Intercultural communicative competence: Are Greek EFL teachers ready?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
Evangelia Petosi ◽  
Ioannis Karras
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cultural Teaching ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Intercultural Encounters ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
State Schools

AbstractOver the years and because of globalization, English has undoubtedly become an international language, a lingua franca. In this interconnected context, a new reality for the EFL educators has arisen: the need to prepare learners for intercultural encounters, that is being able to learn and use English, for effective and appropriate interaction with other native or non-native speakers of English worldwide. It is, thus, imperative that teachers become aware of the importance of this competence so they can adapt their teaching approaches and incorporate them in the EFL classroom.This exploratory study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of EFL teachers, with regards to incorporating intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in their classroom. The aim of this study was to gain more understanding of the current status of teaching English for Intercultural Communication in the Greek EFL state classroom in terms of teachers’ understandings and attitudes towards cultural teaching and ICC. To this end, an online questionnaire with closed questions was employed to collect data from sixty-two EFL teachers teaching at Greek state schools. Statistical analyses showed that EFL teachers have high appreciation of integrating ICC in English teaching. Moreover, they seem highly value the affective and behavioural components of this competence. These findings are hoped to contribute to a better understanding of intercultural teaching in ELT so that implications should be made to enhance the quality of ELT in Greece.

scholarly journals Indonesian EFL Teacher�s Ideologies of Lingua Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (01) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ruly Morganna
Keyword(s):  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Cultural Teaching ◽  
Multiple Cultures ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Efl Learning

This study aimed at investigating the interpretation of lingua-culture and its depiction in EFL learning based on Indonesian EFL teachers ideologies. This study used an instrumental case study that purposefully engaged ten Indonesian EFL teachers as the participants. A semi-structured interview was assigned to garner the expected data. This study revealed that eight teachers, ones holding an essentialist ideology, interpreted lingua-culture as one language with one culture and depicted it into several characteristics including becoming native-like English users as the goal, using natively authentic materials, framing communicative competence theory for use, and applying indirect cultural teaching. On the contrary, the rest two teachers, ones adhering to a non-essentialist ideology, interpreted lingua-culture as one language with multiple cultures and depicted it into some characteristics extending to becoming intercultural English users as the goal, using cross-cultural non-native English materials, framing intercultural communicative competence for use, and executing direct cultural teaching. As the implication, anchored in the nature of multiculturality of Indonesian students, this study promotes EFL teachers to hold the non-essentialist ideology for its sustainability. This study offers two conceptual frameworks vis-a-vis EFL lingua-culture ideologies. Of the two, there is only one scientifically considered ideal to fit the multiculturality of Indonesian students.Keywords -EFL learning ideology, lingua-culture, multiculturality

scholarly journals The use of discourse markers but and so by native English speakers and Chinese speakers of English

Pragmatics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binmei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Oral Discourse ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

Abstract Previous studies have found that but and so occur frequently in native and non-native English speakers’ speech and that they are easy to acquire by non-native English speakers. The current study compared ideational and pragmatic functions of but and so by native and non-native speakers of English. Data for the study were gathered using individual sociolinguistic interviews with five native English speakers and ten L1 Chinese speakers. The results suggest that even though the Chinese speakers of English acquired the ideational functions of but and so as well as the native English speakers, they underused the pragmatic functions of them. The findings indicate that there is still a gap between native and non-native English speakers in communicative competence in the use of but and so. The present study also suggests that speakers’ L1 (Mandarin Chinese) and overall oral proficiency in oral discourse affect their use of but and so.

scholarly journals Intercultural Communicative Competence: Why Is It Significant and How Can It Be Enhanced in EFL Settings?

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 793-803
Author(s):  
Seçil Tümen Akyıldız ◽  
Vildan Çelik ◽  
Kwestan Hussein Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Different Cultures

In the current literature on foreign language teaching, it has become clear that having the requisite ability of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) to be aware of different cultures, respect them, and interact with people from different cultures is crucial. Language is connected to culture and societies, in which people need to communicate with one another. English as a lingua franca provides a means of communication among different cultures. Thus, English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching classes offer perfect situations to foster ICC. From this viewpoint, this article gives an account to raise awareness of ICC in EFL settings by explaining ICC and its relationship with language, describing the significance of ICC, and illustrating some suggestions in the literature for the enhancement of ICC in EFL classes. This paper seeks to improve EFL teachers’ understanding of intercultural communication and to help them with their classroom practices.

