An Interview with Paula Garrett-Rucks, Georgia State University

Abstract

paula garrett-rucks, assistant professor of World Languages and Cultures at Georgia State University, is an active researcher in the teaching and learning of second languages. She is especially focusing on fostering intercultural competence, L2 hypermedia text use, and dual language immersion.According to the 2014Global Competence Position Statement by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, language instructors must foster learners' interactional abilities and behaviors to perform effectively and appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from self. This is an example of the increased pressure on world language educators to expand the cultural instruction in their curriculum and to advocate for their language programs as a means to prepare learners with twenty-first-century skills. However, many language educators report that they are confused about how to infuse meaningful cultural instruction into their beginning level language courses (Fox & Diaz-Greenberg, 2006; Phillips & Abbot, 2011; Sercu, 2005) due to ubiquitous target language (TL) use policies (minimum 90% TL use) and learners' limited linguistic mastery. This article demystifies some confusion about fostering learners' intercultural competence (IC) in instructed language learning and concludes with a summary of tools and techniques to integrate computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and meaningful cultural inquiry at beginning levels of instruction.The problem with cultural exploration without consideration for students' IC is the way in which learners' respond and internalize alternate perspectives. As long noted by Bennett (1993), a common first response to cultural difference in an encounter is to take an ethnocentric perspective, either not accepting that alternate cultural perspectives might exist and deliberate avoidance of foreign contact (the Denial Stage) or positioning one's own culture as superior to the other, denigrating indicators of difference (Defense Stage). Stereotype formation might be amplified in cultures with distinctly different cultural dimensions due to an increased occurrence of marked behaviors, or observable different behaviors. Although there is much debate over Hofstede's (1980, 2001, 2011) cultural dimension scales, it can be informative for language instructors to investigate a cultural comparison of target cultures to their own. For example, a comparison of U.S. and South Korean national cultural dimensions, as reported by Hofstede (n.d.), reports great differences across several dimensions. Primarily, the United States has a much stronger individualism, meaning people are commonly “in it for self,” whereas South Korean culture is more collectivist, where more people take responsibility for fellow members of their group and offence leads to shame and loss of face. So, what happens when you try to teach U.S. students about South Korea? For example, U.S. students who have always had their educational experiences cater to their individualism—the right to leave school to worship their individual religious holidays, individualized learning plans (IEPs), and the right to question a teacher's authority—might not connect well with a newly arrived South Korean teacher who did not understand this aspect of U.S. culture. When confronted with information about South Korean collectivist cultural practices, the idea “I don't like this foreign culture that limits my individualism” might emerge, directly affecting language learning motivation and the learner's subsequent success. Also, a monolithic stereotype might form in the student's head of South Korean culture. It is impossible for educators to address the multitude of individual differences within a cultural group, particularly when considering that cultural codes and frames of reference are continually changing. Instructors can, however, foster the type of critical thinking that promotes learners' IC, reducing learners' essentialization of target cultures and their defensive response when confronted with alternate cultural practices and products.Byram (1997) described successful intercultural learners as “conscious of their own perspective, of the way in which their thinking is culturally determined, rather than believing that their understanding and perspective is natural” (p.10). Echoing Byram, the recent American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Global Competence Position Statement (2014), identified the increased need for language educators to foster second language learners' ability to understand target culture members' perspectives in addition to honing learners' language skills. Understanding the various characteristics and attributes of IC can help inform one's instruction. For example, a teacher can guide learners through the process of acquiring competencies in three areas: intercultural attitudes, knowledge, and skills to foster the development of their intercultural awareness. Moeller (2016) provided examples of Can-Do Statements to share with students concerning these IC goals: (1) attitudes: I can question my preconceived ideas and become more open to interacting with people from other cultures; (2) knowledge: I can explore and analyze facts about my own culture and the target culture; and (3) skills: I can discover through practice how to communicate and form relationships with individuals from other cultures.A way to systematically engage cultural topics with an intercultural approach is this three-step process: (1) examine a cultural practice in students' first culture; (2) have learners investigate an alternate cultural practice in the target culture; and (3) create an environment of curiosity and inquiry. In a classroom where IC is considered, the learner acts as a cultural anthropologist who explores and investigates a topic both in and outside the classroom. It can be done at the beginning of a unit, kept up on the wall and revisited at the end of the unit to document progress. It is a learner-centered classroom where learning is interactive and cooperative and the goal of the teacher is to create an environment of curiosity and inquiry.Taking an intercultural approach to language learning is a paradigm shift in language instruction. In the IC approach, there is a shift from using the language to communicate to, now, accessing content through language. This shift of emphasis is also present in the latest revision of