Intercultural Component Research Articles

PECULIARITIES OF INTERTEXT AND INTERCULTURE PARADIGM OF JOSEPH ROT PROSE

The article analyses interpretation of Joseph Roth prose in the context of intertextuality as a literary means. It is determined by the author’s strategy and studied the aesthetic issues that are fundamental to his work. Intertextuality proves a postmodern phenomenon of reinterpretation of classic and new texts, giving them new meanings and establishing parallels with modern literature, which is reflected in an adequate interpretation of their genre and stylistic forms, the interpretation of philosophical concepts, iconic fictional and aesthetic phenomena. So in fiction there is an additional dimension – intercultural component of the artistic world of the text. This theoretical approach is extremely productive, especially in the study of works of those authors; the arts are rooted in different spheres of human existence, formed on the border of their own cultures, languages, historical and national traditions. A good representative of “intercultural” narrative strategy is Joseph Roth. Thus, under conditions of intertextual interaction, the literary work becomes part of a broad intertextual space that covers not only literary, but also outside of literature forms of expression, and any text is in various “dialogical” relations with other texts that fill this space with different language codes that are represented in this space.

Intercultural Components in the Multimodal Structure of a Language Learning Website

The emergence of language learning websites has generated changes in intercultural communicative practices. Particularly, these sites use a wide variety of modes of communication (visual, linguistic, spatial) which allow the presence of intercultural elements. This interpretative case study analyzes the semiotic structure of one lesson of the language learning website Livemocha in order to unveil the presence of intercultural elements in it. Data were analyzed following a method for multimodal analysis and Byram’s model of intercultural communicative competence. Findings suggest the essentialist view of culture on Livemocha, based on festivals and food, and the potential promotion of some of Byram’s intercultural skills.

Competence approach to foreign languages teaching of future specialists in Belarus

<p>Artykuł zawiera krótki przegląd kompetencyjnie zorientowanego podejścia do nauczania języków obcych oraz jego podstawowych zasad. Komunikacyjne ukierunkowanie na nauczanie języków obcych jest podstawową zasadą współczesnych programów nauczania. W opracowaniu przedstawiono analizę i wyjaśnienie pojęć „fachowość” oraz „kompetencja”, ustalono integralną strukturę i treść językowej komunikacyjnej kompetencji, uzasadniono także wybór kluczowych kompetencji niezbędnych dla każdego oraz funkcjonalnie skierowanych kompetencji, które w swojej jedności zapewniają sukces przy adaptacji i samorealizacji młodego specjalisty we współczesnym dynamicznym świecie. Szczególną uwagę poświęcono rozwojowi międzykulturowej komunikacyjnej kompetencji realizowanej przez różne rodzaje aktywności.</p>

POLITYCZNA POPRAWNOŚĆ DYSKURSU EDUKACYJNEGO: NAUCZYCIEL JĘZYKA OBCEGO W PRZECIWDZIAŁANIU MOWIE NIENAWIŚCI

This paper presents an attempt to reconsider the concept of intercultural communication and related competences taking into account the fact that intercultural contacts may be motivated by racism and xenophobia. It is the outgrowth of the RADAR project (Regulating Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism) funded by the European Commission1. Here, we aim to apply its findings to the context of developing politically correct pedagogical discourse among prospective foreign language teachers. Ultimately, invoking the notion of critical ecological language awareness (Lankiewicz, 2015) and metalinguistic awareness (Karpińska-Musiał, 2015), we offer to supplement the intercultural component of teacher education with the element of critical linguistics, which may help would-be teachers, in the first place, to be more aware language users as such, not to commit verbal offences, and, in the long-run, to perform the role of transformative intellectuals (Kumaravadivelu, 2012), thus contributing to the quality of life in the globalization era.

Формирование межкультурного компонента коммуникативной компетенции у будущих экономистов

The paper deals with the development of the intercultural component of communicative competence in students majoring in Economics. The relevance of the study is determined by the challenges of globalization and the modern labor market environment. The emphasis is placed on the distinctions between mentality and its linguistic aspects in Russian, Britain, and American culture. The author presents several exercises taken from textbooks and used in English classes by students of School of Economics and Institute of World Economy and Business of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. These exercises facilitate the development of the intercultural component of communicative competence in students. It is concluded that the academic staff trains future business experts who can both speak English in the context of business community and successfully communicate with colleagues with different cultural backgrounds. At the same time, business communication is not based on the rules of native or international culture. In the author’s opinion, business partnership will be successful if the participants of communication know communication etiquette as well as respect values of both cultures and preserve their cultural identity.

