Intercultural Language Teaching

1. Intercultural Language Teaching VU Teaching LOTE 2010 Andrew Ferguson afconsulting@bigpond.com

2. What is culture? Behaviours Products Ideas

3. What is culture? Behaviours • Customs • Habits • Dress • Foods • Leisure

4. What is culture? Products Literature Folklore Art Music Artefacts

5. What is culture? Ideas Beliefs Values Institutions from G. Robinson (1985) Cross Cultural Understanding New York Prentice Hall

6. What is culture? Identity!

7. What is culture? Identity through social interactions Culture is not simply a body of facts that members of a group know, it is a set of practices which are accomplished and realized by them in their daily lives and interactions. (Liddicoat, 2000)Language(s)!

8. Teaching Languages Interculturally Language is interpersonal (it’s used to communicate messages between people); is embedded in a cultural context (by themselves the words don’t convey the message, it’s the words, their social meaning, the people speaking, their roles and relationships, which are important); and understanding a language is not the same as understanding the words; it is seeing the deeper meanings created by the words when and where they are used. Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) www.iltlp.unisa.edu.au Module 1

9. Teaching Languages Interculturally An intercultural person is able to see things from more than one perspective. He/she is able to see that his/her own assumptions are not universal and that similar messages or behaviours may mean different things to other people. He/she is able not only to see others from his/her own perspective, but is also able to reflect on his/her own culture from the perspective of others, seeing that the familiar may be strange; and he/she is mindful, in the sense of bearing in mind the influences that come to bear in interaction to communicate and negotiate meanings, and actively brings this awareness into play in dealing with others. Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) www.iltlp.unisa.edu.au Module 1

10. Teaching Languages Interculturally Active construction Teachers do not transmit information about the culture directly, but provide opportunities for students to see the culture through meaningful language in context. Learners construct knowledge for themselves by engaging with language. Teachers support students learning by providing diverse experiences of language and culture and by asking questions that encourage learners to seek their own answers. Learning is personal. Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) www.iltlp.unisa.edu.au Module 2

11. Teaching Languages Interculturally Making connections Learning does not happen in a vacuum. It is important to create links between existing knowledge and new knowledge. There is a role for, and a need to focus on, both the learners’ own culture(s) and the culture(s) being learnt. Learning is not learning about others, but learning about oneself in relation to others. Teachers can support this by providing language experiences with which students can connect and by using questions to encourage learners to create their own connections. Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) www.iltlp.unisa.edu.au Module 2

12. Teaching Languages Interculturally IN PRACTICE

13. VELS Dimension 2: Intercultural Knowledge and Language Awareness Communication skills in a language other than English foster intercultural knowledge and awareness of language as a system. The Intercultural knowledge and language awareness dimension develops students’ knowledge of the connections between language and culture, and how culture is embedded throughout the communication system. Progress through this dimension is demonstrated through performance in the language being studied. The understandings are universal and are gained by comparing languages, including English. http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/lote/index.html

14. VELS Dimension 2: Intercultural Knowledge and Language Awareness Students gain an awareness of the influence of culture in the learner’s own life and first language. Different languages and language communities organise social relations and information in different ways and values differ from one community to another. Through cultural self-awareness, the ability to rationally discuss and compare cultural differences is developed. This dimension involves developing curiosity about and openness to a variety of values and practices, as well as acquiring in-depth knowledge of the diverse cultural traditions of the source societies. http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/lote/index.html

15. Assessing Intercultural Knowledge and Language Awareness Languages Online Domain: LOTEDimension: Intercultural knowledge and language awareness 2 Standards: How does Languages Online help students meet this standard? http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline

16. Intercultural ‘skills’ in the broader educational context Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/melbourne_declaration,25979.html Education for Global and Multicultural Citizenship – A Strategy for Victorian Government Schools 2009-13 This new strategy … affirms the importance of overcoming ignorance and challenging prejudice. It will enable schools to equip all VIC Government school students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to live and work in a culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse society where the local is global and the global, local.

17. Intercultural ‘skills’ in the broader educational context Education for Global and Multicultural Citizenship – A Strategy for Victorian Government Schools 2009-13 Students will: demonstrate the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for active global and multicultural citizenship, including intercultural communication skills, ICT skills, proficiency in English and competency in LOTE; recognise their membership of, and responsibilities within, both a local and a global society and economy;

18. Intercultural ‘skills’ in the broader educational context Education for Global and Multicultural Citizenship – A Strategy for Victorian Government Schools 2009-13 Students will: investigate and explore the social, cultural, religious and linguistic similarities and differences that characterise communities within Australia and around the world; and collaborate, network, negotiate and empathise with people from different cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds, locally and globally. www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/programs/multicultural/about.htm

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