Návrat na detail prednášky / Stiahnuť prednášku / Univerzita Komenského / Pedagogická fakulta / AN - Interkulturálna komunikácia

REFLECTIONS ON INTERCULTURALITY AND MULTICULTURALITY (seminarka-reflections_on_interculturality_and_multiculturality.doc)

REFLECTIONS

ON  INTERCULTURALITY  AND  MULTICULTURALITY

Content:

1. Reflections on interculturality and multiculturality

        1.1    Culture

        1.2    Subjective and objective culture

1. Interculturality

        1.4     Multiculturality

                1.4.1 Official multiculturalism around the world

                1.4.2 Criticisms of multiculturalism in general

1.5     Intercultural competence

        1.6    Intercultural communication

                1.6.1 What can go wrong?

                1.6.2 Improving intercultural communication

2. Implementation of interculturality in a foreign English lesson

1. Education
2. Multicultural education
3. Intercultural learning and English as a foreign language

                2.3.1 [edit]Contexts for intercultural learning in the classroom

                2.3.2 [edit]Activities

3. Critical incidents

        3.1 Some customs and miscellanea typical for the USA and Germany

4. Concluding statement

5. Bibliography

You are a tree,

you take in water, sunlight and nutrients from the soil and surrounding landscape,

you use your roots to survive,

the roots of radicalism are embedded within the soil of our genes,

the quality of the soil reflects the surrounding society and it's actions,

if the tree is poisoned by the landscape, our minds are poisoned by a society that is not responsible.

(Anonymous)

1. Reflections on interculturality and multiculturality

1.1    Culture

        What do we understand by the word 'culture'? A way of life. A set of social practices. A system of beliefs. A shared history or set of experiences. A culture may be synonymous with a country, or a region, or a nationality or it may cross several countries or regions. A culture may be synonymous with a religion, though followers of Christianity or Judaism or Islam may also come from different cultures. It is highly possible to belong to or identify oneself with more than one culture.                                                
        A broad definition of culture is that it is the human-made part of the environment. It can be split into material and subjective culture. Material culture consists of such elements as dress, food, houses, highways, tools, and machines. Subjective culture is a society's characteristic way of perceiving its social environment. It consists of ideas about what has worked in the past and thus is worth transmitting to future generations. Language and economic, educational, political, legal, philosophical and religious systems are important elements of culture. Ideas about aesthetics, and how should people live with others are also important elements. Most important are unstated assumptions, standard operating procedures, and habits of sampling information from the environment.

        Another way to think about culture is that culture is to society what memory is to individuals. The subjective part includes ideas about how to make the elements of material culture (e.g., how do we build a house), how to live properly, how to behave in relation to objects and people.

        Much of our behaviour is automatic, reflecting the way we have incorporated our culture. For instance, when you start driving you do not ask yourself "Should I drive to the right or to the left?" Unless you are aware that you are in a new country you start driving on the side you drove the previous day. In the USA and most of the European continent you drive on the right, without thinking about it. It is the way things are done. This can be called a "practice." Culture includes many practices.

        One of the most important ways to study culture is to study the language that people use. But there are many other ways. We can look at what people do, ask people why they do it, ask people about their politics, philosophy, religion, education, or legal system. We can ask people whether they approve or disapprove of particular behaviours in various situations. We can present questionnaires, tests, inventories of different kinds and examine the responses that people make.

        When we do such studies we need to keep in mind that culture is a shared pattern 0f beliefs, attitudes, norms, role perceptions, and values. For example, if we find that a particular person likes a particular painting that is not culture. But if we find that many members of a society respect a particular set of colours and shapes (say, a flag) that is culture. Thus, the first thing to pay attention to when we study culture is whether or not ideas are shared. The next thing to pay attention to is whether shared responses correspond to a language, a time period and a geographic region. Usually people who share a language dialect at a particular time and place are members of the same culture. For instance, people who speak one dialect of French may have a distinct culture from people who speak a different dialect of French, though they share many elements of French culture.

People in one geographic region may have a different culture from people in another geographic region, even though they speak the same language and are sampled at the same time. For example, Canadians and Australians have much in common, but they also have distinct cultures.

        Subcultures emerge because people share other elements, such as gender, physical type, neighbourhood, occupation, standard of living, resources, climates, and so on. For example, lawyers all over world share some elements of subjective culture. Japanese lawyers have a subculture that differs from other lawyers as well as general Japanese culture. A nation consists of thousands of cultures, but many of these cultures have common elements. It is obvious from what was just said that there are very many different ways to study culture.

        In our culture, we have a certain set of rules or customs according to which we behave. We learn these rules at a young age. Because we learn these rules at such an early age, we tend to take them for granted and do not come to think of the idea that someone else may have other rules. This is why it can be highly shocking if someone suddenly breaks our rules

1.2    Objective and subjective culture

        In the context of intercultural learning, it is important to be aware of different subcategories of culture, such as "little c" and "big C" culture. While the latter one is also called "objective culture" or "formal culture" referring to institutions, big figures in history, literature, etc., the first one, the "subjective culture", is concerned with the less tangible aspects of a culture, like everyday patterns. In intercultural learning, a mixture of these two is to be employed, but it is especially the apprehension of subjective culture that triggers the development of intercultural competence. (Triandis, 1972)

Also, it is important to differentiate between "culture-specific" and "culture-general" approaches when intercultural learning is concerned:

1. "culture-specific" approaches mainly aim at the achievement of competence in a particular target culture and are closely connected to specific language learning. Competence in both is usually thought to generate culturally appropriate behavior in a particular cultural context.
2. "culture-general" approaches, on the other hand, are not targeted on a particular culture. Instead, they are concerned with "universal categories" which function as general characteristics of cultures in general. These categories can be used to make cross-cultural comparisons, for example. Thus, "culture-general" approaches provide a cognitive framework for cultural analysis. (Triandis, 1972)

“Today we are going to the Opera,” said the lady with the red hat.

