L. Activity 3.5. Intercultural Competence (how to implement it in class)

1- Describe an example of exercise, or unit, from a book, dealing with intercultural competence.

    Looking for information about how intercultural competence is actually included in the textbooks, we've found a very interesting unit to analyze. The unit is called "Culture Vulture", a direct allusion to the topic it covers, as well as to the feeling it aims to arise in the students: curiosity towards other cultures, together with the realization of the enriching value of diversity.

            Indeed, what has caught our attention is the warm-up, a speaking activity in pairs entitled: Test your culture knowledge with this culture vulture quiz!  The activity includes images and short clues about cultural icons related to different arts (such as Kylie Minogue, the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare or the painter Salvador Dalí) and students must guess the name and the country of origin of each one. Then, they share their answers with the whole class, and anyone who may know any further details about one of the given topics will be welcomed to share the information with the rest of the group.    

               OpenMind2. Level A2. London: MacMillan (2014).   

2- In your opinion, has the subject been dealt with appropriately? Explain why it has or why it has not.

           From a general perspective, the activity is positive since it covers cultural aspects from different regions and different areas (i.e. England, Spain, Italy...). At the same time, it directly appeals to the background knowledge of the learners on this topic, so the activity may arise their curiosity.

       However, we think that it will be more appropriate (and more enriching for the students) if the authors of the book had included some cultural notions belonging to less known countries. For instance, being a book to work on the English language, it could include images and clues about cultural icons from the different English speaking countries (such as India, New Zealand or Ireland), broadening thus the students perspective while dismantlement the myth that the English world only consists of the UK and north America. After all, we believe that the more and most varied information we give to our students, the better for them to mature as responsible citizens of our current, globalized world.    

3- How would you present/include it in your teaching?

         We'll include this activity while studying the names of countries and nationalities, so by doing the quiz students can put into practice the lexical items they have just learnt. Even though it is aimed at a A2 level, it can also be useful for practicing the grammatical point of comparative and superlative adjectives, encouraging students to make comparisons between the pictures and their own reality.  

          On the other hand, as it is a team-work, interactive sort of task, we will use it at the end of the lesson, when students are more tired and need an incentive to pay attention to the explanation. Thus, we believe that the competition factor will assure the active participation of the whole group.

          We can also take the activity a step further by asking the students to research at home the characters or countries they liked the most from the activity, and then prepare their own quiz to be answered by their partners in the following session. 

L. Activity EGL 1-5. I.C. - Group Discussion

                                                 Intercultural Competence 

1-What is “Intercultural Competence” (I.C.)?

 According to Deardoff, it could be understood as the capacity to communicate (both to utter and to understand) and to adapt oneself to an intercultural context. Moreover, this should be done in a way in which not only is it possible to get one’s point across, but also to do so in the most adequate fashion. This idea could be summed up by the English idiom “When in Rome, do as the Romans”.

2- Is I.C. important for communication?

Yes, it is. On the one hand, it is important in a very practical way. In our experiences as EFL speakers, there will be and have been many instances in which we have had to speak with people coming from different cultures. Therefore, we have had to adapt the way in which we communicate. Not only regarding actual utterances which need to be adapted as well, but also regarding body languages and ways of expression which are much more linked to culture. On the other hand, we also spoke about how interesting this intercultural competence was and what its study could offer concerning the linguistics and the degree to which culture affects language.

3-  How  does  I.C. relate to identity?

It goes without saying that one’s original culture shapes his or her personality. Hence, we have thought that I.C. and the opportunity to interact with other cultures allows people to negotiate and question the roles that might have been assumed.

4-How  does  I.C.  relate to the use of a language as a lingua franca? 

Firstly, we considered that I.C. was of the uttermost importance in the EFL classroom, for English is the likeliest language to be used in an intercultural context. Therefore, this competence has to be fostered and encouraged so that students can thrive in these situations.

5-How would you include  I.C.  in your teaching of  English as a global language?

