Fostering English Learners' Intercultural Competence and Multicultural Awareness in a Foreign Language University in Northeastern China

2017 ◽  
pp. 890-913
Author(s):  
Lili Qin ◽  
Theresa D. Neimann
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Northeastern China ◽  
Strategic Leadership ◽  
Multicultural Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

Strategic leadership needs to address the improvement of multicultural awareness of foreign language learners in China in order to enhance students' intercultural competence (IC). As part of strategic leadership and management this should be one of the foremost tasks of foreign language education in the context of globalization. An analysis of the following factors: needs of society, school, teacher and students with consideration to Taba's 7-step curriculum design theory, led the researchers to conclude that the implementation of a series of innovative intercultural communication (IC) courses, called 4-D (four-dimension) IC modules which included Intercultural Communication Theory module, Chinese Culture module, World Cultures module (cultures from different countries) and Comparative Methodologies of Chinese & Western Cultures module was the defining factor that led to multicultural awareness. The curriculum was oriented to multicultural awareness development and carried out in a foreign language university in northeastern China. The result demonstrated that student IC awareness increased comparatively slight, without the training of the above courses, while that of the students participating in the courses was significantly higher, which means the expected goal of upgrading the IC of foreign language talents has been achieved.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Intercultural Competence among Moroccan EFL students: Focus on raising their Cross-cultural Awareness

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Driss Benattabou
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Deep Culture ◽  
Efl Students

         The goal of this paper is to consider alternative ways to incorporate an intercultural communication course as an integral part of the curriculum designed for Moroccan learners of EFL. Some aspects of what comes to be dubbed as ‘deep culture’ should find room in the contents of the EFL course so as to alert Moroccan learners about the potential intercultural barriers they are far more likely to face. It is proposed that for an effective intercultural communication to take place, the English course should help foreign language learners explicitly understand what target linguistic forms might be and how their meanings may differ across cultures. The analysis of some instances of intercultural misunderstandings may surely give more credence to the vital importance of implementing a multicultural approach to education. This paper offers some teaching strategies to assist Moroccan learners of EFL overcome these intercultural barriers.

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.

scholarly journals Взаимосвязи и взаимообусловленности межкультурного образования и коммуникации на иностранном языке

2013 ◽  
pp. 193-202
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Pacholczyk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Communication Analysis ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Culture Development ◽  
And Linguistics

The contemporary glottodidactics is an interdisciplinary science, which is reflected, among others, in the transition from mono- to bi- and multiculturalism. The main objective of this paper is to define the relationships between, and conditions of, intercultural teaching and foreign language communication. The following issues will be explored in detail: - discussion of the main assumptions of the post-communicative paradigm of contemporary glottodidactics; - definition of the subject of cultural studies and linguistics in the context of the relationships between “language and culture”; - development of relationships in terms of communication and intercultural competence; - definition of the main objective of intercultural communication; - analysis of relationships as well as intercultural teaching and communication based on examples.

scholarly journals Intercultural competence - an aim for the teaching of English in Norway?

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragnhild Elisabeth Lund
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

The 1997 Norwegian national curriculum (L-97) pointed out the need for foreign language learners to develop ‘the ability to communicate across cultural divides’. The present article investigates how this perspective is followed up in the most recent national curriculum, LK-06, and discusses how intercultural competence can be dealt with in the teaching of English in Norwegian compulsory education. The author also indicates possible future developments by referring to some Council of Europe projects. The main focus is on the questions of how (inter)cultural topics can be selected and how intercultural competence can be assessed.

scholarly journals METHODICAL APPROACHES OF THE INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE FORMATION OF FUTURE ECONOMISTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana V. Polyakova ◽  
Alina F. Nigmatullina ◽  
Margarita A. Mihailova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Simulation Games ◽  
Active Growth ◽  
Master's Degrees

The paper represents the results of conducted experiments on the formation of intercultural competence among undergraduate economics students of Kazan Federal University (Russia). Aimed at describing the advantages of the intercultural competence formation approach, the article focuses on the evidence of competence-based approach’s effectiveness in the formation of intercultural competence. The business games, projects, discussions, brainstorming, and simulation games were used as the methods of the formation of the intercultural competence. Both a linguistic and a cultural components have become increasingly important in the personality of an international level modern economist. In addition to knowledge in the professional field, future economist needs to possess cultural, sociocultural knowledge and skills that allow him to adequately represent himself in situations of intercultural communication. This problem is widely discussed these days due to the active growth of theoretical and practical interest in issues of intercultural communication. The introduction of a two-level education system (bachelor's and master's degrees) in Russia entails a considerable number of changes, including creating courses related to the world economy in a foreign language. These programs must be compiled in accordance with the federal state standards of the generation 3+ and must be implemented in the professional training of future economists at the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of the KFU. Hence, there is a need to increase the level of intercultural competence of future specialists in the economy field and the need for pedagogical theory and practice in the formation of intercultural competence of students in the process of teaching a foreign language at a university.