“Oh an evening of culture,” responded her boyfriend, staring into her eyes, hoping she will change her mind.”

        When people anticipate doing something cultural, their thoughts turn to an evening of art, literature, drama, classical music, or dance. In other words they plan to participate in one of the institutions of culture – behaviour that has become routinized into a particular form. I refer to this aspect of culture as “culture writ large,” with a capital “c.”  (Bennett, 1998)

        Objective culture is what human beings make, and what they consciously transmit from generation to generation. It ranges from formal systems of information, music and art, to less complex objects, such as the lady’s red hat. By the same token, the content or outcome produced by a group of interacting team members attempting to solve a problem is also part of objective culture or “big c”

        Big c or objective culture is formally learned and it is consciously shared.  It emphasizes the information produced by institutions to functionally organize their societies.

        The study of this information constitutes the curriculum in most schools and universities. Examples of big c information are: economic, political, linguistic, historical, geographical systems. A person may be very knowledgeable about a particular group, but unable to communicate with its members.

        Intercultural learning requires the teacher to employ a mix of "culture-specific" and "culture-general" approaches in order to address the larger issues of ethnocentrism, cultural self-awareness, etc. because intercultural competence cannot be achieved by the single acquisition of knowledge about a specific culture or the pure ability to behave properly in that culture. (Triandis, 1972, pg.137)

1.3 Interculturality

        Interculturalism is the philosophy of exchanges between cultural groups within a society.

        Various states have intercultural policies which seek to encourage the socialization of citizens of different origins. These policies are often used as an instrument to fight racism, overcome prejudice and misunderstanding of others.

        Interculturalism requires an inherent openness to be exposed to the culture of the "other". Once a person is exposed to an element of a different culture, a dialogue will ensue, where everyone embarks upon understanding the culture of the other, and usually this involves comparisons. Thus, interculturalism breeds dialogue, in order to be able to look for commonalities between that element of one's culture and the culture of the other.

        Interculturalism seeks to enhance fusion by looking for commonalities. Hence, a new world culture is constructed based on the fusion of all commonalities of cultures. The differences that remain make up the subcultures of the world.

1.4 Multiculturality

        Multiculturalism is a public policy approach for managing cultural diversity in a multiethnic society, officially stressing mutual respect and tolerance for cultural differences within a country's borders. (La Belle, Ward, 1994, pg. 15)

        As a policy, multiculturalism emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures, especially as they relate to one another in receiving nations. The word was first used in 1957 to describe Switzerland, but came into common currency in Canada in the late 1960s. It quickly spread to other English-speaking countries. (La Belle, Ward, 1994) Multiculturalism became incorporated into official policies in several nations in the 1970s for reasons that varied from country to country.

        Multiculturalism is very important. It helps us look at other cultures respectably and freely. Without it, we would be forced to be informed about only the mainstream culture in our society. I consider multiculturalism a good thing.

        Many people confuse race and culture. The term "race" has been found out to not mean anything. Scientists agree that, in terms of DNA genetics, "race" has no significant meaning as a way of categorizing human differences. Multiculturalism has found its way to become a popular term because race truly does not define any real differences between people. How people are raised and their beliefs is what makes them different.

        The "melting pot" term is frequently used to describe some country, like for example the USA, because it is a place that is full of different cultures. E.g. Pittsburgh is a good example due to its diverse blend of different cultures. It was founded by German, Polish, and Italian immigrants.

        But what does melting pot truly mean? Are we celebrating the different cultures of people here or are we forcing people to live one specific culture? Many people end up compromising to the dominant culture and losing parts of their heritage. In the United States the traditional view has been one of a melting pot where all the immigrant cultures are mixed and amalgamated without state intervention. However, many states have different language policies within the union. Immigrants maintain their own culture and family background while also becoming Americans. (Banks, 1999, pg.185-186)

        Multiculturalism is an ideology advocating that society should consist of, or at least allow and include, distinct cultural groups, with equal status. Whether or not cultural groups should have distinct political status is a contested issue among political scientists. Some nations have adopted official policies of multiculturalism, but the norm is varying conditions of cultural diversity accompanied by greater or lesser degrees of tolerance and acceptance. The term "multiculturalism" or “multicultural” is also used to describe demographic conditions of cultural and ethnic diversity where it occurs, whether or not it is officially supported by state policy. There is thus an important distinction to be made between official, or de jure multiculturalism and the de facto conditions of cultural diversity, tolerance and cosmopolitanism that have occurred throughout history as well as modern societies. As state policy, multiculturalism has so far been a way of managing cultural diversity by focusing on superficial aspects of cultural identity rather than structural inequalities related to de facto cultural dominance and institutional racism. (La Belle, Ward, 1994)

        Many people are of mixed-cultures. According to an article in AILA Review, 4.5 million people under the age of 18 are multicultural (vol.18, 2005). Mixed marriages are more common now then ever. It is an issue that can not be ignored and therefore we need to deal with the multicultural issue.

        There are many benefits of multiculturalism. With the mix of different cultures we have new ideas and worthwhile benefits. Since all these new ideas are around, the country benefits from this. If we did not have these different blends of cultures we would not have been able to experience all the varieties that provides the differences.

