Intercultural Dimension Research Articles

Imigrantes no espaço escolar: interfaces da cidadania intercultural com os valores cívicos

From the perspective of Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina when points to the existence of civic values, whose incorporation in institutional educational action is very important, this paper aims to propose a reflection about the contribution of values such as freedom, equality, dialogue, active respect, and solidarity to the experience of institutional education in the intercultural dimension. This paper shows relevance because it bases on the conception opposed to the oppression of different cultures that is presented by Adela Cortina and Paulo Freire. It also shows the possibility that a beneficial and healthy relationship can be built in the school space making effectively viable the right to education for migrants. In a first moment, this work will point data of the entrance of immigrants in Brazil and general guidelines of the Brazilian migratory policy regarding the access to the education. Next, from the perspective of Adela Cortina, the concept of intercultural citizenship and the conexion with educational action in the school space will be portrayed. Finally, through the punctual approach of civic values, a reflection will be established on the contribution that these values incorporated to the institutional educational action can offer to promote of fruitful conditions for the development of intercultural citizenship.

Corps et culture, approche infirmière dans les soins à domicile

Body and culture, nursing approach in home care. Working extremely closely with patients' bodies when they provide care in the home, nurses interact with households' private spheres. The intercultural dimension of their competencies enables them to approach the references and beliefs of their patients and to create with them the conditions favourable to the provision of care and relief for their unhealthy bodies.

Intercultural communicative competence in L2 Spanish: guidelines for teacher training programmes

ABSTRACT The need for foreign language teachers to acquire Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) arises both from recent changes to their role and from the current context of increased globalisation and society’s enhanced awareness of interculturality. Faced with such transformations, foreign language classrooms require a specific and systematic integration of the intercultural dimension. However, teacher development programmes rarely include content related to the acquisition of ICC either by teachers or learners. This paper aims to fill that gap by offering guidelines for the development of training courses for L2 teachers of Spanish and contribute to enhance their professional profile. The proposal, which considers both teaching competences and generic professional skills, is designed to be applied to diverse target groups or contexts and in different formats. To illustrate our proposal, one of the recommended aspects has been selected and a practical task designed.

Sex education meets interculturality – German biology teachers’ views on the suitability of specific topics and their personal competencies

ABSTRACT Current developments such as globalisation, migration and the movement of refugees have led to an enhanced cultural diversity of learners globally. Consequently, teachers in schools are faced with the growing demand to integrate interculturality into their teaching practices. Fifteen biology teachers in Germany were interviewed regarding the opportunities and challenges presented by sexuality education, especially taking into account learners’ cultural diversity, to assess the resources available to them for managing the intercultural dimensions of sexuality education topics. Interview data were analysed using a mixed methods approach that combined qualitative content analysis and quantification of codes. The results revealed a high degree of homogeneity in the assessment of sexuality education topics’ intercultural potential among teachers who attached the highest level of importance to sexual self-determination. However, a comparison between teachers’ attribution of the topic’s intercultural potential and their corresponding self-assessment revealed the opposite. The implications for future teacher education are discussed.

Internationalisation of higher education: A critical analysis of the intercultural dimension of a visiting scholar programme

This article reports the findings of a study on the intercultural dimension of internationalisation at two universities, located in China and Canada, as evidenced through their visiting scholar (VS) programme. Andreotti and her research team identified three articulations of internationalisation in higher education that are located in a modern/colonial imaginary. They propose a fourth articulation, relational trans‐localism, that is located outside the modern/colonial imaginary. As participants in the VS programme, we used critical ethnography and critical discourse analysis to investigate the influences of the modern/colonial articulations on the intercultural dimension of the program, and our attempts to develop practices outside the modern/colonial imaginary. Our findings show that although the programme was profoundly affected by neoliberal and liberal discourses, we achieved some success in creating spaces of relational trans‐localism. We conclude by identifying the factors that were enabling of these alternative spaces.

Hisaki Hashi: Das Paradoxon in der Philosophie – Zum Aufbau der humanistischen Welt

Hashi Hisaki, the author of this interesting book, is founder of the Association for Comparative Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Education (http://kophil-interdis.at/wb/pages/home.php). Since 1995 she has taught at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Austria. The present book is written in German, as it is based upon Hashi Hisaki’s philosophy lectures at this university. It elaborates upon intercultural dimensions of a wide scope of problems, linked to the concept of paradox, starting from the famous classical “liar paradox” and then analysing various paradoxes exemplified in the works of Plato, Kant, Hegel, Klein, Reininger, Nagarjuna, Hanfezi, Dogen, and Nishida. The main goal of the work is to illuminate the creative function of paradoxes, and to show that it can raise in readers a vivid interest in independent and critical thinking. At the same time, it represents an inexhaustible source of integrative thinking and acting in our daily life.

