Some of the most challenging activities a teacher of English can propose their students are those dealing with intercultural exchanges. The students are reluctant because they need to focus on otherness while practising their English-speaking skills.
First of all, students need to be familiarised with the concept of Intercultural competence – which, according to Stella A. Achieng, refers to “the ability to understand, engage and communicate effectively with people from different cultures, demonstrating awareness, understanding and adaptability”. (Achieng, 2023: 20)
Secondly, the Intercultural dimension in language teaching aims to develop learners as Intercultural Speakers or Mediators “who are able to engage with complexity and multiple identities and to avoid the stereotyping which accompanies perceiving someone through a single identity”. (Byram, Gribkova, Starkey, 2002: 9)
The same authors lay emphasis on “perceiving the interlocutor as an individual whose qualities are to be discovered rather than as a representative of an externally ascribed identity”. (Byram, Gribkova, Starkey, 2002: 9)
Thus, teaching with the intercultural dimension in mind might help learners communicate more efficiently, bearing in mind their interlocutors and their particularities.
According to Byram, “the best teacher is neither the native nor the non-native speaker, but the person who can help learners see relationships between their own and other cultures, can help them acquire interest in and curiosity about “otherness” and an awareness of themselves and their own cultures seen from other people’s perspectives”. (Byram, Gribkova, Starkey, 2002: 11)
Consequently, foreign language classes aim at developing the linguistic competence as well as the intercultural competence, in order to prepare the students for real-life interactions where they will have to deal with people coming from different cultural backgrounds and to see this experience as an enriching one.
Students must be made aware of the fact that effective intercultural communication requires “empathy, respect and tolerance, as well as sensitivity and flexibility”. (Dimitrova – Gyuzeleva, 2019 : 19)
Depending on the “targeted component of intercultural competence in focus”, Dimitrova – Gyuzeleva groups intercultural activities according to the educational dimension they influence, namely: cognitive, behavioural or attitudinal intercultural activities. (Dimitrova – Gyuzeleva, 2019 : 20)
Ingrid Piller mentions the concept of “transnational children” who act as “linguistic and cultural mediators between the school and the home. Overall, in migration contexts it is often inevitable that children take on the roles of linguistic and cultural brokers between the adults in their family and the wider society.” (Piller, 2017: 190)
Cultural brokering can be overwhelming without the help and practice that can happen during Foreign Language Classes where students can be taught different intercultural communication negotiation strategies.
Lussier (2007) quoted in Schauer (2024: 15) provides a perfect illustration of the notion of culture by comparing it to “an iceberg only the tip of which is visible (language, food, appearance etc) whereas a large part of the iceberg is difficult to see or grasp (communication, style, beliefs, values, attitudes, perceptions etc)”.
Schauer (2024: 33) considers culture ‘not simply a body of knowledge, but a framework in which people live their lives, communicate and interpret shared meanings and select possible actions to achieve goals”.
The author, Schauer (2024: 158) also provides a model of Intercultural Competence, comprising:
- Attributes / characteristics (like adaptability, tolerance, openness, self-reflection)
- Pragmatic competence (speech acts, politeness, taboo language, expressing positive or negative emotions)
- Knowledge (celebrations, history, political structures and systems, literature, arts, music, religious communities etc)
- Linguistic competence
- Skills (observation, independent learning, collaboration, mediation and conflict avoidance)
Dimitrova – Gyuzeleva quotes the 2018 recommendations of the Council of Europe regarding the development of the new descriptors for plurilingual and pluricultural competence, underpinned by “the belief that languages and cultures are not kept in separated mental compartments and the success of intercultural communication depends on the speakers’ willingness to act as intercultural mediators and their capacity to deal with “otherness” to identify similarities and differences, to build on known and unknown.” (Dimitrova – Gyuzeleva, 2019 : 20)
As students progress in their study of a foreign language, they will be made aware of the importance of connotations of words and phrases in the target language, as well as different customs and traditions that pertain to various cultures and subcultures. At more advanced levels, they should be able to critically reflect on different cultural beliefs, values and practices showing awareness, tolerance and respect for cultural difference and act as cultural mediators, in order to reach mutual understanding and collaboration.
Bibliography
1. ACHIENG, Stella – Intercultural Competence in Foreign Language Teaching, article from Journal of International Scientific Publications, vol. 17, 2023
2. BYRAM, Michael, GRIBKOVA, Bella, STARKEY, Hugh – Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching. A Practical Introduction for Teachers, Council of Europe, 2002
3. DIMITROVA – GYUZELEVA, Svetlana – Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence, The Two Sides of the Coin. Enhancing Multiculturalism in EFL Communication, ERL Journal, vol. 2019 – 2(2)
4. PILLER, Ingrid – Intercultural Communication, Edinburgh University Press, 2017
5. SCHAUER, Gila – Intercultural Competence and Pragmatics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2024