        With all the different ideas and beliefs coming from the different cultures we develop respect for their views, we learn from them.  Having multiculturalism lets us blend our different cultures together and learn from each other.

        If we did not have multiculturalism then we would all be the same. Our entire country would all believe in the same thing and do the same thing. There would not be any creativity amongst us. It would be very boring in our society if we all were the same. If we did not have this diverse blend of people and cultures we would not grow as people and still believe in all the same things. We would be stuck in the past and never grow. Women might not be where they are today, right along side of men. Men would be superior. Thankfully we have multiculturalism and can grow our minds and the way we think.

1.4.1 Official multiculturalism around the world

        The other country to have most fully adopted Canada's view of multiculturalism is Australia where many of these policies related to multiculturalism are pursued, for example the formation of the Special Broadcasting Service.

        In the United States multiculturalism is not an official policy at the federal level. At the state level, it is sometimes associated with English-Spanish bilingualism. However, the government, in recent years, moved to support many multiculturalist policies. In some ways, the United States has gone even further than Canada and Australia with such policies. For instance, California drivers can take their exams in a number of languages and voting districts are shaped to facilitate proportional minority representation in government.

        In the United Kingdom multiculturalism has been the subject of extensive debate in recent years. Under the Conservatives (1979-1997), multiculturalist rhetoric and policies were confined to left-leaning councils. Since the election of the Labour government in 1997, multiculturalism has influenced government policies and statements.

        In Romania, Slovakia, and other countries of eastern and central Europe various forms of multicultural politics can be found, mainly in the forms of ethnically-identified political parties and minority language education for large ethnic minorities.

        Multiculturalism, along with other identity politics, has, partly, been successful because it is a useful tool for politicians to win the votes of minority groups. Government money for cultural celebrations or ethnic-specific newspapers can encourage new immigrants to support the governing party.

1.4.2 Criticisms of multiculturalism in general

        There have been many criticisms of official multiculturalism from both the left and right. Criticisms come from a variety of perspectives, including the democratic, feminist, capitalist, nationalist, chauvinist, separatist, racialist and xenophobic.

        Critics charge that one of the dangers of pursuing multicultural social policies is that social integration and cultural assimilation can be held back. This can potentially encourage economic disparities and an exclusion of minority groups from mainstream politics. The fragmentation of society in several linguistic factions might ultimately lead to loss of public debate and democratic unity. This fragmentation makes many doubt the viability of a democratic European Union.

1.5  Intercultural competence

        Intercultural competence is the ability for successful communication with people of other cultures. This ability can be existing already at a young age, or be developed and improved thanks to willpower and competence. The bases for a successful intercultural communication are emotional competence, together with intercultural sensitivity. (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004, pg. 73)

        Cultures can be different not only between continents or nations, but also within the same company or even family: every human being has his own history, his own life and therefore also (in a certain extent) his own culture (geographical, ethnical, moral, ethical, religious, political, historical) resp. cultural affiliation or cultural identity.

        Basic needs are sensitivity and self-consciousness: the understanding of other behaviours and ways of thinking as well as the ability to express one’s own point of view in a transparent way with the aim to be understood and respected by staying flexible where this is possible, and being clear where this is necessary.

It is a balance, situatively adapted, between three parts:

1) knowledge (about other cultures, people, nations, behaviours…),

2) empathy (understanding feelings and needs of other people), and

3) self-confidence (knowing what I want, my strengths and weaknesses,                         emotional stability).

        For assessment of intercultural competence as an existing ability and / or the potential to develop it (with conditions and timeframe), the following characteristics are tested and observed: ambiguity tolerance, openness to contacts, flexibility in behaviour, emotional stability, motivation to perform, empathy, meta-communicative competence, polycentrism. (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004)

1.6 Intercultural communication

        Intercultural Communication is at best intercultural dialogue, a jointly travelled path towards learning and understanding, respect and responsibility. Different opinions become a source for new solutions, and culture turns into a valuable resource. In the multicultural and interdependent world intercultural dialogue is our chance to make a difference.

        Intercultural communication principles guide the process of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimises antagonism. For these purposes, culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms of behaviour. It refers to coherent groups of people whether resident wholly or partly within state territories, or existing without residence in any particular territory. Hence, these principles may have equal relevance when a tourist seeks help, where two well-established independent corporations attempt to merge their operations, and where politicians attempt to negotiate world peace. Two factors have raised the importance of this topic:

- improvements in communication and transportation technology have made it possible for previously stable cultures to meet in unstructured situations, e.g. the internet opens lines of communication without mediation, while budget airlines transplant ordinary citizens into unfamiliar milieus. Experience proves that merely crossing cultural boundaries can be considered threatening, while positive attempts to interact may provoke defensive responses. Misunderstanding may be compounded by either an exaggerated sensitivity to possible slights, or an exaggerated and over-protective fear of giving offence; (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004)

- some groups believe that the phenomenon of globalisation has reduced cultural diversity and so reduced the opportunity for misunderstandings, but characterising people as a homogeneous market is simplistic. One product or brand only appeals to the material aspirations of one self-selecting group of buyers, and its sales performance will not affect the vast multiplicity of factors that may separate the cultures.