The concept HOUSE in Penelope Lively’s The House in Norham Gardens

In this paper, the verbalization of one of the key concepts in the English sphere of concepts, HOUSE, in P. Lively’s novel The House in Norham Gardens is analysed. The research is based on a three-layer model of a concept developed by V.I.Karasik, as well as the method of linguo-conceptual analysis which involves the following steps: 1) definition and etymological analysis of the lexeme house; 2) analysis of the lexical and phraseological units representing the concept in the language, 3) contextual analysis of the corpus of contexts in which the lexeme house is used. The traditional, “cultural”, verbalization of the HOUSE is compared with the author’s individual one, which is derived through a similar analysis of the author’s contexts. In the novel, a certain extension in the meaning of the core components is traced — the concept HOUSE acquires the basic features of the concept HOME.The method of linguo-conceptual analysis allows us to reveal the variety of images connected with the idea of the house. The metaphorical models “the house is a museum”, “the house is life”, “the house is a dinosaur/monster” employed by the author add to the conceptualization of the house as a major value of English culture. This concept is based on the archaic understanding of the house as “one’s own”, internal, mastered space, which confronts the strange, external space of chaos. The analysis allows us to assume that the procedure of the linguo-conceptual analysis of the individual author’s concepts opens up prospects for further study of the individual author’s concepts in modern English literature, followed by a comparative study in the intercultural dimension.

Everyday Aesthetics in the Dialogue of Chinese and Western Aesthetic Sensibilities

The paper examines the intercultural dimension of everyday aesthetics which was promoted by one of its most important Chinese proponents Liu Yuedi as a search for dialogue between various aesthetic traditions, in particular, those from the East and West. The aim of the paper is to explore some parallels between the traditional Chinese and contemporary Western aesthetic sensibilities, by looking for their common values and concepts which are gaining prominence in the discourse of everyday aesthetics. It begins with a survey of the contributions of Chinese and Western scholars; the survey concerns the relevance of Chinese (Confucian and Daoist) traditional aesthetics for everyday aesthetics, and examines particular features of the nature of perception in everyday aesthetics which is common to Chinese and Western artistic activities, aesthetic discourses and their conceptualizations. In the second section I discuss the “intercultural” concept of atmosphere as the de-personalized or “transpersonal”/intersubjective, vague and all-inclusive experience of the situational mood and environmental wholeness. I explore and compare the reflection of its characteristics in Western scholarship and Chinese aesthetics, especially in regard to the aural perception and sonic sensibility. The final section provides a comparative analysis of few examples of the integration of music into the environmental or everyday surrounding—in Daoist philosophy and Chinese everyday aesthetics, and Western avant-garde art (precisely, musical composition by John Cage 4’33). The analysis is concentrated on the perception of music in relation to the experience of atmosphere and everyday aesthetics, as they were defined in the previous sections. The paper challenges the “newness” of everyday aesthetics, especially if it is viewed from the intercultural perspective, and proposes the separation of its discourses into the investigation of its past and present.

Competition Juries as Intercultural Spaces

In this article, design competitions, as they are practiced in Canada, are understood as devices that allow the study of interdisciplinary and intercultural dimensions of architecture. From the construction of the brief to the selection of the winning project, competitions are exemplary platforms for communicating design values. For example, competitor project proposals, which comprise many qualities, including constructive, material, and even political, represent the priorities of each design team, in the form of a place. Jurors debate each of these qualities through their own expertise. In their search for excellence, the competition jury is then an exemplar contact zone. By examining the various documents produced in this process, we can uncover the value systems of the many stakeholders. Observations of jury deliberations and analyses of jury reports can help expose how the diversity of jurors influences the selection of the winning project. Furthermore, in a contemporary context where environmental design is at the forefront, this diversity is especially interesting to study. An environmental expert’s evaluation of quantitative eco-measurements is very different from an architect’s judgment of spatial qualities and experiences. The focus of this article is to understand how such a variety of jurors influences the competition outcome.

Attitudes, knowledge and skills of nurses in the Xingu Indigenous Park.

to analyze the attitudes, knowledge and skills that make up the professional competencies of nurses working in indigenous territories. this is an exploratory-descriptive study with a qualitative approach, conducted with nurses working in the Xingu Indigenous Park in 2016. Data were obtained in semi-structured interviews and treated according to the thematic-categorical analysis method. the nurse's performance in the Xingu Indigenous Park has a multifaceted character, being defined by the territory's interculturality and specificities and by how the service is organized. Technical skills, concepts from anthropology and attitudes that facilitate a respectful dialogue with cultural difference are required for a professional to act in this context. the performance of health professionals in indigenous territories requires specificities associated with the acquisition of new knowledge, attitudes and skills geared to the intercultural dimension of the work developed.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN SPECIALIZED LANGUAGES AND CONTEXTS: RESEARCH PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES.