the ACTFL National Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996, 1999, 2006), now called the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (2015). According to the ACTFL Director of Education, Paul Sandrock, the World Readiness Standards' (2015) connection with interculturality is made more explicit in the revised Cultures Standards that now use the verbs investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between cultural perspectives and practices or products. The deliberate inclusion of these verbs goes a long way toward guiding teachers in how to integrate language learning and cultural inquiry, especially compared to the original wording of the Cultures Standards (1999, 2006), “demonstrate an understanding of”—which often led to a focus on explaining the practice or product without exploring the perspectives behind them. Learners across all proficiency levels can use the TL to investigate and explain the relationships between practices (or products) and cultural perspectives, exploring authentic resources and forming hypotheses about culture to explore deeper meanings through additional evidence and comparison, even though the “reflect on” element may need to occur in learners' first language at novice levels.Current technology-based practices that are readily available to help prepare beginning learners to “investigate, explain, and reflect on” diverse perspectives toward cultural practices and products in target cultures and their own, in both English and the TL, outside of classroom instruction time include: (1) hypermedia text use; (2) online classroom discussions; and (3) the flipped classroom model. Hypermedia texts are a nonlinear medium of information which includes images, audio, video, plain text, and hyperlinks. Cultural references, provided in English within a second language hypermedia text, can prepare learners for face-to-face classroom discussions in the TL about learners' reactions to alternate cultural practices. The cultural references in hypermedia texts change the focus of a textual analysis from the instructor (explaining the cultural significance of the text) to the learners (producing the language as they discuss their interpretations with an instructor's guidance).Another technique to encourage learners' subjective cultural reflection is the use of an online classroom discussion board. Contrary to face-to-face discussions, online classroom discussions are often arranged by discussion boards, forums, and threads. Online classroom discussions provide a venue for learners to take a cross-cultural journey of discovery and reflection as they discuss alternate perspectives toward cultural practices. Garrett-Rucks (2013) investigated the use of online classroom discussions in which cultural instruction and online discussions took place in English, outside of classroom instruction time, in order to preserve TL use in the classroom. Her findings provided empirical evidence of some of the internal, personal processes of three learners as they shifted identities and entered into a third space of intercultural understanding of French cultural practices and their own.Contrary to having students discuss information accessed outside of the classroom on a discussion board, the term “flipped classroom” describes a type of blended learning (face-to-face and virtual) where learners would discuss inside the classroom information they sought on their own. In essence, “flipping the classroom” means that students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. This model contrasts from the traditional model in which “first exposure” occurs via lecture in class, with students assimilating knowledge through homework; thus the term “flipped classroom.” In such instances, students can access cultural information, in English, outside of instruction time, in order to scaffold their understanding of the TL input about the cultural topic in the TL use classroom discussions.The goal of these computer-assisted culture learning activities is to open students' eyes to the fact that many stereotypes are not based on factual information, rather a misunderstanding of alternate worldviews toward appropriate behavior in cultural practices. Learners invariably gain an additional insight into their own culture, “the familiar,” by looking at it from the perspective of the “other.” Teaching interculturality means teaching students to engage in culturally appropriate interactions with others with whom they do not share the same worldview. It allows students to learn how different cultures relate to one another. It encourages students to look for similarities and differences so that they can act as a mediator between the two. By infusing an intercultural, reflective dimension into our language instruction, we can help prepare language learners for successful intercultural communication and to become responsible global citizens.Your talk on how to foster students' IC using technology focused mainly on beginning levels of language instruction. You also suggested three ways of using technology—(1) hypermedia text use, (2) online classroom discussions, and (3) the flipped classroom model. If you were developing a beginning English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum, which of these technology uses would you prefer? That is, how would your use of these technologies change across proficiency levels?If I were teaching a beginning ESL class, I would use all three technologies. First, with hypermedia text use, I would have students read Raz-kids.com or ReadingA-Z.com. Although these books are intended for children to develop beginning literacy skills in their L1, gaming theorists claim that even adults would enjoy the competitive spirit of the reading program. The reader tries to win enough points to fuel a virtual rocket to blast off by reading additional books in the L2. These beginning language books are also rich with images that scaffold the simple, context-embedded texts. The topics of the books in these virtual libraries might be of interest to adults as well, as there are many expository texts. For example, I have learned about the monarch butterfly migration and life cycle through my daughter's Raz-kids.com reading program, among other, interesting stories. But the goal of the books is not to provide a complex plot adult learners need to work through in the beginning ESL class. Rather, the goal is to build the learner's vocabulary at novice-low levels of language use.After