        If people have different cultural backgrounds, they may interpret verbal and non-verbal signals differently. Empirical methods for researching such differences propose that culture is learned by listening to, and observing the behaviour of, other members within the group. Direct and indirect interactions ensure that culture is passed from person to person and from generation to generation. A soft systems approach would explore multi-causal explanations of behaviour. Complexity would be assumed given age, gender, ethnicity, religion, class, personality, reaction to authority, the setting, the other party's behaviour, and the presence or absence of an audience. This approach allows for more nuanced explanations but it may produce detailed explanations that are more difficult to use as a predictive tool. (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004)

1.6.1 What can go wrong?

        People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently, increasing the chances of misunderstanding, so the safety-first consequence of recognizing cultural differences should be to assume that everyone’s thoughts and actions are not just like ours. The main types of misunderstanding are:

Language

        Even when two people think they can speak each other's language, the chance of error is high. Usages and contextual inferences may be completely different between cultures. So even though one speaker may have learned the vocabulary of the other's language, selecting the most appropriate words, with the correct intonation, spoken with appropriate eye contact while standing a proper distance from the other are all critical even before one considers the propriety of the topic to be discussed.

Rights, values, and needs

        Some cultural characteristics will be easy to identify, e.g. whether people are conscious of status or make displays of material wealth. But many rights are assumed, values are implied, and needs are unspoken, (e.g. for safety, security, love, a sense of belonging to a group, self-esteem, and the ability to attain one's goals).

        For example, issues of personal security, dignity, and control will be very different as between an abled and a disabled person. Similarly, there may be problems of respect when a person from a rigidly class-based culture meets a meritocrat, or where there is racism, sexism or religious intolerance in play. In such situations, identity is fundamental when disputing the proper role or "place" of the other, about who is in control of their lives, and how they present themselves to the outside world. But the reality is more deeply rooted in power relationships: about who is on top of the social, economic, and/or political hierarchy. Family members or long term rivals may be obsessed with their mutual competition. The relationships between racial or ethnic groups may be affected by economic jealousy. Nations may assert that their political systems are superior. Such conflicts are difficult to resolve because no-one wants to be the loser, and few are willing to share the winnings. Stereotyping can aggravate these problems and prevent people from realising that there is another way to interpret a situation, or that other groups may define their rights in a different way. Hence, what may appear just or fair to one group can often seem unjust to an opposing group.

Assumptions

        People may misinterpret each other's motives. For example, one group may assume that they are simply exchanging information about what they believe, but the other believes that they are negotiating a change in behaviour. This is most likely to arise when the parties are not completely honest with each other from the outset. Individuals may wish to protect their privacy, corporations may be concerned about industrial espionage, and politicians may be bound by requirements of secrecy in the national interest. Nevertheless, clarifying the purpose of the interaction is essential to eliminating confusion, particularly if vested interests are involved.

The situation

        If time is not a factor and those interacting approach their meetings with good will and patience, effective communication is more likely. But, if the parties are under pressure (whether generated by external circumstances or internal needs), emotions may colour the exchange. Prejudice is a short-cut decision-making tool. In a crisis, fear and anger may trigger more aggressive tactics, particularly if the meeting is being staged under the gaze of the news media.

1.6.2 Improving intercultural communication

        It is essential that people research the cultures and communication conventions of those whom they propose to meet. This will minimise the risk of making the elementary mistakes. It is also prudent to set a clear agenda so that everyone understands the nature and purpose of the interaction. When language skills are unequal, clarifying one’s meaning in four ways will improve communication:

1. avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words that will convey only the most specific denotative meaning;
2. listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for confirmation of understanding (particularly important if local accents and pronunciation are a problem);
3. recognise that accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly; and
4. respect the local communication formalities and styles, and watch for any changes in body language.

        If it is not possible to learn the other's language, it is expedient to show some respect by learning a few words. In all important exchanges, a translator can convey the message.

        When writing, the choice of words represent the relationship between the reader and the writer so more thought and care should be invested in the text since it may well be thoroughly analysed by the recipient. (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004, pg. 151)

2. Implementation of interculturality in a foreign English lesson

2.1 Education

        What is education? I think it consists of three things: teaching, mentorship, and structuring an environment for learning.

        Teaching is the guidance of a student along a particular pathway of knowledge, or to a particular knowledge goal. Teaching requires subject matter expertise on the part of the teacher, and a passion for that material that is conveyable to the student along with the knowledge. We might call the result of teaching "learning."

        Mentorship is slightly more divorced from the particular expertise of the teacher. It is a process of guidance, support, discipline, and leadership by example. If there is knowledge conveyed through the mentorship process, it is often a process knowledge or skill. We might also say that mentorship serves to communicate and inculcate habits - of body, mind, personal management, spiritual practice, etc. The result of mentoring is "growth."

        Now, for better or worse, education has been delegated to a set of institutions known as "schools" that have their own distinct character, culture, power structure, bureaucracy, etc. that constrain and channel the process of learning and growth. Understanding how these institutions function is very useful if one wants to go about teaching and mentoring within their walls. More generally, you might think of the environment for learning and the way that it supports people engaged in teaching and mentoring.

        Education departments in colleges and graduate institutions attempt to tackle each of these three domains. First, they teach "instructional design," a science of methods for teaching your particular domain of expertise in such a way that it touches a variety of learners. The emphasis in some of these programs is on non-traditional or "special needs" learners who require extra attention to the design of the teaching process. Nowadays there is a strong emphasis on collaborative learning and learning communities, so there might be courses on the social dynamics of learning and the dynamics of creativity and learning in groups.

2.2 Multicultural Education

        The education philosophy and methodology aiming to replace a dominant cultural paradigm in the classroom with a multiplicity of views reflecting the students' cultural backgrounds.

