Building Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom by Moeller & Nuget is an article written on practical implications of developing intercultural competence in the American classrooms where students are taught a foreign language, yet many of the activities cited can be implemented in any language classroom. It claims that in a foreign language classroom the foreign culture too is an indispensable aspect, and must be dealt with, with special care and attention. The part at the very beginning where the writers put forward the idea that learners today do not just need to be proficient in a foreign language, but they should be viewed as people who can stand on their own feet in today’s culturally diverse society, since today science and technology forces the world to interact, and globalization has evolved with a fast speed, which I totally agree with having grown up exposed to some European exchange students and therefore their culture, and having lived in the United States.
The table on page 4 summarizing different researcher’s studies on cultural aspects was extremely helpful. The keywords are representative of indebt theories and analysis. I especially agreed with Bennet’s model in which ethnocentricity is depicted as changing into ethno-relativism. I’m not clear about dealing with anxiety management, yet if there are ways devised to help cultural adaptations or awareness, I would only be more than glad to employ them with my foreign students.
The reference to CEFR on the ideal student who is the target of 21th century, the adjectives learner-centered, engaging, interactive, participatory and cooperative, is promising. Unfortunately, success on standardized tests seemingly determines people’s future decisions, and to be able to succeed in multiple choice exams students become uncritical, test-takers. I hope that with the integration process to EU, the CEFR would at least start a change in the target student even in Turkish classrooms.
Unlocking the gateway to communication flowchart is a cycle, which I found to be realistic, since it must be a never-ending process.
At my department, portfolios were reacted against and the department even had to modify the task designed to be assigned by portfolios to calm down the instructors who took it only as ‘more papers to read’. It was relieving to read about their use in education ‘globally competent’ students.
ICC activities suggested were for a different context from the one I’m currently teaching, yet with little modifications, they can be of great use to my classrooms as well.
Attitude transformation phrase was a very economical way of expressing the process the teacher should help the students go through.
I will particularly use the mute video activity this semester. It is fun and it raises awareness of the contextualized language in certain circumstances.
Padlet is an app I already knew about and the article presented it as one of the helpful programs tech-savvy to teachers. Me being one of them, I made a note of the other apps too suggested in the article.
In general, the article has given me a realistic scope of what actually is doable in the language classroom.
References:
Moelle, J. A. & Nugent, K. Building Intercultural competence in the language Classroom.