Recent advances in communication technologies, globalization, internet 2.0, mobile communication and social networks, among many other factors, have led to a growth of possibilities of communication between people of different languages and cultures never seen before in the history of the world (Fantini, 2009). However recent language research highlights the fact that knowledge of the language alone does not guarantee successful communication in international contexts: cultural diversity, intercultural communication competence, cultural intelligence, intercultural sensitivity and intercultural awareness place an emphasis on the intercultural dimension of foreign language education (Zaharna, 2009; Committee for Economic Development, 2006) In sum, language training in professional settings needs to be customized according to the academic context, social demands and professional profiles of individuals. Existing intercultural communication competence assessment instruments seem to focus on generic needs of learners, based on a generic learning context, and measure the individual’s ability to communicate in a foreign language across cultural boundaries (Byram, 1997: p. 7; Fritz, Mollenberg & Chen 2002: p.166), but at the same time, seem to pay attention to the variable of a specialized context biased by cultural constrains. It seems that universal ICC assessment models are failing to meet actual requirements and training efforts are not aligned with teaching objectives. Upon identifying the basic dimensions of intercultural communication such as knowledge, attitude and behaviour, this study proposes a revision of different specialized communication settings and ICC instruments from the perspective of professional communication and then review existing research lines to, finally, propose research opportunities from the point of view of specialized languages and contexts.

The role of intercultural communication in study foreign languages

Language & Intercultural Communication will promote an understanding of the relationship between language and intercultural communication. It welcomes research into intercultural communication, particularly where it explores the importance of linguistic aspects; and research into language, especially the learning of foreign languages, where it explores the importance of intercultural dimensions.

ICT-tools for internationalization of continuous education

Problem and goal. Continuous education is a process of growth of educational (general and professional) potential of the individual throughout life via the use of the system of state and public institutions and in accordance with the needs of the individual and society. The need for continuous education arises due to the progress of science and technology, the widespread use of innovative technologies. Internationalization stands for the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of education. Information and telecommunication technologies nowadays are a significant part of modern learning and play an important role in continuous education that uses different ICT-tools for its purposes but depending on the interpretation continuing education concept has its own specifics. Accordingly, various procedures for the use of information and telecommunication technologies are in demand. To make the application of ICT-tools for continuous education relevant to the specialized goals one should clearly understand the correlation among aims of continuous learning and ICT-tools. Methodology. Various procedures for the use of information and telecommunication technologies that are in demand for purposes of internationalization of continuous education are considered. A brief review of scope of ICT-tools and their potential and relevance to the specific aims of internationalization of continuous learning is given. Results. Internationalization of education and development of continuous education are nowadays very important processes all around the world. There are some main trends in application of ICT-tools/ technologies in internationalization of higher education currently being developed and widely used. Mostly all of ICT-tools/technologies can be used in continuous education to solve problems similar to higher education. Meanwhile new ICT-tools/technologies - virtual mobility, distant academic mobility and electronic internationalization - have great potential to be applied for internationalization under specific conditions of continuous education. Conclusion. It is demonstrated that information and telecommunication technologies supply internationalization of continuous education with not only well known ICT-tools/technologies but also new ones with powerful potential.

Mehrsprachigkeit und interkultureller Dialog in Temeswar

Abstract In the context of globalisation and internationalisation, multilingualism and intercultural interaction are indispensable prerequisites that are desired in all areas. The focus of this paper is to highlight the importance and necessity of multilingualism and intercultural dialogue on the example of Timișoara. The beginnings and traces of multilingualism and the intercultural dimension of Timișoara can be traced based on the geography and history of the city alone. Considering these historical, political, social, cultural and economic prerequisites, this paper presents how the intercultural character and multilingualism of the Banat capital has led it to become a unique phenomenon in Europe, and how it has influenced the history and existence of this region of Romania. The good interethnic relations between the minorities shape the spirit of this city and have helped Timișoara become the European Capital of Culture 2021.The multicultural character of the city has also enabled the emergence of numerous cultural institutions, educational institutions, associations and organisations, which in turn promote this diversity of languages and intercultural interaction.