        We still have a long way to go before we are truly multicultural. In schools, teachers teach what is called a "Eurocentric" bias. Specifically, the argument was made that the content of classes in history, literature, social studies, and other areas reflected what came to be called a "Eurocentric" bias. Most children learn about American and European history but very little about other countries. Basically there are just a few women or people of colour teaching these "Eurocentric" ideas. The governments and other institutions are of mostly white men. We grew up learning about only the white men and European background. America is basically run by white men. (Cazden, 1988, pg.204)

        Understandingly children from other cultures have trouble during their high school years. They are forced to find a group and fit in. But if they are from different backgrounds it is hard for them to find somewhere to fit in. Young children have a hard time understanding another child if they are different from where they are. The mixed culture child feels like a "freak" or not welcome among their classmates. Once they grow up though, these kids start to understand who they are and feel good about where they came from. They understand the effects of racist people. They can see both sides. It opens their minds to all types of ethnic groups and people. They aren't prejudice because they understand that there is no superior ethnicity in this world. All people are people, no matter what ethnicity or race they are. That is something that everyone in this world should respect. All people are the same, no matter what shape, colour, or size.

        Multicultural education is essentially an effort to translate a pluralistic world view into educational practices and theories. Thus, a multicultural curriculum, unlike traditional programs, strives to present more than one perspective of a historical event or a cultural phenomenon.

For example, Christopher Columbus's expedition to America, defined as "discovery" in traditional textbooks with a Eurocentric bias, appears in a different light to the "discovered" populations. Responding to criticism that pluralism in education may impoverish the current curriculum, multiculturalists have argued that multicultural education actually enriches the curriculum. James A. Banks writes: "Rather than excluding Western civilization from the curriculum, multiculturalists want a more truthful, complex, and diverse version of the West taught in the schools. They want the curriculum to describe the way in which African, Asian, and indigenous cultures have influenced and interacted with Western civilization." (Banks, 1999, pg.46)

        The presence of multiculturalism in education is undeniable, but it is still a minority movement. With the growing awareness of the multi-ethnic nature of our society, educators have challenged the "melting-pot" principle, observing that the traditional concept really means conformity to a white, Eurocentric cultural model. Yet, while multicultural education seems appropriate for a multi-ethnic society, many obstacles have hindered the development of formal multicultural educational programs. Chief among them is the opinion that multicultural education would do away with the classics of art and literature, impoverishing the curriculum, and depriving the students of essential knowledge. However, others have argued for the benefits of multicultural education as an active approach to learning, which encourages the learner to construct his or her own knowledge.

        Multiculturalism is not a new phenomenon, emerging after World War II, in part as a reaction to Nazi ideas of racial, ethnic, and cultural supremacy. However, as Banks notes, multicultural "education itself is a product of the West"—which implies that the idea of cultural pluralism and tolerance is woven into the founding ideals of Western education, which include freedom, equality, and humanism. (Banks, 1999, 61) In the 1960s, multicultural education as a movement strongly benefited from society's growing awareness that the mono-cultural paradigm was not working. According to Thomas J. La Belle and Christopher R. Ward, four factors contributed to the rise of multicultural education in the 1960s, namely, "the civil rights movement, a rise in ethnic consciousness, a more critical analysis of textbooks and other materials, and the loss of belief in theories of cultural deprivation." (La Belle, Ward, 1994, pg. 128) While theories of cultural deprivation defined minority cultures as failing to conform to a standard, multicultural theory in the 1960s embraced the idea of difference, eliminating the concepts of superiority and inferiority. Enjoying significant government support in the late 1970s, multicultural education faced funding problems in the 1980s, and funding continues to be the principal challenge in the 1990s. (La Belle, Ward, 1994)

        In designing multicultural curricula, educators have often favoured an approach whereby the traditional curriculum is enriched and modified by new elements. Banks advocates a gradual, four-stage transformation of the curriculum. The first, the contributions approach, focuses on a particular minority culture's heroes and holidays; the second level, known as the additive approach, introduces new concepts and themes without changing the curriculum's essential structure; the third level, called the transformative approach, enables students to view issues and events from a minority culture's point of view; and the fourth level, the social action approach, encourages students to address social problems caused by a one-dimensional perception of culture. (Banks, 1999)

        For example, a teacher can, using the transformative approach when presenting a unit in American history, ask her students to describe the "Westward Movement" from the point of the Lakota Sioux, whose homeland was invaded by white settlers. In addition, the study of folklore provides the teacher with numerous lessons in multiculturalism that can be used in the classroom. In a class exercise suggested by Bette Bosma, students read two or three stories from different cultural traditions in which the same theme is developed. If the theme is laziness, the elementary school teacher can introduce The Lazies: Tales of the People of Russia by the Russian-American translator and storyteller Mirra Ginsburg, and ask the students to compare a particular story with a similar tale from a non-European source. By focusing on the similarity, students realize that literature, including oral and written traditions, contains motifs and ideas which are shared by more than one culture. Furthermore, in higher grades, it may suffice to study the profound and pervasive influence of a work such as The Arabian Nights on Western literature to realize that even national literatures are best approached from a multicultural point of view. (Brown, 1993, 107-108)

2.3 Intercultural learning and English as a foreign language

        Language is inseparable from other phenomena both inside and outside the classroom. Language is the main medium for expressing and embodying other phenomena. It expresses and embodies the values, beliefs and meanings which members of a given society, or part of it, share by virtue of their socialisation into it and their acceptance of and identification with if.