Intercultural/Pluricultural Communication Construct and Its Levels

The aim of this article is to explore the intercultural component (IC) in the English language curricula for the secondary and tertiary education in Latvia in the light of the new edition of Common European Framework of Language Learning, Teaching and Assessment Companion Volume with New Descriptors (CEFR, 2017) and compare it with the previous intercultural communication competence. The research method is documentary analysis of the three documents as regards their approach to intercultural communication. The analysis found that the documents were compatible, in spite of the difference of terminology, although CEFR (2017) aims at language users’ sensitivity and awareness in action, the secondary school proposes tolerance and following the rules, the tertiary education curriculum suggests critical thinking and analysis of the cultural phenomena. The roles of the three documents and their development contexts explain these differences and allow each one of the documents to give their own contribution to IC, as long as the users of the documents understand their differences and shortcomings.

Translation and foreign language teaching, a theoretical and practical point of view: the italian scenario

In the course of the last century, translation employed as a tool for foreign language acquisition has suffered alternate fates. From being the approach, par excellence, employed in rote learning in the days of lexicogrammatical-translation methodology, it soon slipped into disuse (and disgrace) with the advent of progressive communicative educational theories. Though never wholly absent in actual classroom practice and always present in the work of some bold scholars, it has recently been rehabilitated on the wave of studies regarding the use of the learners’ own language within the classroom, against the theoretical backdrop of research in the field of cross-lingual teaching, translanguaging and intercomprehension; all activities which recognize the fundamental role of the interlinguistic and intercultural component in language learning. This paper focuses on the Italian scenario, it traces the role translation has played and currently plays in the Italian foreign language university curricula and outlines the many benefits which can derive from its inclusive use as a learning technique in the light of contemporary didactic methodologies.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (ICC) IN TEACHING SPEAKING MATERIAL USED IN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF UNIVERSITAS NEGERI SEMARANG

This study aims at finding out a concrete picture of intercultural-bound English speaking material used in English department of UniversitasNegeri Semarang. Specifically, this study deeply examines the intercultural component attached in English teaching material used in speaking classroom by employing Intercultural Communicative Competence theory. This study uses qualitative method, and case study design. The data was collected by using observation, interview, as well as documentation study techniques; and was validated by using triangulation method which encompasses data source triangulation, researcher triangulation, theory triangulation, as well as methodology triangulation. Results show that the teaching material in form of textbook used by lecturers in English Department of UniversitasNegeri Semarang has implicitly and explicitly embedded the aspect of intercultural communication in a form of politeness. It was shown from the explanation, practices, as well as degree of formality provided in the textbook that the speaking material attempts to emphasize the teaching of culture in terms of politeness acceptable in the target language. Future research needs to be conducted focusing on kinds of politeness which have to be mastered by the students.

МЕЖКУЛЬТУРНАЯ КОММУНИКАТИВНАЯ КОМПЕТЕНЦИЯ - НОВЫЕ ВЫЗОВЫ

This article focuses on types of challenge to intercultural communicators arising during communication between those with a good level of intercultural competence and those with a lower level and which relate to communicative style. Those with weaker intercultural competence tend to have limited awareness of variation in communicative style and its link to language and culture. As a result, they often continue using aspects of the communicative style of their first language when using a for-eign language. They may even criticise ethnocentrically aspects of the communicative style associated with that foreign language. This can create specific challenges for a more interculturally competent communicator who may well understand the behaviour in question but find it hard to deal with. The key aim of this article is to analyse these challenges prior to hypothesising what underlying skills and prac-tical strategies might help communicators to deal with them. Relevant skills are sought in existing lit-erature and the further processes used in generating hypotheses are described. Skills are identified which include the capacities to deal with negative comments on your own communicative style, to per-suade your fellow communicator of its validity, to negotiate compromises and to steer the communica-tion towards a mutually satisfactory dynamic. Besides outlining the forms further research needs to take, the article concludes by stressing the importance of better understanding these challenges and of incorporating the development of skills for dealing with them into a variety of teaching programmes containing an intercultural component.