The interactional accomplishment of discrimination in South Africa

1985 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Keith Chick
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Interactional Sociolinguistics ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Negative Cycle ◽  
Intercultural Encounters ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Sociocultural Background

ABSTRACTIn this paper I attempt to show what a micro approach involving fine-grained sociolinguistic analyses has to contribute to the understanding of the causes of discrimination on grounds of race in South Africa. I present analyses of intra- and intercultural encounters involving native speakers of English and Zulu which suggest that differences in sociocultural background and discourse conventions contribute to misinterpretation of intent and misjudgement of attitude and ability. Repeated stressful encounters of this kind, I suggest, generate negative cultural stereotypes. Finally, I sketch how the larger, structural, historically given forces, which are the concern of macro studies, combine with the results of intercultural encounters to achieve a negative cycle of socially created discrimination. (Interactional sociolinguistics, culture-specific discourse conventions. intercultural communication failure and prejudice, South African English)

scholarly journals Perspectives: Toward the Development of Intercultural Communicative Competence: Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications for Japanese English Teachers

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Komiya Samimy ◽  
Chiho Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
English Education ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Curricular Innovation ◽  
Japanese English

Although CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) was introduced into Japanese English education in the mid-1980s under the initiative of the Monbukagakusho (the National Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture of Japan), the implementation of CLT has been challenging for Japanese English teachers. This article explores possible sources for the difficulties that CLT has caused in Japan. It examines factors such as Japanese sociocultural, political, and educational contexts that have significant influence on curricular innovation. This article further argues that the underlying assumptions of CLT that are based on the native-speaker competence model are not compatible with the contexts of Japanese English education because these assumptions include native-speaker competence as a primary goal of second language acquisition. Recognizing the current status of English as an international language, the authors propose an alternative model based on the notion of intercultural communicative competence (Alptekin, 2002) and discuss how the model of intercultural communicative competence can be applied to Japanese English education. １９８０年代半ばから、文部科学省の指導の下で日本の英語教育にコミュニカティブ・アプローチが導入されているが、コミニュカティブ・アプローチの実践は日本の英語教師にとって依然として困難な試みである。本論はコミュニカティブ・アプローチが日本にもたらしている問題の要因を探るために、カリキュラムの改変に影響を及ぼす日本の社会文化的、政治的、教育的状況を検討する。さらに、母国語話者のコミュニケーション能力を前提とするコミュニカティブ・アプローチは、ネイティブのコミュニケーション能力を第二外国語習得の主な目標とする点で日本の英語教育に適さないと論じる。最後に、現在英語が果たしている国際語としての役割を認識した上で、異文化コニュニケーション能力の概念に基づくモデルを新たに提案し、このモデルがどのように日本の英語教育に応用できるのかを検討する。

scholarly journals Analysis of the speech act of request in the foreign language classroom

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Herget ◽  
Noemí Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Different Types

Nowadays, teaching languages for specific purposes, in particular in the field of entrepreneurship, has to focus on pragmatic and intercultural aspects in response to a multicultural professional reality that comprises different areas of knowledge. Our study aims at analyzing the speech act of making a request in German and Spanish by Portuguese native speakers, i.e. BA students of Languages and Business Relations at University of Aveiro. For this study, two different types of tests were performed: the Discourse Completion Task (DCT) and the Rating Assessment Test. The data provided by the answers given to these two surveys will help the teacher to understand the pragmatic difficulties students have when making a request in these two foreign languages. The information obtained will help the teacher to focus on aspects that are really problematic from the pragmatic point of view, and at the same time, to find and implement strategies and activities that help students improve their pragmatic awareness and overcome difficulties that may arise in intercultural communication. Hence, the objective is to contribute to an adequate development of the students' pragmatic and intercultural communicative competence.

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