        Language teaching has therefore always and inevitably meant, in fact, language and culture teaching. In the British tradition this has largely been taken for granted and considered unproblematic. Elsewhere – in Germany in particular – there has existed a greater awareness. Direct experience of another country involves not only the cognitive but also the affective dimension of personality. The individual needs to be able to accept and cope with ways of thinking and also modes of behaviour which are new. Furthermore, his own mode of behaviour mus be at least tolerated by people in the country being visited if a sense of being ill at ease is to be avoided. Language taching becomes associtate with the norion of encouraging tolerance of that which is alien and potentially threatening or upleasant, and the instilling of behaviour which is accepltable in the oreign country. As the balance shifts towards the dominance of the relevance of language teaching to acquaintance with a foreign country, the introduction of more reference to everyday behaviour of a wider variety of social groupings in the foreign country becomes necessary. (Byram, 1991, pg.5-6)

        At the inception of the first global century, most speakers of English are non native or second-language speakers. Today, the majority of the world’s speakers of English are no longer monolingual speakers living in the center countries. English is used by non-native speakers in the absence of native speakers, in non-Western sociocultural contexts and in constant contact with other languages in multilingual speech communities. As a result, it often undergoes systematic changes at all linguistic levels, from phonology and morphology, to syntax and semantics, to discourse and style. (Brown, 1993)

        This unprecedented situation has created new parameters for the institutions charged with educating teachers of English as foreign language. Furthermore, the reality of English language classrooms in global cities of the centre countries is one of multilingualism and multiculturalism.

        English is a global language and as such is used in an extraordinarily broad range of contexts - the world’s speakers of English are diverse, as are its socioeconomic and political sites of teaching and learning. That such diversity is currently beyond the comprehension of many English teachers who have not traversed the boundaries of mono-culturalism and mono-lingualism should concern members of the English teaching profession and certainly should concern the future professionals themselves.

        Intercultural learning is the process of becoming more aware of and better understanding one's own culture and other cultures around the world. The aim of intercultural learning is to increase international and cross-cultural tolerance and understanding. This can take lots of forms - intercultural learning is by no means only a part of English as a foreign language, but has exponents in all fields of education.

        Intercultural learning is an area of research, study and application of knowledge about different cultures, their differences and similarities. On the other hand, it comprises practical applications such as learning to negotiate with people from different cultures, living with people from different cultures, living in a different culture and the prospect of peace between different cultures. (Holliday, Hyde, Kullman, 2004)

        Currently, intercultural learning is a topic which receives much interest. This is mainly due to the rise of cultural studies and globalization. Culture has become an instrument for social interpretation and communicative action. Intercultural learning is primarily important in the context of the foreign language classroom.

The main goal of intercultural learning is seen as the development of intercultural competence, which is the ability to act and relate appropriately and effectively in various cultural contexts.

Intercultural competence is generally thought to require three components on the learner's side: a certain skillset, culturally sensitive knowledge, and a motivated mindset. In greater detail, the skills, values, and attitudes that constitute intercultural competence include

1. intercultural attitudes (like openness, curiosity, readiness)
2. general knowledge (of the theoretical aspects of how social groups/products/practices work and interact)
3. skills of interpreting and relating (a document of another culture to one's own culture)
4. skills of discovery and interaction (like the ability to discover information about another culture and the ability to communicate in real-time interaction)
5. critical cultural awareness (that there are different cultures next to one's own)

        Intercultural awareness in language learning is often talked about as though it were a 'fifth skill' - the ability to be aware of cultural relativity following reading, writing, listening and speaking. There is something to be said for this as an initial attempt to understand or define something that may seem a difficult concept but, as Claire Kramsch points out "…If...language is seen as social practice, culture becomes the very core of language teaching. Cultural awareness must then be viewed as enabling language proficiency ... Culture in language teaching is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing…" (Kramsch, 1993).

        Language itself is defined by a culture. We cannot be competent in the language if we do not also understand the culture that has shaped and informed it. We cannot learn a second language if we do not have an awareness of that culture, and how that culture relates to our own first language/first culture. It is not only therefore essential to have cultural awareness, but also intercultural awareness.
        Following on from what Kramsch says, intercultural awareness is not really therefore a skill, but a collection of skills and attitudes better thought of as a competence. Intercultural communicative competence is an attempt to raise students' awareness of their own culture, and in so doing, help them to interpret and understand other cultures. It is not just a body of knowledge, but a set of practices requiring knowledge, skills and attitudes.

What are these attitudes and skills that make up the competence? Among them are:

- observing, identifying and recognising
- comparing and contrasting
- negotiating meaning
- dealing with or tolerating ambiguity
- effectively interpreting messages
- limiting the possibility of misinterpretation
- defending one's own point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of others
- accepting difference

        These are very similar to many of the skills we teach normally. So what makes intercultural learning different?
Raised awareness of what we do and of the vital importance of these skills already makes intercultural communicative competence a more attainable goal. Moreover - and despite the fact that the competence is more than just a body of knowledge - intercultural awareness skills can be developed by designing materials which have cultural and intercultural themes.