Post-Intentional Phenomenology as Ethical and Transformative Inquiry and Practice: Through Intercultural Phenomenological Dialogue

This study is a conceptual dialogue aimed at attaining insight into reading and developing postintentional phenomenology as intercultural philosophical inquiry. This conversation commences with the problem of Eurocentric phenomenology and introduces several examples of intercultural phenomenological attempts which fail to move beyond the validation of non-European philosophy using a Eurocentric viewpoint. The first section of this study introduces possible conditions and approaches for intercultural phenomenology, drawing mainly on Kwok-Ying Lau’s (2016) work on phenomenology and intercultural understanding, with a view to extending the scope of phenomenological research beyond the limitations of a Eurocentric attitude largely influenced by and inherited from Husserl. The second section considers ways in which the understanding and approach of post-intentional phenomenology could be widened and deepened by the intercultural dimension, and vice versa. Building on these discussions, the paper concludes with a brief consideration of the implications for phenomenological research and of how an intercultural understanding and approach inform research design. Following “lines of flight” in these discussions, post-intentional phenomenology is proposed as an ethical and transformative inquiry.

Intercultural and global dimension of textbooks – points of consideration for language teachers

As foreign language acquisition is potentially connected with shaping intercultural and global competences, this paper focuses on textbooks used for learning English to critically reflect on their diversity-related contents. The conceptual frame of the research is based on specific aspects of intercultural and global education, connections between them, and learning English and the hidden curriculum. The qualitative study of textbook analysis content allowed the authors to identify main themes related to ethnic diversity, including petrification with exotization, and povertization. Thus, the findings of the study highlight the limitations in fostering intercultural and global values in the analysed material and stress both the need for critical approach in classroom practice and further study in this area with the use of a theoretical framework suggested by the authors.

Interactive acculturation of Turkish-Belgian parents and children in Flanders: A case study of Beringen

This article tackles the relationship between Turkish-Belgian families with the Flemish society, within the specific context of their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Flanders. Our findings are based on a focus group with mothers in the town of Beringen. The intercultural dimension of the relationships between these families and ECEC services is discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM). The acculturation patterns are discussed under three main headlines: language acquisition, social interaction and maternal employment. Within the context of IAM, our findings point to some degree of separationism of Turkish-Belgian families, while they perceive the Flemish majority to have an assimilationist attitude. This combination suggests a conflictual type of interaction. However, both parties also display some traits of integrationism, which points to the domain-specificity of interactive acculturation.

Intercultural dimension of the upbringing and educational contents through extracurricular activitie

Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) is a multiethnic and multicultural society. The ethnic heterogeneous structure of the population is an indicator that the educational priority should be to support constructive initiatives to promote the idea of intercultural education, as a basic link for cooperation and communication between different ethnic communities. The educational system of the RNM is facing a great challenge in developing prerequisites for intercultural education as a planned and long-term upbringing and educational approach. Starting from the need for advancing the multiethnic and multicultural reality in the country, the Nansen Dialogue Centre Skopje prepared the Conception for Intercultural Education of the RNM. As an official state development document, it provides an opportunity for fostering of upbringing and educational process in direction of improvement of communication, cooperation and understanding between members of different ethnic communities in upbringing and educational institutions. As a philosophy and approach, the intercultural education should be a key tool in the process of initiation and support for building interactive and harmonious relationships in the community. Implementation and coordination of a large number of extracurricular activities may further enrich the quality of intercultural school life. The Nansen model for intercultural education is an educational model in RNM that enables successful integration of students, parents and teachers of different ethnic communities through a modern upbringing and educational process, based on a variety of intercultural extracurricular and project activities.

Second and Foreign Language Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Development to Make Intercultural Dimensions Explicit. Reflecting Through a Comparative Proposal Between France and Colombia

This article presents the preliminary findings of a research project conducted at two universities (in France and Colombia) and based on critical reflexivity (discernment, thinking and pedagogy). I...

New Trends in the Teaching of the Intercultural Competence as Part of the Process of Teaching Foreign Languages in the Context of Higher Education in Spain.

Today we live in the era of globalization. We define our world by the coexistence of various different cultures. The present article seeks to clarify the concept of intercultural competence when teaching foreign languages and the new trends in the context of Higher Education in Spain. We will start with a short introduction on the various studies and research on the relationships between language and culture However, the main aim in this article will be to point out the new roles played by teacher and learners in the process, the creation of new materials to support the intercultural dimension and the new types of activities that could be done inside and outside the classroom, such as the use of tele-collaboration, social networks and others. In other words, the elements that make up and give meaning to a new methodology for language teaching and learning and that help language teaching to be an open window towards other cultures and to develop a new and open-minded attitude towards diversity. Therefore, we will try to study some of the main current methodological approaches, stereotypes and contents linked to that intercultural competence.