Wirklichkeitsnah oder stereotyp? Das Bild von Dänemark und den Dänen in ausgewählten deutschen Lehrbüchern für Dänisch als Fremdsprache

Abstract The contemporary teaching of foreign languages assumes the development of the ability to use a foreign language in different communication situations. Apart from language competence, also the cultural competence is developed as it is a necessary component of communication. A successful transfer of knowledge and language skills in the process of foreign language learning is determined by a textbook (in addition to other factors). The goal of this article is to analyze the content and assess three Danish textbooks, which were published in Germany in the years 2008-2010. The textbooks are examined in terms of knowledge about Danish life and institutions, the transfer of intercultural competence and the presence of stereotypes. The textbooks were studied based on the list of criteria and it resulted in stating that the textbooks fulfill the objective of providing the knowledge about the country to a great degree. The intercultural component and the issue of stereotypes are dealt with in a different manner.

Business Simulation as a Means of Developing Intercultural Competence

Abstract In the age of globalization, there is a sharp need to bring intercultural components to communicative skills in foreign language teaching at universities. This research aimed to find out about role-playing and business simulation effectiveness in acquiring intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes. The participants were second-year students of People's Friendship University of Russia. Methods such as interviews, observations, and testing were applied. The results show that business simulations can increase intercultural competence, strengthen communicative components and help in acquiring the socio-cultural knowledge and skills necessary for effective cross-cultural communication when studying a foreign language.

Intercultural component of teaching Spanish as a foreign language: strategies of intercultural instruction Abstract

Concepts of teaching foreign languages haven’t cleared up the misunderstanding and difficulties which appeared because of the unsufficient level of the development of pupils’ sociocultural competence. These difficulties were closely connected with linguistic misunderstanding, striking difference in national characters, peculiarities of foreign cultures. Nowadays, while studying a foreign language, pupils realize that they should master not only a foreign language and get acquainted with other culture but get to know the other way of living. So the necessity of developing the intercultural competence alongside with the communicative one has appeared. Purpose . To give a short historical analysis of teaching within the intercultural approach, to show the connection between intercultural and communicative competences. Approaches to teaching and stages of sociocultural learning and its content are regarded. Intercultural context of teaching based on the sociocultural aspect of teaching a foreign language is described. The most important feature of such teaching is the role of a pupil and his necessity of dealing with a foreign culture. The main problems within intercultural communication are closely connected with a linguistic (language) shock (when the pupils’ level of the language competence is rather low), a cultural shock (when the problem solving strategies peculiar to the culture of the mother tongue do not hold) and the cultural stress may occur. It is connected with the change of a new social status in another culture. There are two another approaches towards skills development in intercultural teaching: The Social Skills Approach and The Holistic Approach. The scholars define three stages of intercultural competence development: monocultural (at this level a pupil watches and evaluates another culture on the grounds of his own one); intercultural (a pupil holds the position between two cultures and can compare them), and transcultural – a pupil acts as a mediator between two cultures. Different exercises and tasks for developing main strategies of an intercultural conflict resolution – to watch, understand and compare, interpret, act and interact are given.

The intercultural component in an EFL course-book package

AbstractAlong with mastery of the grammar and vocabulary of a given language, contemporary students are also expected to acquire intercultural communicative competence (ICC), i.e., the ability to use the language efficiently with regard to the sociocultural background of the communicative situation. This requirement should also be reflected in FL course-books, which are considered to be fundamental didactic tools in FL education, even in an era of information communication technologies. Therefore, the aim of the present paper is to report the results of the research focused on the investigation of intercultural component in the New Opportunities Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate course-book packages.To validate the findings of the content analysis, as the main research method, the method of triangulation was used, i.e., the results of the course-book package analyses were compared with those of observation and interview analyses. The findings of the research revealed that in the investigated course-book packages only some aspects of the intercultural component could be considered relevant because they were suitably treated.