Jump to: navigation, search

[edit]2.3.1 [edit]Contexts for intercultural learning in the classroom

Contexts that are seen as appropriate for intercultural learning in the classroom are those which promote the acquisition of intercultural competence consisting of the components mentioned above. Examples:

1. communication between members of different cultures via e-mail: not yet a standard in everyday schooling, but it serves many useful purposes for intercultural learning
2. authentic print text: fictional texts are the ideal medium for intercultural learning since it is the substrate of a specific culture and its history, while it simultaneously contains culture-general aspects; it stimulates personal identification and it offers numerous options for creative activities; also it may induce discussions of aspects of subjective, as well as objective, culture - useful examples; non-fictional texts are definitely useful in this context as well.
3. film: authentic film especially improves the language proficiency (and thus intercultural sensitivity), because it means direct and authentic contact; it also guarantees access to the evaluation of audiovisual media and maybe even new media- useful examples: Bend it Like Beckham, Save the Last Dance, My Beautiful Laundrette (Cazden, 1988)

2.3.2 [edit]Activities

As with most activities employed in the classroom, activities for intercultural learning are supposed to keep the affective domain of learning in mind, that is, they are to keep the students motivated and enable them to somehow identify with topic that is dealt with. For intercultural learning this is especially true because this field is likely to turn into a delicate matter.

1. An example of an activity which focuses on the stereotypes and prejudices that people are likely to have is called "Who should be hired?". This exercise animates students to choose from a huge number of people (from different cultures, of different sexes, and different ages, etc.) the person they would hire from an employer's point of view.
2. Most suggested exercises that are believed to support intercultural learning, and in this especially to promote empathy, are of a role-play nature. They especially support students in making the shift in perspective: their own culture becomes a strange one and is looked at from the outside, while the target culture becomes familiar. (Cazden, 1988)

        The teacher's task is to induce the learning of all in these aspects in the learner. Being successful, intercultural learning results in culturally competent learners. The concept of intercultural learning aiming at the development of intercultural competence also requires a new understanding of the teacher him/herself. She/He is no longer a mere communicator of knowledge, but a mediator and moderator, and has to be educated accordingly. In times of globalization and hope for peace, this issue needs to be researched further and remain of huge interest.

3. Critical incidents

The term critical incident refers to a communication situation, which the participants (or one participant) consider as problematic and confusing, even amusing. Critical incidents are occasions that stay in mind. Typically, critical incidents consist of examples of cultural clash events - situations where unexpected behaviour occurs - with suggestions on how to solve these situations. The purpose of the critical incident technique is to develop one's ability to see interaction situations from perspectives of different cultures.

The roots of the critical incident technique can be traced back to the late 19th century, but the theory itself was not introduced to the field of cross-cultural training until the early 1960's. A great number of so-called "culture assimilators" or "intercultural sensitizers" have been developed in order to help those who intend to live abroad for a longer period of time. In the United States the assimilators were, and still are, used in the training of special groups such as Peace Corps volunteers, nurses, teachers, managers and their families who intend to become expatriates. In Finland critical incidents exercises have probably been the most common way of preparing expatriates for a long stay abroad. The opportunity to think carefully and analytically about a critical situation promotes cross-cultural awareness and accelerates teaching and learning. In that way, critical incidents are an important strategy that can be used to highlight differences and potential misunderstandings, which arise out of culture.

        In a way all communication can be seen as intercultural, because we all have our own history and background, which we carry with us whenever we communicate. Furthermore, misinterpretations and misunderstandings are not rare in intercultural communication either.

        As I’m studying the specialization English/German, this introduction is followed by examples which can lead to some critical incidents from the point of view of differences in culture behaviour and traditions in USA and Germany. Some can be more culture specific, some are more culture general, some have a more serious background, some are humorous. But still I think, some of these customs can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretation, because many people can find them annoying. So it could be quite important to know, what I can expect in a foreign country and a foreign culture.

3.1 Some customs and miscellanea typical for the USA and Germany

1. In Germany, most public spaces, restaurants, and offices are full of smoke. Recently, some improvements can be observed. People habitually throw cigarette butts on the ground. This is not seen in the US.
2. In German restaurants, asking for free water with your food is frowned upon and uncommon.
3. In Germany, when you have eaten in a restaurant, taking the leftovers with you is typically frowned upon; they are thrown away. In the US, it is customary to ask for a box.
4. US restaurants usually stop serving food at 10 pm, some already at 9 pm (except junk food joints). In Germany you can eat till midnight.
5. In the US, when you enter a restaurant, you have to wait for a waiter to seat you; generally you cannot freely choose your table. In Germany, you just sit down wherever you want.
6. Everything is bigger in the US than it is in Germany: people, meal portion sizes, coffee cups, cars, cell phones, beds, refrigerators, squirrels. In the US, foods are often served in a way which makes it impossible to eat them in a civilized manner, for instance tremendously huge hamburgers or too long French fries.
7. Waiters in US restaurants have a habit of coming to your table while you are eating or while you are talking, interrupt you and ask "Is everything OK?". Sometimes they even try to start a fake conversation.
8. Bottles with crown caps in the US can always be opened without a bottle opener, by simply turning the cap. In Germany, you need a bottle opener.
9. In Germany, there are almost no motels, and there are very few cheap ways to spend a night, especially close to the highways.
10. In Germany, TV shows start at varying, strange times. In the US, all shows on all channels always start on the full hour.
11. The US uses absolutely brain-dead bank notes: all denominations have the same size, feel and colour. Furthermore, the largest denomination is only $100.
12. German dog owners almost never collect their dog's feces. In the US, most cities require this and most dog owners do it.
13. In German cinemas, you have to endure a much longer barrage of commercials.
14. German jelly donuts contain a lot less jelly than American ones.
15. In the US, you can open beer bottles without a bottle opener, by turning the lid. Not possible in Germany.
16. In the US, apartments or houses for rent or sale are commonly advertised with a large sign in front of the house. In Germany this isn't done: you have to find the address from ads in newspapers, on the internet or from real estate agents, which is annoying.
17. Most US bookstores have coffee shops and armchairs and are open till 11 pm, also on the weekends. Most German ones discourage browsing, don't offer coffee and close at 8 pm, and don't open at all on Sundays.
18. Cheerleaders, high school girls cheering and dancing in short dresses for the boys' sport teams, actually do exist in the US. I had always thought they only exist on TV, just like the laughter in the background of soap operas. But no: girls actually do want to be cheerleaders. To Germans, the whole setup is ridiculous, sexist, and degrading.
19. In the US, prices are always stated without sales tax, so you never know in advance how much you actually have to pay.
20. Americans have a strange obsession with the points of the compass. Frequently inside a building you will find signs like "This elevator is out of order. Please use the one on the North side of the building." How am I supposed to know where North is? Why can't they just tell me where the elevator is?
21. By contrast, German highway signs are unusable for foreigners (and many Germans) since they eschew points of the compass completely. In order to navigate on German “Autobahnen”, you need to know the relative locations of all cities in Germany. The signs won't say "B1 East" and "B1 West", but instead "B1 Direction Bochum" and "B1 Direction Unna" and you are supposed to know that Unna is East of Bochum.
22. Worse, highway intersections in Germany use an utterly braindead and dangerous layout where the cars that are slowing down and leaving a highway have to share a stretch of road with those speeding up and joining the highway. I don't think that system is in use anywhere else.

