“Aha moments”: Analysing development of critical cultural awareness

1. DRAL 2/ILA Conference 2014, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand, June 11-12 “Aha moments”: Analysing development of critical cultural awareness Alison Stewart Gakushuin University, Tokyo Brenda Wright University of Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu

2. Outline • What do we mean by intercultural learning? • How do people talk about their own culture? • The Gakushuin-UMS Facebook Intercultural Exchange Project • Analysing identity in Facebook exchanges • Quantitative overview • Qualitative study of identity negotiation in two extracts

3. Introduction • The widespread use of 2.0 web technologies provides opportunities for intercultural exchanges between students in different countries. • However, such exchanges do not by themselves necessarily lead to cultural learning or critical awareness (Kern, 2000; Kinginger, Gourves-Hayward, & Simpson, 1999). • Why doesn’t simply talking about culture lead to understanding and awareness?

4. Defining Critical Cultural Awareness • Knowledge of self; skills to interpret, relate and interact; valuing others’ values, beliefs and behaviours and relativising oneself (Byram 1997) • “Third culture” or “third space”: a critical perspective of one’s own and another’s culture (Kramsch, 1993) • Attitudes towards stereotypes measure cultural learning (Ting-Toomey,1988) • Mindfulness: realising other points of view exist (Ting-Toomey,1988 ) basis for intercultural competence • An ability to “manage” stereotypes (Lebedko, 2013)

5. Identity Management • Identity Management Theory (IMT) (Cupach & Imahori, 1993) • Communicative competence requires individuals to “successfully negotiate mutually acceptable identities in interaction” -cultural identity -relational identity • Identity categories: -Individual Identity (I) -Cultural/Relational identity (we) -Objectivised Identity (they)

6. Research aims • How are pronouns used to signal cultural identity? How do learners shift between social group (they/we) and (I) personal identificationand what are the implications of these shifts? • What evidence is there of the development of critical cultural awareness in their interlocutors?

7. Intercultural Facebook Exchange between Malaysian and Japanese Students • October, 2013 3-week Malaysian-Japanese exchange collaboration trial project to enhance CCA • Students 2nd year: 13 Malaysian, 20 Japanese, • Culture defined: “social culture” (Williams, 1961) “a description of a particular way of life”. • Themes: University Life; University System; Education; High School Life; Food; Children; Student Lifestyle; Holidays; Job Hunting and Marriage Customs. • Facebook exchanges coded for identity categories

8. Analysing Identity Categories • Analysis Overview: Signaling identity in relation to own culture

9. Qualitative analysis: analysing self-identity in FB transcripts • Extract 1. Missed Opportunity J3A: Wiki said that Malaysia’s culinary style has diversity. Malay food, Javanese-influenced cuisine, Malaysian Indian food, Malaysian Chinese food, Nyonya food, Sarawak Indigenous Cuisine. Which kind of food is eaten the most out of these in Sabah? M3: in sabah, most often i ate malay food n indian food J3B: According to website, in Malaysia, Malaysian people often eat beef, food that seasoned coconut milk and garlic and noodle. I feel there are many traditional food in Malaysia. M3: Yes, you are right... To name a few is for example like rendang, nasilemak, kuey tiaow noodles, nasi lemak, thosai, idli, chapatti...1 important note is that beef is only consumed by Malays and Chinese but not the Indians, as cows are considered to be a holy symbol for them… J3B: […] Also, I know there are restaurants serving foreign and fast-food restaurant like McDonald’s in Sabah.

10. Extract 2. Breaking Through to New Awareness. J6:Nice to meet you! I'm J…. I'm a university student studying linguistics and English education. I like to learn many languages and have a little basic knowledge on Indonesian. (I believe that Indonesian language has its origin in Malay.) I'd like to know many things about Malaysia!! M6: Hi! Nice to meet you too. I'm S…. […] I'm usually talk in Cantonese and Mandarin. However, I'm study Malay and English since I was small.Malay may have some vocabulary is origin from Indonesian language. But, it got a lot of difference. J6:How often English is used/spoken in Malaysia? […] M6: I'm not usually speak in English but I prefer it during typing a message and doing my homework such as assignment and report. J6: […] Typing a message means that you are communicating with others in English? Sorry for many questions! M6: YupXD However, most of the time I prefer to mandarin or Cantonese=DIt's fine. You can ask more from me. I will try to answer you^^ J6: You prefer to use Chinese to Malay language? So you can speak Malay and Manadarin or Cantonese?? M6: Yup^^ Malay, Mandarin and Cantonese. Because I'm a chinese Malaysian not a Malay MalaysianXD. In Malaysia, We have Malay, Chinese, Indian which are the 3 main races.

11. J6: Thank you for your answers…I have another questions! […] 2. You said that you are communicating with others on facebook. Are you communicating with others in English? 3. You also said that you use computer to do your assignment, is that the assignment of English class?? How do you learn English in Malaysia? M6: 2. Sometimes. If I feel english is hard for me to explain something, then I will using Mandarin to communicate with others ><We have a lot of report to write, and we can write either Malay or English. And I more prefer to write in englishXD […] In uni, my lecture can either talk Malay or English. Then, the notes are always some in Malay and some in English. During our exam, it will have a bi language test paper. This is for us to choose either we more prefer to Malay or English. And we can answer it either Malay or EnglishXD J6: thank you for answer. To sum up, Chinese Malaysian students usually can speak Malay, English, Contonese or Mandarin, and Malay Malaysian can speak Malay and English.(or Malay Malaysian also can speak Chinese?)You can write your homework either in English and Malay? Wow, that's cool..! I bet you do not major in English, don't you? In Japan, it is generally only English major who can do assignment in English.There are three races in Malaysia, Malay Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian and Indo Malaysian. They communicate with each other in Malay or English?? Every races can speak Malay language?? M6: Ya, every races can speak in Malay. When we try to communicate with others, just depends on yourself either you want to talk in Malay or in English. This is because we can understand bothXD.It's not many for me. Just ask any question that you want to know. Ok?! ^^ I feel really nice when sharing all this to you~

12. Conclusions • People shift their relational identity all the time in intercultural dialogue. • Failure to notice shifts in self-identity can result in miscommunication/breakdown in communication. • Attention to these shifts can lead to learning and critical cultural awareness. • In this study, CCA emerges asability to notice interlocutor’s identity shifts and to understand the implications of those shifts, in other words “aha moments”. • They become able to recontextualisetop-down or stereotyped views of culture in the light of bottom-up perspectives, and to use emerging understanding to develop new questions.

13. References Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Cupach, W.R., & Imahori, T.T. (1993). Identity management theory: Communication competence in intercultural episodes and relationships. In R. L. Wiseman & J. Koester (Eds.), Intercultural communication competence (pp. 112-131). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Kern, R. (2000). Literacy and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press Kinginger, C., Gourves-Hayward, A., & Simpson, V. (1999). A tele-collaborative course on French-American intercultural communication. The French Review, 72, 853-866. Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kramsch, C. (2009). Third culture and language education. In C. Vivian & W. Li (Eds), Contemporary Applied Linguistics (Vol. 1, pp. 233–254). London: Continuum. Lebedko, M. (2013). Stereotype management in intercultural education through analysis of critical incidents. In Houghton, S., Fumimura, Y., Lebedko, M., & Li, S. (Eds.) Critical cultural awareness: Managing stereotypes through intercultural (language) education.Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). The matrix of face: An updated face-negotiation theory. In W.B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 71–92). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

14. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING OUR PRESENTATIONPlease feel free to email us with further comments and questions: alison.stewart@gakushuin.ac.jpbmwrightjapan@yahoo.co.nz