EIL and intercultural competence in ESP contexts Meei-Ling Liaw National Taichung University of Education

Presentation Outline  Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts  Pedagogical considerations for integrating intercultural competence in ESP education  Integrating Intercultural Competence into ESP teaching and learning: An Example  Conclusions  Questions and Answers

Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts EIL ELF (English as a lingua franca) English as a global language English as a world language English as a medium of intercultural communication EIL varieties Kachru’s (1985) division into inner, outer, and expanding circles Respect for the different varieties of English

Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts  Intercultural competence in professional contexts  Awareness of how different cultural beliefs influence linguistic choices  Intercultural competence includes knowledge, sensitivity, attitude, interpretation skills, discovery and interaction skills, critical awareness of culture and political issues (Byram, 2000)  Teaching intercultural competence in ESP settings  ESP competence can be cultivated by a combination of gained experience as well as attitudes and abilities developed through learning (Byram, 2000)  An effective ESP teacher is not solely a subject matter or an English language expert, but must also be somebody who can help learners become intercultural speakers

Pedagogical considerations  EIL varieties in the ESP classroom  exposures to different forms and functions of English  opportunities to interact with EIL users  collaborate with other teachers in all three circles of world Englishes  Considerations of ESP learners’ intercultural encounter needs  authenticity  task-based activities for meaningfulness  collaborative tasks designed according to students’ professional communication needs

Pedagogical considerations  Taking advantage of information technologies  Provide authentic, up-to-date information that reflects the current global context  cultural immersion  ability to discern, identify, explain culturally appropriate patterns of Internet-mediated interaction  Intercultural competence of ESP teachers  “an agent for social cohesion”  partners with students

Example - Telecollaborative project  The students work in group to build something (a prototype) to be used in a kitchen and then present the object to the class using a PPT presentation.  The presentation should include a) a marketing plan, b) a construction plan, and c) a User's Manual.  After the in-class PPT presentation, then the students present their creation to their international partners via Videoconference. The students comment and ask questions about others’ creations during videoconference presentations

Example - Telecollaborative project

 Infinity  Video Video  PPT PPT  Reizouko  Video Video  PPT PPT  Text Text

An example

Conclusions  Positive research findings of task-based computer-mediated communication  Appel & Gilabert Guerrero, 2006  Deutschmann & Panichi, 2009  Healey (2006)  If culture is treated experientially, it can have a powerful motivating effect  ESP teachers should not be the sole cultural mediator  Learners can be cultural informants  help students become autonomous learners

Thank you! Questions?