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Crossing the Cultural Boundaries: Developing Intercultural Competence of Teachers of English
Abstract
Crossing the Cultural Boundaries: Developing Intercultural Competence of Teachers of English
Sri Lanka is a resplendent island that has been polarised by extreme nationalism among its people. Its recent civil war lasted for a quarter of a century and has left scars on the population, many of whom perceive religious difference as a form of oppression. Are the various factions condemned to dislike and mistrust each other for ever? Shashini R. Tennekoon hopes not, and she has set out to address the problem within the context of teacher education. She has developed an intercultural programme to reduce ethnocentrism among her students, and to help them respect each other’s identities. In her quest to help the younger generation overcome bias and discrimination, the author finds spiritual enrichment. Her attempts to develop tolerance of diversity among her students have made her a more reflective, more student-centered practitioner and have contributed to a multi-dimensional sense of identity. This book provides a valuable non-Western perspective on developing intercultural competence. It contains insights that deserve to be taken up by policy makers tasked with promoting national cohesion in Sri Lanka.
Rosalind M. O. Pritchard, Emeritus Professor of Education, Ulster University, United Kingdom.
This quantitative and qualitative research study investigates the contribution of the course Multiculturalism in Literature on Arab Muslim graduates of the B. Ed program, majoring in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a teacher training college in the central part of Israel. The research participants took the course in their second year of studies from 2011 until 2017. Sixty-six participants out of a pool of 123 returned the questionnaire. Fifty-five of the respondents teach in Arab schools, and eleven in Jewish schools. Results show that the course helped them promote their cross-cultural and intercultural understanding and communication, raise their awareness of social and political injustices, and feel empowered as members of a national minority group in Israel.
This quantitative and qualitative research study investigates the contribution of the course Multiculturalism in Literature on Arab Muslim graduates of the B. Ed program, majoring in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in a teacher training college in the central part of Israel. The research participants took the course in their second year of studies from 2011 until 2017. Sixty-six participants out of a pool of 123 returned the questionnaire. Fifty-five of the respondents teach in Arab schools, and eleven in Jewish schools. Results show that the course helped them promote their cross-cultural and intercultural understanding and communication, raise their awareness of social and political injustices, and feel empowered as members of a national minority group in Israel.
Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic country where schools are segregated based on medium of instruction. However, the teachers of English are increasingly being required to work in schools where the medium of instruction is not their mother tongue and students come from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Therefore, communication across cultural boundaries has become a prerequisite for their professional competence. This research is an attempt to identify whether the teachers of English trained by pre-service teacher education institutes in Sri Lanka possess this mandatory competency. The chapter reports findings from a mixed method study carried out in a College of Education in Kalutara district. Data include an attitudinal survey based on a purposive sample of 63 first- and second-year teacher trainees to ascertain their intercultural sensitivity. Findings revealed that the majority of the student teachers have negative perceptions of cultural diversity which would ultimately have a negative impact on their teaching. The present chapter suggests practical ways to overcome this challenge with a specially designed curriculum and introduces a context-based definition of intercultural competence.
Bu çalışma, İzmir Yüksek Teknoloji Enstitüsü, Toplumsal Sorumluluk Projeler Koordinatörlüğü bünyesinde tasarlanan gönüllülük faaliyetlerinde yer alan üniversite öğrencilerinin deneyimlerine odaklanmaktadır. Toplumsal sorumluluk projeleri, üniversite öğrencilerinin gönüllülük deneyimi aracılığıyla demokratik ve katılımcı kimliğinin gelişimine katkıda bulunmayı ve öğrencilerin kapsayıcı bir toplum yaratmaya yönelik dönüşümde aktif olarak yer almalarını hedeflemektedir. Bu bağlamda gönüllülerin saha projeleri aracılığıyla, farklı nitelikteki sosyal gruplar ile kültürlerarası diyalog geliştirmeleri desteklenmektedir. Ancak bu diyalog, gönüllülerin kaygı duygusunu tetikleyen ve uyum yetkinlikleri geliştirmelerini gerektiren zorlu bir deneyime dönüşebilmektedir. Kültürlerarası diyaloğun gönüllüler üzerindeki etkilerini anlamak için 2016-2020 yılları arasında Toplumsal Sorumluluk Projeler Koordinatörlüğü bünyesinde gönüllü olarak yer almış 43 üniversite öğrencisi ile görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Görüşmeler aracılığıyla gönüllülerin sahada yaşadıkları zorlukları anlamak ve bu zorluklar ile başa çıkma mekanizmalarını ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca bu süreçte elde edilen verilerden hareketle saha deneyimini kolaylaştırıcı yöntemler keşfedilmiş; Toplumsal Sorumluluk Projeler Koordinatörlüğünün süreç yönetimi bağlamında ne gibi iyileştirmelere ihtiyaç duyduğuna dair önemli iç görüler elde edilmiştir.
