Cultural Competences and English for Special Purposes John Corbett (University of Macau)

The aims of this presentation To review the basic principles of teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) To reconsider the nature of professionalism To introduce the concept of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in language education To consider how teaching for ICC complements traditional ESP aims and objectives To give some practical examples of teaching ICC in two ESP contexts: healthcare & tourism 2

The tree of ELT/ESP (Varela Mendez, 2007) 3

Mainstream ESP course design “[…] students’ needs can be understood as the language knowledge that the learner requires for professional development, the language and content knowledge that needs to be added or reincorporated to the learner’s knowledge and the learner’s desires of language or content.” - J.G. Laborda (2011) ‘Revisiting Materials for Teaching Languages for Specific Purposes’ The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies 17:1, p.103 4

Mainstream ESP course materials Study typical situations that learners need to know about (e.g. ‘in the restaurant’; ‘at the clinic’) Identify genres of the discourse community, typical registers and linguistic realisations (e.g. ‘service encounters’) Use needs analysis and genre analysis to devise materials. Teach using an audio-lingual, communicative and/or task-based pedagogical approach. 5

Evolution of Medical ESP

Situational approaches to tourist ESP Professor7

Restaurant dialogue 8

Evolution of Medical ESP

Strengths of ESP materials Evidence-based language descriptions Authenticity of texts and tasks Focus on language skills development

The limitations of ‘skills’ “A higher education designed around skills is no higher education. It is the substitution of skills for insight; of strategic reason for communicative reason; and of behaviour for wisdom.” Ronald Barnett (1998) The Limits of Competence, p

Defining professionalism From Macmillan’s online dictionary…. 13

Professionalism in tourism & hospitality? “There is both a scarcity of knowledge of what professionalism is and a lack of consistency in its use and meaning” J. Hussey, MT Holden & P. Lynch (2010) ‘Defining Professionalism in the Tourism Context’ Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference (THRIC), June 16 th,

Is mainstream ESP enough? Mainstream ESP is… –Situation-oriented (Tourism, Medicine, Law, etc) –Needs-oriented (how can individuals function in these situations?) –Language-oriented (what genres, registers do individuals need to master?) –Skills-oriented (what do individuals need to say, read, write and comprehendsi Professionalism is also… –Values oriented (altruism, ethics) –Reflective (what does the individual need to understand?) 15

Defining professionalism in tourism 16

Understanding professionalism in tourism and hospitality Altruism: putting the customer’s interests before one’s own Code of ethics: The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism sets a frame of reference for the responsible and sustainable development of world tourism. – 17

Global Code of Ethics for Tourism 1.3 The host communities, on the one hand, and local professionals, on the other, should acquaint themselves with and respect the tourists who visit them and find out about their lifestyles, tastes and expectations; the education and training imparted to professionals contribute to a hospitable welcome. 18

Understanding professionalism in tourism and hospitality Body of knowledge: e.g. key concepts and theories, and their application, e.g. knowledge of quality standards Specialist skills and expertise: e.g. interpersonal skills, communication skills, planning and strategic skills, leadership skills, ability to meet quality standards 19

Intercultural communicative competence Attitudes, such as openness to others Knowledge, e.g. of how social interactions occur Skills of interpreting and relating the linguistic products of the other to the self Skills of discovery and interaction – the ability to observe, understand and operationalize cultural knowledge 20

Intercultural communicative competence Critical cultural awareness and critical evaluation of cultural practices Understanding of how linguistic encounters co-construct identity The capacity to draw on the poetics of language and culture to understand and interrogate cultural identities and practices 21

ICC and professionalism in ESP Use the language classroom as a site not only for the development of specialised language, but also for the exploration of attitudes, ethics and values associated with a specialised profession. Expand the focus from instrumental language to include literature, art and the imagination. Develop competent language users and reflective critical intercultural speakers. 22

Medical Humanities

Literature and reflective writing Medical students learn skills of literary interpretation (‘paying attention’) The students then write reflective accounts of their professional practice. In groups, the accounts are analysed using the interpretive skills earlier taught.

A clinical lecture at the Salpetriere, by Andre Brouillet (1887)

Responding to the image… How are the people arranged? Who or what is central to the image? What is the direction of the gaze of the people? What does this tell you about their relationships? Where does this image situate the viewer?

Recreating the image… How would the audience be different today? How would the lecturer be different? How would the patient be different? How would the venue be different? What would be the same?

Beyond the image What roles do doctors and patients habitually adopt? To what extent to patients ‘perform’ their illnesses for the benefit of doctors? How should doctors respond to these ‘performances’? How do doctors ‘perform’ their roles to patients?

From medicine to tourism… Imagine a course on ‘narrative hospitality’ in tourism. – Modelled on narrative medicine –Involves learning ‘literary’ interpretive skills –Involves reflective writing & discussion –Creates an space for the exploration and understanding of experience

‘Tourists’ by Duane Hanson 30

Working with ‘Tourists’ Explore stereotypes Prompt memories Recall episodes from experience Recounting and discussing ‘critical incidents’ Focus on professional responses to critical incidents – how can we be ‘good’ hosts and guests?

The contribution of ICC to ESP a parallel perspective (language and values) a defamiliarisation of the everyday a pool of rich, different, provocative, life- enhancing experiences Development of reflective attitude > insight A more diverse curriculum 32

Intended learning outcomes Using material and insights from the ‘Humanities’ (art, literature, etc) can prompt reflection on professional identities and values. The ESP classroom can be a forum for such reflections in a crowded curriculum. The main ILO is the development of deeper understanding, and the reflective qualities we associate with a good professional.

Research questions Can ICC skills for ESP be taught and assessed? What curricular models work across cultures? What is an ‘intercultural speaker’ in the context of healthcare and hospitality in different geographical and cultural contexts?

Thank You!