1. Navigating the Intercultural Classroom
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Navigating the Intercultural Classroom
TESOL Press, 2018 –please see next slide for a promotion
Authors: Tuula Lindholm & Johanne Mednick Myles
TESL Ontario Conference Presentation – Thursday, Nov 1, 2018
Photos ©Tuula Lindholm

2. Integrate Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom
Navigating the Intercultural Classroom
Tuula Lindholm and Johanne Mednick Myles
Understand the symbiotic relationship between language and intercultural competence and learn ways in which intercultural competence can be developed. This book provides concrete methods for integrating intercultural communicative competence into the language classroom through its inclusion of practical examples, engaging activities, and real-life case studies.
Use promo code NAVIGATING15 for 15% OFF at
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3. Our agenda What is ICC? Why implement it in language teaching?
Deardorff’s pyramid model – cultural adaptation
Cultural values – examples
ICC – Pragmatics
Activity: DAE strategy
Teachers as cultural informants/advisers –reflections
Q/A Discussion

4. Language & culture What is culture?
Culture is viewed as a dynamic, elastic concept that is changing and subject to multiple interpretations by various sociocultural groups.
Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012
Language is the conveyor of culture
Language is infused with culture because language conveys meanings that are inseparable from the cultural context in which it is used.
Culture is often associated with race and ethnicity. However, culture is also understood as a framework of values, attitudes, traditions, beliefs and standards of behaviour that regulate social groups in terms of individual and group behaviour.
360° View of Culture & Communication at Work

5. Intercultural Competence (IC)
“the appropriate and effective management of interaction between people who, to some degree or another, represent different or divergent affective, cognitive, and behavioral orientations to the world”.
Spitzberg, B. H., & Chagnon, G. (2009) Conceptualizing intercultural competence

6. Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC)
Michael Byram claims that ICC more effectively recognizes the importance of language and culture in second and foreign language acquisition. He argues that given the rise of globalization, new technologies, and large-scale immigration, both teachers and learners now need to be acutely aware of other people’s cultures as well as their own (Byram, 2013).
Byram, M. (2013). Intercultural communicative competence in foreign language education: Questions of theory, practice and research. The Language Learning Journal, 41(3), 251–253.

7. Knowledge & Comprehension
Cultural adaptation
Deardorff’s Pyramid Model of Acculturation
Awareness & Attitudes Self-awareness Awareness of the influence of own and other cultures
Knowledge & Comprehension
Skills
Internal > External Outcomes Shifts in internal cultural awareness and knowledge lead to achieving desired internal and external outcomes

9. Examples of cultural values
Time
Fixed – “time is money” –prefer punctuality – respect for own and others’ time – Fluid – social time with others preferred
Space
Private – preference for clearly marked boundaries; “closed door” attitude
Public – more permeable boundaries; “open door” approach
Expressed often as preferences of approach or behaviour
subject to change in our lifetime
Communication
High context – implicit, tacit, indirect approach Low context – direct, explicit, a precise way to speak and write

10. Cultural Preferences example
Low context:
Showing preference for using explicit, direct language in communication and interactions with others and getting to the point quickly, e.g., business talk/
Communication
Ways of expressing needs, ideas, and opinions to others; handling conflicts
High context:
Showing preference for indirect forms of communication; focusing on protective and face-saving ways of communicating to avoid confrontation, e.g., social work, counseling, and therapy
Directness: implies straightforward handling of conflicts
Indirectness: implies implicit and mediated handling of conflicts, “saving face”

11. Work Written rules Unwritten rules
Workplaces have their own “cultures” with distinct features which may or may not be familiar to students - important cultural knowledge
“The way things are done around here”
“Pecking order” – a hierarchy that shows reporting relationships
Interactions with customers, superiors, and executives
Written rules
Performance reviews
Dress code
Calls, , meetings
Unwritten rules
Informal casualness: dropping last names and titles
Written communication is more formal for good reasons

12. Pragmatics
Teaching/learning language in sociocultural contexts: constructive criticism- is it just about language?
Research suggests that ESOL learners may provide constructive criticism differently than native English speakers, mostly by using less softening and more direct language. As a result, they often run the risk of coming across as rude or aggressive to the person receiving the feedback.
ESOL speakers also tend to use more intensifiers, such as too and very, and modals, such as must and should, more frequently when they give advice to others.
Nguyen, T.T., Basturkmen, H. (2010). Teaching constructive critical feedback. 