Discussing this topic, we came to the conclusion that it would be important for students to understand and gain insight into other cultures, while at the same time reaffirming themselves as product of their own. Thus, we though it would be interesting to study different cultures and establish links with the one they belong to, and to study similarities and differences and try to account for them. Nonetheless, we also talked about how the best way to improve this competence would be, of course, to travel. This not being affordable for everyone, other options such as telecollaboration where mentioned.

On bilingualism, global language and mixed identities (9/12/16)

What do we understand by being bilingual? Is it an advantage or a disadvantage? This was the topic of today's class, in which we all have shared our personal vision about the notion of bilingualism. The discussion started after watching a very short and fun clip called "The importance of being bilingual", which tells the story of a golden fish who escapes from being devoured by a cat because he is able to speak 'dog'. Silly as it may seem, most of us have felt identified with the anecdote, as long as the fact of mastering a second language has saved our lives in more than one occasion -not literally, of course! Indeed, this topic is part of our nature, since the vast majority of the class are innate bilinguals able to switch from Catalan to Spanish without hesitation.

After this group discussion, we've moved to a quiz about English varieties in which the teacher has checked our knowledge of the different Englishes spoken around the world. Quite an amusing exercise, though, since it has served to dismantle many stereotypes - as the idea of the English as a 'fixed' language only spoken in the global powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom. The quiz provided information about the different English varieties and particularities of each region, as well as the number of speakers. 

Finally, we've watched a video in which David Crystal argued about the importance of teaching English as a global language.. In fact, we agree with him that there is a real need to expose learners to as many different pronunciations as possible, so they can be able to understand a message and interact with natives of the most varied origins. Even though course books are usually based on RP or American accent, it is our duty as teachers to create a huge variety of activities in which students can get in touch with a wider perspective of the English world, in terms of spelling, content and culture. As always, the more the merrier! 

P.S. If you are interested in the topic, here are some extra links! 

Why bilinguals are smarter

Learn British accanets and dialects

Discover the History of English

English as a global language

Food for thought! 

Talking about bilingualism, we reflected upon the fact that speaking a language meant having a given identity, and thus speaking more than one languages involved having many identities, and being more likely to empathise and understand people with different backgrounds. We were talking about this when the class finished and we remembered a teacher at University telling us about The Quijote being written in Spanglish, and we decided to do some research. 

Ian Stavans, who adapted El Quijote to Spanglish, is considered to be the father of Spanglish himself. This synthesis of Latin-American Spanish and English is wildely spoken in the US, and it is vindicated by many as “the language of the future”. By adapting El Quijote to Spanglish, Stavans brought the Spanish language and culture closer to their own. He wrote the Chicano culture into being through this new approach to the most famous Spanish Novel. He managed to assert the Chicano Identity through this linguistic hybridisation. Isn’t it amazing what we can create through language? 

Here is the beginning of Stavans translation, hope you enjoy it! 

“In un placete de La Mancha of which nombre no quiero remembrearme, vivía, not so long ago, uno de esos gentlemen who always tienen una lanza in the rack, una buckler antigua, a skinny caballo y un grayhound para el chase. A cazuela with más beef than mutón, carne choppeada para la dinner, un omelet pa’ los Sábados, lentil pa’ los Viernes, y algún pigeon como delicacy especial pa’ los Domingos, consumían tres cuarers de su income. El resto lo employaba en una coat de broadcloth y en soketes de velvetín pa’ los holidays, with sus slippers pa’ combinar, while los otros días de la semana él cut a figura de los más finos cloths. Livin with él eran una housekeeper en sus forties, una sobrina not yet twenty y un ladino del field y la marketa que le saddleaba el caballo al gentleman y wieldeaba un hookete pa’ podear. El gentleman andaba por allí por los fifty. Era de complexión robusta pero un poco fresco en los bones y una cara leaneada y gaunteada. La gente sabía that él era un early riser y que gustaba mucho huntear. La gente say que su apellido was Quijada or Quesada –hay diferencia de opinión entre aquellos que han escrito sobre el sujeto– but acordando with las muchas conjecturas se entiende que era really Quejada. But all this no tiene mucha importancia pa’ nuestro cuento, providiendo que al cuentarlo no nos separemos pa’ nada de las verdá.”