was used. The students gave their concepts of intercultural competence, defined its role in their future profession, and in a foreign language classroom.

scholarly journals Ethnographic approaches to developing intercultural competence through intercultural interactions in the higher education context in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-36
Author(s):  
Yi’an Wang ◽  
Liyang Miao
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Intercultural Interactions

With the recent developing trend of redefining ‘culture’ across disciplines in intercultural and foreign language education (Corbett, 2003; Shaules, 2007; Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2010), it is widely agreed that culture requires a broader definition to improve the teaching and learning of it. Wilkinson (2012) suggests “a redefinition of culture in anthropological rather than aesthetic terms” (p. 302) to ensure that intercultural and language learning leads to Intercultural Competence (IC). Others (Buttjes, 1991; Risager, 2006) also note the importance of anthropological conceptualization when culture is taught in foreign and/or second language classrooms, because motivation to learn the language is increased. Byram (1991) similarly emphasized the need to include active ‘cultural experience’ in the foreign language classroom, and provided examples including cooking and geography lessons, in which students learn about the food and geography of the country whose language they are studying. A crucial element in research within the anthropology field is ethnography. Thus, to achieve a fuller understanding of culture “as the full gauntlet of social experience that students of foreign languages both learn and participate in” (Wilkinson, 2012, p. 302), including Holliday's (2004) concept of ‘small culture’, students should take on the role of ethnographer too; ethnography practices, in a variety of forms, have become central to intercultural approaches to culture and language teaching and learning (Corbett, 2003).

scholarly journals Strategy Instruction and Transfer in the EFL Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Najar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Strategy Instruction ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Mixed Design ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Learning Instruction ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

This study examines the generalizability of research in the areas of instruction; learning; and transfer of learning to the role these play in the area of the use of strategic competencies in foreign language contexts (FLC). While previous studies have tended towards a focus on learner variables, this study includes the conditions of applicability with a task that can impact learning and transfer as well. The contributions of both variables, learner and task, were investigated through note-taking strategy instruction and transfer, to ascertain the effect on reading comprehension of textual materials in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. Learning was measured as a precursor to transfer. In order to investigate the role of instruction and transfer in the transfer of strategy use, a mixed design using both qualitative and quantitative approaches for design and analysis was used. Findings suggest that the relationship between instruction and transfer as represented by strategy use and task performance is a multidimensional one, and that there are implications for language learning instruction in the foreign language classroom.

scholarly journals Developing intercultural competence in an academic foreign language classroom

2018 ◽  
pp. 133-154
Author(s):  
Monika Kusiak-Pisowacka
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Students First ◽  
Interesting Area

This paper focuses on the issue of developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in a higher education context, with a special focus put on teaching advanced foreign language (FL) students. First, the concept of ICC is discussed on the basis of Byram’s (1997) theory, which is still considered the most comprehensive model for describing the principles of developing and assessing intercultural competence in foreign language teaching. Next, a short overview of studies related to teaching ICC conducted by Polish researchers is presented. This is followed by a description of an Intercultural Communication course designed for university students and conducted by the author of the paper. In this report, the theoretical principles, the main aims of the course along with the techniques applied in teaching and evaluating students are discussed. It is hoped that the paper will be a useful contribution to discussions concerning developing ICC and will stimulate further research in this interesting area of education.

Health Care and the Silent Language of Vietnamese Immigrant Consumers

2002 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rika Houston
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Physician Patient ◽  
Cultural Health Beliefs

Cultural contexting has long been an established part of the business communica tion vocabulary. Each cultural group possesses a deeply embedded "silent lan guage" that requires attention and provides communication challenges. In the busi ness of health care, this silent language can create tremendous challenges for the physician/patient communication process, especially when the physician and patient come from starkly different cultural backgrounds, an increasingly common scenario. Through focus groups with recent Vietnamese immigrants, we identified three salient factors in this silent language: cultural health beliefs, time orientation, and the expected role of family members in the practice of health care. Business communication instructors need to incorporate these factors as they prepare administrators and practitioners to communicate well as health care professionals.

The use of humor in the foreign language classroom: Funny and effective?