Інтеркультурність як чинник формування соціокультурного капіталу міста

The purpose of the study is to examine interkulturell as an urban phenomenon in the aspect of its impact on social capital of Melitopol. Intercultural component of social and cultural capital defined in such terms as: the positive perception of residents of their city as an intercultural, pride in your status, the presence of intercultural social communication different types of social trust in the national-cultural societies, relevant to the activities of the city government on policy interculturall. Research methods – questionnaire survey. The total sample size (n) is 2,400 respondents, the statistical error Δ±2,3%, confidence level P=0,95. The sample is representative one.In the city there is a specific resource identity, which is manifested in shared values, symbolic images, among which interkulturell takes an important place. Urban society has found a low level of trust between the citizens, аt the same time on the background of deficit of social trust citizens have demonstrated a significant level of confidence in the national-cultural societies of the city.In the city there is dense interactive communication with representatives of ethnic communities, and relations between ethnic groups are positive. The social communication between ethnic communities is a particular resource accumulation of social and cultural capital. The study showed that ethnic communities are quite integrated into the socio-cultural and public space of the city. It is shown that interkulturell is a significant resource accumulation of social and cultural capital which can be converted into political capital and consolidate urban community in the civil integrity.

Evaluating the Differential Impact of Teaching Assistant Training Programs on International Graduate Student Teaching

In this study, we compared the effects of a traditional teaching assistant (TA) training program to those of a specialized program, with a substantial intercultural component, for international graduate students. We expected both programs to result in an increase in international graduate students’ teaching self-efficacy, observed teaching effectiveness, and adoption of student-centred approaches to teaching, and we anticipated a greater degree of change for the participants in the specialized program. We found the expected increases for graduate students in both programs, with a larger increase in observed teaching effectiveness for students in the specialized program. We discuss the implications of tailoring TA training programs for international graduate students and of providing time and learning activities for the development of student-centred teaching and reflective practice.

Teaching Culture in Business Studies

Nowadays, an intercultural component needs to be integrated in the development of any business course and research in the field of Intercultural Studies outlines issues directly relevant to the Business world. Research findings have underlined the complexity of concepts such as Culture and Stereotypes. In the light of these findings, future business courses incorporating an intercultural dimension should be developed. I Introduction Is globalisation reducing distances between societies? Are we becoming more identical? Although people complain about the similarities of shopping centres across Europe, this uniformity only happens at a superficial level. At a deeper level, studies show that differences between cultures are difficult to erase or overlook. Far from making every one fit in the same template, globalisation encourages differences, as Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars explain: “(…) cultural characteristics appear to persist long-term, even when managers cooperate cross-culturally. In longitudinal studies, British and French management students, educated together at INSEAD in Fontainbleu (sic), near Paris, became more distinctly British and French culturally as the course progressed. Eurocrats in Brussels, after 18 years of collaborative, international work, become more distinctively national in their views.” (1994: p. 375). The same is true in multinational corporations where “cross-cultural interaction reminds members of various notions of the differences between one set of cultural views and another, and this seems to lead to a slight intensification of cultural traits, perhaps to protect and confirm these and so maintain identity” (ibid.). In a market place such as Ireland where survival depends on the ability to export, it is highly important to define a strategy which will help companies to develop a cultural competence. At the time when products need to become global, companies must understand the complexity of the market they wish to trade with and the complexity of its customers. Courses in Business must reflect this situation and equip the workforce with a sufficient level of intercultural competence. In Intercultural Studies, Culture and Stereotypes are two basic concepts which need to be considered. This paper will present a quick overview of landmark researches in the field, with a particular attention on stereotypes. It will finally sketch the type of course needed to be