Intercultural competence is an increasingly desired and necessary skill in a globalized world. While competence is a complex concept to define and assess, this study examines specific dimensions of the intercultural learning of students in the School of International Studies (SIS) at the University of the Pacific. Students undergo both an interdisciplinary, international curriculum and study abroad for at least a semester, taking courses on cultural adaptation before they leave and reenter. When they return from abroad, changes in their intercultural sensitivity are assessed through both direct (reflection papers and the reporting of “critical incidents”) and indirect methods (use of the Intercultural Development Inventory [IDI]). We find substantial advances in intercultural sensitivity for these students, which is largely consistent across assessment methods. On average, their IDI scores change by 19.78 points, which is both a significant change for these students and is significantly different from university students who have not been a part of the international curriculum or have not studied abroad.
As we encounter ever greater cultural and co-cultural diversity, the careful study of intercultural communication competence becomes increasingly important. Only through competent intercultural communication can persons from different cultures communicate effectively and appropriately in the upcoming global society. Following a recounting of themes of research on intercultural communication, this chapter presents arguments concerning individuals’ need to negotiate multiple identities in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and religion in the interdependent and interconnected network of global society. This requires a functional and theoretical transformation of the study of intercultural communication competence.
The fourth edition ... continues to provide an accessible and comprehensive explanation of language acquisition and use, written specifically for Australian teacher-education students and teachers.<br /
This article focuses on an analysis of common understandings of the terms "conflict" and "conflict resolution," giving examples of differing types of conflict. The article then brings to light specific examples from Sri Lanka of ethnic conflict, as a case study. It discusses how language itself should be seen as a human right, as language plays a huge part in empowering members of society and in their ability to contribute to issues of public concern by raising public awareness. Language, conflict resolution, and ethnic harmony are therefore inextricably linked.
Dear Colleague:
Unfortunately, the item you requested is a chapter in a full length book and it is not possible to add it here. To help you with your work, however, I can provide various related resources that may also be of help.
If you send me your email address to alvino.fantini@sit.edu, I can send you the following items:
1) a list of my publications addressing ICC
2) an article re "Reconceptualizing ICC"
3) information regarding my most recent publication based on use of the AICC form with over 2,000 students in 8 countries.
If interested, you may also find more information on my website: https://alvinoefantiniphd.godaddysites.com/
With best wishes,
Alvino
An important study just published regarding the impact of Intercultural Educational Exchange Programs
Dr. Alvino E. Fantini, Professor Emeritus, SIT Graduate Institute, just published an important work related to educational exchange and study abroad, titled: Intercultural Communicative Competence in Educational Exchange: A Multinational Perspective (Routledge, 2019). The work includes two important research projects that explore the nature of intercultural communicative competence (ICC), its development during intercultural exchange (summer, short term, and semester programs), and the impact of these experiences on the lives of alumni up to 20 years later.
The research was conducted in eight countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States) involving over 2,000 individuals plus over 200 host families and explores the significance of these programs in transforming people’s lives, told in both quantitative statistics and qualitative narratives. It also identifies program aspects that most contribute to their intercultural experience, highlighting family homestays and developing host language proficiency as most significant.
The work has been described as a highly original contribution to the intercultural communication literature, basing its multinational perspective of ICC on an extensive literary search in six languages and spanning 50 years to identify ICC’s multiple components, to develop comprehensive assessment tools, and to assess its development and impact on exchange participants in multiple countries. For further information, click on the following link:
https://www.routledge.com/Intercultural-Communicative-Competence-in-Educational-Exchange-A-Multinational/Fantini/p/book/9780815369677
Also, if interested, assessment instruments used in this research (in multiple languages), can be obtained by going to the following website and clicking on “Instruments”:
https://alvinoefantiniphd.godaddysites.com/