scholarly journals Improvement of Students’ Autonomous Learning Behavior by Optimizing Foreign Language Blended Learning Mode

SAGE Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402110711
Author(s):  
Xue Wang ◽  
Wei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Behavior ◽  
College English ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

Given the significance of cultivating students’ autonomous learning ability, there is a need to develop an instructional model that can improve students’ awareness and behavior of autonomous learning, as well as to explore the effectiveness and optimization of this model effectively. Taking college English course as a case study, this paper constructs a blended learning mode based on SPOC, which combines advantages of online and offline teaching. 15 types of nonredundant sets resulting from 500 questionnaires has been explored, and the optimal factor combinations have been found out from 15 types with the technology of data mining to optimize the mode constructed previously. Optimized blended learning mode, emphasizing the optimal factors more, has been applied to College English curriculum design and teaching practice in China. Surveys of students’ achievement and autonomous learning behavior have been conducted after experiment. The results of the research indicate that the optimized blended learning mode will stimulate foreign language learners’ learning motivation, cultivate their autonomous learning ability, so as to construct and improve their autonomous learning behavior further.

RELEVANT TRENDS IN DESIGN OF THE COURSES IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION FOR STUDENTS OF THE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Olga A. Dan'ko ◽  
◽  
Dmitrii V. Enygin ◽  
Venera O. Midova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Multicultural Training ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Professional Orientation ◽  
Practical Orientation ◽  
The Status

The article is devoted to one of the relevant issues of modern professional pedagogy – that is the development of intercultural competence of a future specialist, in particular, the material considers the fundamental elements of professional multicultural training of a future manager; spheres of intercultural communication of specialists of this area are relevantly highlighted. The authors analyze the current situation in the existing large non-linguistic universities of our country and determine the basic requirements of the present time for the competence of the manager; clarify the concept of intercultural competence. The article also provides some evidence for the status of a foreign language in the development of intercultural competence of the student. The article also uses the principles of developing courses for intercultural communication for future managers, enveloping the principles of personality-activity orientation, communicative orientation, professional orientation, the principle of multiculturalism, integration and the principle of relative openness. The principles are based on the main vectors of developing courses on intercultural communication for students of management departments. They are the use of four-dimensional models of the educational process, the analysis of the educational needs of students, teachers and employers, as well as the use of the pyramid of academic benefit. Particular emphasis is placed on the need for practical orientation in designing the courses on intercultural communication.

Cultural Customs Learning and Intercultural Communication

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 99-104
Author(s):  
Xiaochi Zhang ◽  
Jinjing ZHANG
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Native People ◽  
Component Part ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Foreign Language Learners

Cultural customs learning should be a component part of foreign language learning. Cultural customs have very important functions in intercultural communication, which influence the people’s behaviors and ways in special cultural context, and even essential conditions that people from different cultural backgrounds make better and smoother intercultural communication. However, foreign language learners often overlooked learning cultural customs and misunderstood cultural customs, so that they always made unsuccessful intercultural communication with the native people. In this article, the author takes a Chinese character “Fu” for an example, elaborates a real story that the author experienced in person more than ten years ago and analyzes the relationships between language and culture, and then discusses about the important effects of cultural customs in intercultural communication and adaptation. Finally, the author gives some suggestions of how to adapt to a new culture, especially a new cultural custom in order to have a better understanding one new culture and have a good communication with the native people.

The symbolic dimensions of the intercultural

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Kramsch
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Third Place ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Language Classrooms

While communicative competence is characterized by the negotiation of intended meanings in authentic contexts of language use, intercultural competence has to do with far less negotiable discourse worlds, the ‘circulation of values and identities across cultures, the inversions, even inventions of meaning, often hidden behind a common illusion of effective communication’ (Kramsch, Lévy & Zarate 2008: 15). The self that is engaged in intercultural communication is a symbolic self that is constituted by symbolic systems like language as well as by systems of thought and their symbolic power. This symbolic self is the most sacred part of our personal and social identity; it demands for its well-being careful positioning, delicate facework, and the ability to frame and re-frame events. The symbolic dimension of intercultural competence calls for an approach to research and teaching that is discourse-based, historically grounded, aesthetically sensitive, and that takes into account the actual, the imagined and the virtual worlds in which we live. With the help of concrete examples from the real world and foreign language classrooms, the paper attempts to redefine the notion of third place (Kramsch 1993) as symbolic competence.

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