13. Cultural aspects of feedback
Involve more than language
Receiving/ Responding to feedback Too direct feedback is likely to be received as only negative criticism; having cultural knowledge is a must The “art of sandwiching” criticism with praise is both a strategy and a use of appropriate language
Constructive Criticism
What is intercultural about constructive feedback?
We often assume that everyone knows and shares the same understanding
Giving feedback Finding both the right strategy and language that convey both praise and criticism- involves knowledge of relevant cultural values and customs

14. Let’s take a closer look at cultural values in an activity Feel free to do it with the person next to you

15. What is going on here?
What do you see?
Describe only

16. What do you think about what you see?
What is going on here?
What do you think about what you see?

17. How do you feel about what you see? Positive, negative, neutral?
What is going on here?
How do you feel about what you see?
Positive, negative, neutral?

18. Describe – Analyze – Evaluate/Interpret (DAE/I) activity
How might your personal or cultural values influence the analysis or evaluation?

19. Bringing together research and practices of two distinct fields
Intercultural communicative competency (ICC) – a separate robust domain of research and practice globally
Culture as we understand it is expressed through language and in communication
ESOL teaching, curriculum design, and pedagogy – another field of study & practice
How to address “the elephant” in the ESOL classroom? Cultural and intercultural challenges in learning and teaching

20. Defining teacher roles…
Cultural informant
Comes from anthropology – a person who has awareness and the knowledge of how cultures work and affect and influence people and behaviour
Cultural adviser
For example, a teacher who understands the cultural transitioning students are experiencing as they learn a new language and are integrated in a new culture and in the community.

21. Teachers as cultural informants and advisers
We also teach sociocultural use of language – the right thing to say at the right time and in the right place
Have you developed awareness of your own culture and the values you grew up with?
Reflected on how your cultural make-up informs your own teaching?
What story do you tell?
What stories do your students tell?
Storytelling is a tool to use to learn what students need to know and find out how they are coping as they straddle two or more cultures

22. Questions to ask in teaching
Attitudes
Do I pre-judge my students? Am I eager to learn from them? How do I react when I don’t understand something my students are doing or saying?
Darla Deardorff (2006) Model of Intercultural Competence
Knowledge
Am I aware of my own and my students’ cultural behaviours and why we think and act the way we do?
Skills
How much do I really listen to my students? Do I evaluate first before understanding their behaviours?

23. Internal Outcome. Am I aware of how my students wish to be treated
Internal Outcome Am I aware of how my students wish to be treated? Do I meet students where they are at or do I have other expectations of their behaviour based on feelings I have about my own culture? How adaptable am I? How flexible? External Outcome How culturally appropriate have I been with my students when I interact with them? What can I do differently in the future?

24. Language practice is traditionally conceptualized in terms of concrete knowledge and skills, such as grammar structures, speech acts, and vocabulary development, while intercultural goals are conceptualized in abstract terms, such as intercultural awareness, attitudes, and sensitivity. Our aim in the book is to bring the two together.

25. Six chapters of Navigating Intercultural Classroom –
Intercultural communication and teaching culturally diverse learners
Role of (ICC) in language teaching and learning
Teachers as cultural informants & classroom strategists
EAP programs and cultural expectations
Employment preparation programs & cultural integration
Technology and Computer-Mediated IC
Appendices, Classroom activities + interactive Companion website

26. Thank you!
Combine an image and multiple key statements with a strong grid.

27. References
Byram, M. (2013). Intercultural communicative competence in foreign language education: Questions of theory, practice and research. The Language Learning Journal, 41(3), 251–253
Deardorff, D (2006) Model of Intercultural Competence: A definition, model and implications for education abroad. In V. Savicki (Ed.), Developing intercultural competence and transformation (pp ). Sterling, Virginia: Stylus.
Nguyen, T.T., Basturkmen, H. (2010  ). Teaching constructive critical feedback. In D.H. Tatsuki & N.R. Houck (Eds.) Pragmatics: teaching speech acts. TESOL Classroom Practice Series. TESOL Inc.
Spitzberg, B. H., & Chagnon, G. (2009). Conceptualizing intercultural competence. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 2–52). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ting-Toomey, S., & Chung, L. C. (2012) Understanding intercultural communication. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Touchstone Institute. (2018). Communicative competence at work: A framework for intercultural communication in the workplace. Retrieved from