Intercultural Communicative Competence Language Acquisition and Cultural Skills

Intercultural Communicative Competence Language Acquisition and Cultural Skills: A Synergistic Entity

Test Your “Diversity Ability” Which religion does an airline passenger belong to if they require a “kosher” meal? A. Christianity B. Judaism C. Islam D. Buddhism

Which religion does an airline passenger belong to if they require a “kosher” meal? A. Christianity B. Judaism C. Islam D. Buddhism

If you see a child crying, it is acceptable to pat the child on the head as a sign of concern. A. True B. False

If you see a child crying, it is acceptable to pat the child on the head as a sign of concern. False. It is considered disrespectful in some cultures (China, Thailand, Sri Lanka) to touch the top of someone’s head as it is considered a scared spot on the body.

The majority of the airline passengers are Middle Eastern. Which of the following is the most inappropriate? A. To briefly touch the same gender. B. To touch the opposite gender for a significant period of time. C. To avoid bodily contact with both genders. D. To briefly touch the opposite gender.

The majority of the airline passengers are Middle Eastern. Which of the following is the most inappropriate? A. To briefly touch the same gender. B. To touch the opposite gender for a significant period of time. C. To avoid bodily contact with both genders. D. To briefly touch the opposite gender.

What can we do to prevent misunderstandings that may have negative consequences for our students? Incorporate Intercultural Communicative Compentency into English lessons.

What is Intercultural Communicative Competence? Intercultural competence is a subfield of communicative competence Intercultural competence “entails cultural awareness, personal attitudes like empathy and flexibility, self awareness and understanding others’ values, norms and beliefs to cope with cultural differences effectively” (Kilic, 2013, p. 48)

Why is Intercultural Communicative Competence Important? According to Demircioğlu and Çakır (2015): Foreign language teaching is seen as comprising not only linguistic performance and verbal communication, but also such abilities as intercultural consciousness and intercultural skills. It is a well known and accepted fact that linguistic skills and cultural issues are inseparable and should be handled together in language learning and teaching. Language proficiency alone is inadequate; communication is holistic and also requires the knowledge of the ways culture and language interlock and an understanding of how interaction across cultures operates (p. 16)

Activity: Lets Discuss Diversity! Imagine that you are part of an airline crew flying that travels internationally. Answer the questions (10 -15 minutes). Misunderstandings can happen around the simplest things such as…. (list 5) Techniques for clearer communication can include…(list 3) Language can be influenced by culture. For example…. (list 3).

Misunderstandings can happen around the simplest things such as… Food Language Greetings Facial expressions Eye contact Touching Pointing Male and female roles Religion

Techniques for clearer communication can include… Speak slowly Use simple, short phrases Demonstrating while giving explanation Giving directions in the order they are to be carried our Avoid double negatives Avoid raising your voice Avoid slang, sarcasm, irony Avoid double negatives

Language can be influenced by culture. For example… Patterns of conversation: taking turns when speaking, attentiveness and listening, silence, how much and what we say. Functions: apologizing, inviting, complimenting, requesting. Expressiveness: facial expressions and gestures. Personal space: how far or close we sit or stand when talking to others. (Source: http: //aviationenglishblog. com/countries-and-culture/)

Why Should Our Students Be Competent in Intercultural Communication? Professional success Communicate with confidence Negotiate interactions Gain new/different perspectives Develop empathy Realize the strength in diversity

What happens when our students are unable to communicate with diverse receivers? When pilots report problems regarding crosscultural communication, they identify “language/accent, ” “dual-language switching [in non-English-speaking countries, speaking in English to foreign pilots, but simultaneously speaking in the local language to local pilots], ” and “[different] reception across languages” as among the most frequently reported problems (Tajima, 2004, p. 454) A veteran Japanese flight attendant who had exclusively flown internationally acknowledges that, because her flights could go anywhere in the world, the flight attendants are trained to use a very simplified language to instruct passengers about emergency evacuation procedures. For instance, if passengers need to evacuate from the plane by the emergency slides, the attendants must only shout “jump, jump. ” Such simplified language is important not only for passengers having a variety of native languages, but also for multi-national flight attendants needing to effectively communicate with each other (Tajima, 2004, p. 463)

Where do English Language Instructors Fit In? “The objectives of English language teaching should be redefined in terms of the acquisition of intercultural competence rather than the acquisition of communicative competence” (Kilic, 2013, p. 58).

Six criteria in adopting lesson material to raise intercultural awareness according to Skopinskaja and Liiv (2012): 1) Rationale, i. e. correspondence between the goals and topics of the materials and the language learners' needs and interests 2) Cultural content of the materials, i. e. whethere is a realistic and representative portrayal of other societies 3) Cultural knowledge, i. e. portrayal of the national identity of the target cultures 4) Cultural attitudes, i. e. learning tolerance through the course book content 5) lntercultural awareness, i. e. comparison of other cultures with the learners' own 6) Language-and-culture dimension, i. e. development of language learners' linguistic and paralinguistic awareness

What Are We Waiting For? ! Organize a workshop to educate Teachers on the importance of intercultural communicative competence Acquire course books and materials that incorporate intercultural communicative competence into English language lessons. Institute a revised curriculum Set evaluative measures in place to assess intercultural competence

Thank You!

References Demircioğlu, Ş. & Çakır, C. (2015). Intercultural competence of English language teachers in International Baccalaureate World Schools in Turkey and abroad. Journal of language and linguistic studies, 11(1), 15 -32. Kilic, S. (2013). English lecturer’s beliefs regarding intercultural competence. Journal of Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education / Hasan Ali Yücel Egitim Fakültesi Dergisi (HAYEF), 10(2), 47 -59. Skopinskaja, L. & Liiv, S. (2012). Raising intercultural awareness in pre-Service teacher training courses. Teacher Trainer: A Practical Journal for Those Who Train, Mentor & Educate TESOL Teachers, 26(1), 2 -5. Tajima, A. (2004). Fatal miscommunication: English in aviation safety. World Englishes, 23(3), 451 -470.