having students read the annotated hypermedia texts, I would use the online classroom discussion board to discuss cultural issues within the texts, or supplemental cultural materials I found on my own from Internet searches. I would flip the classroom by having the students read the texts and supplemental cultural materials outside of classroom instruction time, then create discussions topics for learners to discuss at different “stations” (groups of two to four learners). Each station would have personalized question about the cultural topics first presented and then explored in the online discussions. Each station would have content-specific language chunks to scaffold learners' TL production to respond to the questions and to maintain a conversation, such “The monarch butterfly flies South because_______” and “That's interesting, can you tell me more about that?” The interactive speaking activities in this flipped model would also include an interpretive task at each station to hold the students' accountable for complete participation (speaking and listening).For the intermediate-low/novice-high level, I would use the same reading programs at more advanced levels, and make sure to assign the reading comprehension quizzes in the texts. I would test students on their reading comprehension. I would also use more authentic cultural texts, meaning texts written by native speakers for native speakers at this level. For example, there are several annotated hypermedia texts at http://litgloss.buffalo.edu/litgloss/list-of-texts.shtml. Again, I would have students discuss the ways in which they personally related to the texts in an online discussion board, and push learners' to consider the diverse perspectives toward cultural products and practices in their own culture prior to discussing the perspectives from target cultures. Ideally, I would select texts that needed some cultural knowledge to fully comprehend. For example, if I were to select “The Story of an Hour” by U.S. author Kate Chopin from the late nineteenth century, a discussion of the sociopolitical context and the position of women in society across socioeconomic groups would need to be discussed. To foster students' IC, I would have English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) learners discuss their understanding of the role of women in the cultures they were from, and then discuss their knowledge of the history of women's rights in their own countries, compared to the United States. The online discussion board would provide an opportunity for learners to practice their written language skills while reflecting on their cultural identities. For the flipped classroom exercise, I would refer learners to various historical websites, or refer students to watch the movie Suffragettes about women voting rights in the United States prior to coming to class where a discussion would lead to a debate on the topic. The idea of flipping the classroom in this case would be to provide the learners with the vocabulary and language chunks needed for complex uses of language, such as a debate on women's voting rights.Many language teachers or practitioners sometimes develop their own teaching/learning material using technology for cultural practice. Given that many of these teachers do not have much theoretical knowledge about CALL and IC, can you give them a few practical tips?CALL is essentially any computer tool that helps teachers to facilitate the language learning process. It can be used to reinforce what has already been learned in the classroom or as a remedial tool to help learners who require additional support. The current philosophy of CALL puts a strong emphasis on student-centered materials that allow learners to work at their own proficiency level at their own pace. Such materials may be structured or unstructured, but they normally embody two important features: interactive learning and individualized learning. This means that the content of the materials should be relevant and meaningful to learners, or provide a selection of topics for learners to choose from.For theoretical considerations of optimal CALL uses, Garrett-Rucks (2014) examined Mayer's Multimedia Learning Theory (2005) in light of Sweller's (1988) Cognitive Load Theory. Mayer (2005) described the principle known as the “multimedia principle” that states that “people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone” (p. 47). However, simply adding words to pictures is not an effective way to achieve multimedia learning because the goal is to design instructional media to support how the human mind works. This is the basis for Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Although multimedia use can accelerate L2 reading comprehension due to simultaneous auditory and visual information processing, humans can only process a finite amount of information at a time.What do you think about the future of technology use in cultural instruction in a language class Do you think technology use would be the best (or ideal) practice for cultural instruction?Thank you for this fun question! Although I do not hold a crystal ball to see into the future, I do imagine that language instruction will be even less focused on linguistic aspects of language learning and more focused communication as instantaneous translation programs become more accessible and accurate. I envision language instruction changing focus from teaching basic personalized speaking skills—greetings, talking about families or homes—to teaching learners how to communicate effectively and appropriately across languages while debating and discussing more intellectually engaging topics with the support of translation programs in effective communication. I envision more emphasis on pragmatics and nonverbal communication exercises in instruction with the use of artificial intelligence and video games to train and test learners' interactional abilities across various virtual contexts. The point is, language and culture are inextricably intertwined, yet to learn a new language and culture requires extensive, synergistic training and occasional explicit instruction that ideally integrates both linguistic and cultural knowledge and skills. The digital generation of learners will likely demand optimal CALL instruction and it our job, as educators, to remain up-to-date on current trends in educational technology. In my opinion, the best is yet to come, but of course I come with a U.S. “future-oriented” cultural perspective.