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Wagner ◽  
Eduardo Urios-Aparisi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
World Language ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The World ◽  
World Language Classroom

AbstractThe present paper deals with the role of humor in world language teaching and learning. The goal is to enable educators and researchers to address the phenomenon of humor in the world language classroom in its complexity by suggesting a multidisciplinary approach and by introducing a coding scheme for investigating the use of humor in the world language classroom. Finally, we will introduce an ongoing long-term study planned with the proposed design.

scholarly journals Leadership and management competencies of head nurses and directors of nursing in Finnish social and health care

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Kantanen ◽  
Marja Kaunonen ◽  
Mika Helminen ◽  
Tarja Suominen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Management Competencies ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Nursing Managers ◽  
General Competence ◽  
Special Competence ◽  
Better Than

This paper describes the leadership and management competencies of head nurses and directors of nursing in social and health care. In the nursing profession, studies have tended to describe the role of the nurse manager, or to provide lists of competencies, talents and traits which can be found in successful managers. However, nursing managers’ leadership and management competencies lack any depth of research knowledge. Data were gathered by electronic questionnaire. Respondents ( n = 1025) were head nurses and directors of nursing. The data were statistically analysed. Both groups evaluated their leadership and management competencies to be quite good and their general competence to be better than their special competence. Overall, directors of nursing rated their general competence and special competence better than head nurses. However, the head nurses had a stronger expertise in general competence areas, professional competence and credibility, and also in the special competence areas of substance knowledge than the directors of nursing. While the overall leadership and management competencies were good for both groups, each has identified areas which can be further developed.

scholarly journals Intercultural Competence in EMP Training: A Case Study and Implications for Syllabus Design

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Dudzik ◽  
Agnieszka Dzięcioł-Pędich
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Occupational Mobility ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
Medical English ◽  
Medical University

Abstract Due to the development of global economy and increased geographical and occupational mobility, communication with people from multicultural backgrounds has become commonplace in many healthcare institutions. As the demographic profiles of both patients and medical personnel are increasingly varied, intercultural competence (IC) has become an integral component of English for Medical Purposes (EMP) training. However, are medical students generally familiar with the notion of intercultural competence? What intercultural aspects should they be aware of in order to practise effectively when they graduate? The aim of this article is to present medical students′ understanding of IC based on a survey conducted among undergraduate learners at the Medical University of Bialystok, Poland. The article begins with a discussion on intercultural competence in the context of health care. Following this, a discussion on why intercultural competence needs to be incorporated and used in Medical English programmes is presented.

scholarly journals FORMATION of STUDENTS' "WORLD VIEW” of ANOTHER CULTURE in PROCESS of STUDYING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (193) ◽  
pp. 306-312
Author(s):  
Tetyana Kolbina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
World View ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Sociocultural Context ◽  
Main Method ◽  
World Outlook ◽  
Different Cultures

A new view has been formed on studying foreign languages nowadays: the aim is to make students aware of peculiarities concerning consciousness and culture of another people, that is reflected in its language. The result of studying foreign languages is the acquired intercultural competence based on the formed «world view» of another people, that provides efficient interaction among communicators from various cultures. The article deals with the ways offorming students ’ «world view» of another people in the process of studying a foreign language on the grounds of the concept regarding a person’s cultural development and the theory of activity, that is worked out by representatives of cognitive psychology (L. Vygotsky, О. Leontiev, P. Galperin, І. Zymnia and others). The results of their scientific search have proved that that the language is inseparably connected with the people’s culture; its studying should be realised in a sociocultural context; a sufficient level of mastering a language, which allows using it as a means of communication, confirms the fact ofperceiving the peculiarities of culture reflected in the language. The main method of studying a foreign language is contrasting and comparing realia in a wide context of different cultures. The pedagogical practice justifies the scientists ’ conclusion: studying foreign languages should be built on culturological and communication- and activity approaches, and focused on formation of each student - a future participant of the process of intercultural communication. Students’ consciousness is enriched and their level of communicative culture is improved through perception of realia of another culture, peculiarities of its representatives ’ world outlook.

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