1. To get satellite TV in Germany, you buy an antenna and receiver and then you can watch for free; in the US, you sign a contract, get antenna, receiver and decoder for free, and pay a monthly fee for the content which is encoded.
2. To call a cell phone in Germany, you pay a high per-minute fee; in the US the called pays.
3. In the US, you pay income taxes to the federal government and separately to your home state; in Germany only the federal government collects income taxes.
4. When you rent an apartment in the US, the stove and fridge is normally included; in Germany you typically have to bring your own.
5. In the US, credit cards have a real credit line: you can pay back the balance at your own pace; in Germany, credit cards suck the full balance out of your bank account at the end of every month. German bank accounts come with a standard credit line: you can simply overdraw them; this is comparatively rare in the US.
6. If a German is abducted in some foreign country, German diplomats will engage in negotiations and usually eventually pay some money to the kidnappers. The U.S. does not engage in such negotiations, clearly the correct strategy.
7. Copyright in the U.S., for the most part, consists simply in the right to copy and/or modify a work. This right can be given up or sold off. Germany's “Urheberrecht” in addition gives several "moral" rights to the creator which cannot be sold or given up, for instance the right to just compensation for every copy and the right to veto changes to the work.
8. Germans think that natural yellow egg yolk looks "unhealthy" and pale and prefer their egg yolk orange, which is why German farmers feed their chickens with orange pigments.
9. Graffiti is of higher quality and more colourful in Germany, where it is sometimes viewed as approaching an art form; in the US it mostly consists of simple taggs and is almost always seen as a law enforcement problem.
10. What is called "first floor" in Germany is called "second floor" in the US.
11. Soccer is seen as a men's sport in Germany and as a women's sport in the US.
12. In Germany, if they see police, people often think something is wrong; in the U.S., if they see police, people usually feel safe.

4. Concluding statement

        I think that teaching culture is an essential part of teaching a language. This is because language is a way to reflect the world we live in and sometimes sticking to linguistics and not taking into account culture can lead to misunderstanding. Culture becomes much more important if we want to learn a foreign language for communicative purposes. For example, "please" is a part of British culture and teaching students to be polite will help them to "find their way" in a different world.

        The study of subjective culture allows researchers to compare cultures on some factors and also describe cultures using both culture common and culture specific factors. It is one of the many ways we have to study culture. I feel that is essential to be able to have the freedom to learn about any culture we want.

5. Bibliography

Banks, James A.: An introduction to multicultural education.

Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. ISBN: 978-0205341023

Bennett, Milton J.: Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication.                                                           Boston: Intercultural Press, 1998. ISBN: 978-1877864629

Brown, Douglas H.: Principles of Language Learning and Teaching.                                                     Englewood: Prentice Hall Regents, 1993.  ISBN: 978-0130178169

Byram, M.; Esarte-Sarries, V.: Investigating Cultural Studies in Foreign                        Language Teaching.              

Bristol: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 1991. ISBN: 1-85359-087-8

Cazden, C.: Classroom Discourse: The Language of Teaching and Learning.                                     Portsmouth: Heinenmann, 1988. ISBN: 978-0325003788

Holliday, A.; Hyde, M.; Kullman, J.: Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book.                                                                                                     London: Routledge Applied Linguistics , 2004.  ISBN: 0415270618 

Kramsch, C.: Context and Culture in Language teaching.                                                     Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN: 978-0-19-437187-2                        

La Belle, Thomas J.; Ward, Christopher R.: Multiculturalism and Education: Diversity and Its Impact on Schools and Society.                                                                                                                  Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0791419403

Rajagopalan, K.: Language politics in Latin America. In: AILA Review,                          volume 18/2005.                                                                                                           Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company, 2005. ISSN: 1461-0213

Triandis, H. C.: The analysis of subjective culture.                                                                     New York: Wiley, 1972. ISBN: 978-0471889052

Internet resources:

http://www.irc-international.com/objective.htm

http://www.jyu.fi/viesti/verkkotuotanto/kp/ci/introduction.shtml

http://www.bookrags.com/research/intercultural-communication-adaptat-eci-02/

http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Multiculturalism

http://www-math.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/us-d.html#customs