Interkulturalna sastavnica komunikacijske kompetencije

Rad se bavi interkulturalnom sastavnicom komunikacijske kompetencije. Interkulturalna je sposobnost često važnija od jezične kada se govori o "preživljavanju" u drugoj kulturi, odnosno o prihvaćenosti u društvu. Budući da neka istraživanja pokazuju da se oko 55% informacija prenosi neverbalnim putem, daje se i kratak osvrt na verbalnu odnosno neverbalnu interkulturalnu komunikaciju te se navode sposobnosti koje odlikuju interkulturalnog govornika. Razvijanje interkulturalne kompetencije u nastavi drugoga i stranoga jezika složen je i izrazito zahtjevan posao. U radu su prikazana tri pristupa za poučavanje druge kulture: okvirni (tzv. NAPI-KEPRA), procesni i etnografski pristup. Uz to, predstavljen je i praktični interkulturalni komunikacijski udžbenik Mirrors and Windows Europskog centra za moderne jezike u Grazu koji nudi opis brojnih interkulturalnih aktivnosti te materijale za razvijanje interkulturalne kompetencije. Na kraju se napominje da obrazovanje koje uključuje interkulturalno razumijevanje zauzima središnje mjesto i u aktivnostima Vijeća Europe pa bi nastavnike trebalo upoznati s materijalima te međunarodne organizacije u kojima mogu pronaći mnoštvo jednostavnih i praktičnih savjeta kao i odgovore na često postavljanja pitanja, a interkulturalnoj sastavnici komunikacijske kompetencije bi se trebalo posvetiti znatno više vremena na svim razinama poučavanja drugoga i stranoga jezika nego što joj se obično posvećuje.

Teaching Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication Online

English in the Workplace (EWP) programs are increasingly surfacing across Can- ada to assist internationally educated professionals (IEPs) with the challenges of integrating into the Canadian workplace. One critical topic of these courses is targeted pragmatics (soft skills) instruction. By learning these skills, IEPs gain valuable tools for communicating effectively and appropriately with their Cana- dian-born colleagues and leaders. The workplace is also becoming increasingly culturally diverse, broadening the required skillsets of IEPs to include intercultural competence—the ability to adapt both cognitively and behaviourally across cultures to achieve communicative goals (Bennett, 1993). As an EWP instructor in a medium-sized institution in Alberta, I worked on the redesign of an EWP course with both pragmatics and intercultural components to be offered online. The course results showed learner development in both pragmatics and intercul- tural competence. In this article, I outline the theory that informed the course design, content, and assessment tools; discuss results of a sample of learners from four pilot offerings; and provide considerations for instructors and instructional designers tasked with the development of online courses of this nature.

Using Websites to Promote Intercultural Competence – Case Study with Albanian Students Practicing Listening Skills

Are virtual environments conducive to the promotion of intercultural competence among foreign language students? The present study seeks to give a substantiated answer to this question by presenting and analyzing the results of a project carried out with the first year students of English language in the University of Korҫa, Albania. The project involves the employment of a dedicated class website as a tool and medium in the teaching of listening skills with a view to determining its impact in the development of the students’ intercultural competence. An analysis of how the different intercultural components are realized within the framework of the class website serves to throw light on the above-stated query. Methodologically speaking, the results of our study follow from applying the critical tool of discourse analysis to the listening texts themselves and to the comments the students have posted on our website forum. The detailed examination of linguistic and stylistic features together with that of other elements that belong to the content of the text leads to the conclusion that the use of websites in SLT (Second Language Teaching) serves the students to improve their intercultural knowledge, attitudes, values and skills. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n1p343

Research on multiculturalism in Canada

Canada announced a policy of multiculturalism in 1971. The goal of the policy was to improve the quality of intercultural relations. Two main elements of the policy were proposed as steps towards achieving this goal: support for the maintenance and development of cultural communities (the cultural component); and promotion of intercultural contact along with the reduction of barriers to such participation (the intercultural component). Research on these issues can provide a basis for the development and implementation of multiculturalism policies and programmes. A review of psychological research on multiculturalism over the past 40 years is summarised. Topics include: knowledge about the multiculturalism policy; acceptance of multiculturalism; acceptance of ethnocultural groups; acceptance of immigrants; discrimination and exclusion; and attachment and identity. Research assessing three hypotheses derived from the policy is also briefly reviewed. Current evidence is that there is widespread support for these features of the multicultural way of living in Canada. Of particular importance for the success of multiculturalism is the issue of social cohesion: is the first component (the promotion of cultural diversity) compatible with the second component (the full and equitable participation and inclusion of all ethnocultural groups in civic society)? If they are compatible, together do they lead to the attainment of the fundamental goal of attaining positive intercultural relations? Current psychological evidence suggests that these two components are indeed compatible, and that when present, they are associated with mutual acceptance among ethnocultural groups in Canada. I conclude that research in Canada supports the continuation of the multiculturalism policy and programmes that are intended to improve intercultural relations.