Communicative & Intercultural Competence PDF

Communicative Competence & Intercultural Competence Q. What does it mean by communicative competence? Are you communicatively competent? Why/Why not? Communicative competence aspect of competence that enables us to convey and interpret messages and negotiate meanings interpersonally wi...

Communicative Competence & Intercultural Competence Q. What does it mean by communicative competence? Are you communicatively competent? Why/Why not? Communicative competence aspect of competence that enables us to convey and interpret messages and negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts (Hymes ,1967) 3 Linguistic competence Aspect of communicative competence that encompasses “knowledge of lexical items and of rules of morphology, syntax, sentence grammar semantics, and phonology” (Canale & Swain, 1980, p. 29) 5 Discourse competence is the ability to connect sentences in stretches of discourse and to form meaningful whole out of a series of utterances. Discourse means everything from simple conversation to lengthy written texts. 6 Sociolinguistic competence knowledge of the socio-cultural rules of language and discourse. “require an understanding of the context in which language is used, the roles of participants, the information they share, and the function of the interaction.” (Savignon, 1983, p.37) ability to recognise and use appropriate language functions to carry out the communicative intentions  Sociolinguistic competence can be broken down into functional aspects: illocutionary competence or pertaining to sending and receiving intended meanings, and sociolinguistic aspects (which deal with such considerations as politeness, formality, metaphor, register, and culturally related aspects of language  Strategic competence Involves the use of strategies to compensate for communication breakdowns or inadequacies in communication such as “imperfect knowledge of rules-or limiting factors in their application such as fatigue, distarction, and inattention.” (Savignon, 1983, p. 40). Competence underlying our ability to make repairs, to cope with imperfect knowledge, and sustain communication through “paraphrase, circumlocution, repetition, hesitation, avoidance, and guessing, as well as shifts in register and style. ”(Savignon, 1983, pp. 40-41) Quick test (Handout) Answer the following questions. 1. Which competence refers to the ability to use language appropriately in different social contexts? 2. Which competence refers to the ability to use non-verbal resources effectively to express his ideas even though he does not know many words? 3. Discourse competence refers to … 4. What does linguistic competence mean? Provide examples. Q. Do you think the ability to communicate effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds is also very important? Why? INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE (ICC) What is ICC? ICC “refers to a person’s ability to function in a cultural context that is not his or her own, to be aware of and respect the cultures of other people, and to behave in a way that will be acceptable to them.” (Ur, 2012, p. 219) Why culture and intercultural competence? Watch the video and answer the question. Q1. Why is culture a fifth skill, according to the professor in the video? Q2. Why did misunderstanding occur in the video? (Source: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/culture-fifth-language-skill) Why intercultural competence? -The fifth language skill. -globalisation -the role of English as a ‘life skill’ (Source: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/culture-fifth-language-skill) How to develop ICC? Q. What is culture? CULTURE 19 PERSPECTIVES of the culture are the traditional ideas, attitudes, meanings, and values of members of that society. 20 PRACTICES: the patterns of behavior accepted by a society; they represent knowledge of “what to do when and where.”, e.g., how individuals address one another, the social strata, the use of space, gestures, mealtime etiquette. PRODUCTS: things created by members of the culture, both tangible and intangible, e.g., a house, an eating utensil, a painting, a piece of literature as well as a system of education, a ritual, an oral tale, a dance. 21 Practices and products are derived from the perspectives of the culture, that is, traditional ideas, attitudes, meanings, and values. 22 A cultural iceberg Edward T. Hall’s (1976) 23 Groupwork. Examine one Tieng Anh book (10, 11, 12) and find examples of different elements of culture (behaviours/ practices, products, and ideas/ perspectives) in the book. Q. Which element (s) of culture should be taught in order to promote ICC? Why? What causes misunderstanding in intercultural communication? What culture(s) to teach? -Learners’ own culture? -Culture of the target language? -Other cultures? Four main sources of cultural content. 1. The home culture of the students 2. The culture of the English-speaking peoples 3. The culture of other communities in the world 4. Global/international culture (Ur, 2012) 27 3 levels of ICC (Martin, 1994; Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, 2008) Level 1: COGNITION Level 2: AFFECT Level 3: BEHAVIOUR (Coursebook, pp. 189-191)  Level 1. COGNITION =cognitive training -Raise students’ awareness of how culture influences communication in intercultural contexts through problem-solving activities, and critical incidents. Level 2. AFFECT -To enable SS to effectively manage their emotional reactions, to reduce stress, adjustment, anxiety, confusion, anger might occur in intercultural communication. -Develop “readiness to accommodate intercultural challenges.” (Kim, 1991, p. 269) -Help SS embrace cultural differences -Develop cultural empathy and sensitivity  Some activities at the affective level. -Use of critical incidents to prompt discussion concerning participants’ emotional reactions and help SS identify culturally appropriate behaviours -Use of role plays/simulations to help participants become aware of emotional reactions that might arise in cross-culture situations. Level 3. BEHAVIOUR Why the behavioural level? -Awareness and knowledge to face emotional challenges are not sufficient for success in intercultural communication. -To develop ICC, SS need to ‘practice engaging in behavior’ Teachers need to help SS recognize changes in behaviours. SS needs to “develop their ability to be flexible and resourceful in actually carrying out what he or she is capable of in the cognitive and affective dimensions.” (Kim, 1991, p. 269) Watch the video and answer the following question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJqBhLgSNQY Q. What are the three dimensions of ICC presented in the video that correspond to the three levels of cognition, affect and behavior? The mind set The heart set The skill set Intercultual Approach Chlopez (2008) Stage 1. One’s own culture Stage 2. The target culture Stage 3. Intercultural stage Intercultural activities Stage 1. One’s own culture Act. 1. Research some cultural manifestations of city/hometown/village/country -Share with the whole class. Act. 2: “Which aspects of my own culture may seem weird to a foreigner?” - Search stories from Internet/News/etc. -inform people of table manners, for example -inform them of possible misunderstanding -Design a webpage for foreign tourists who come to your country. -Each group’webpage will be placed on School’s website. -Alternatively design webpages on paper poster. Act. 5: Invite foreigners who have lived in your country for some time to talk about their experience of cultural misinterpretation. -After that students write a report/story  Stage 2. The target culture Act. 1: Copies of literature works/stories -movies -roleplay Dramas www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjfmOAQHzSQ The Snow Girl Act. 2: Facial expressions and body language Quiz: +Pictures -Drawing/Miming -Each group prepares a sketch of pictures/guestures/body language and present to the class. Act. 5: Organise a British Chirstmas party -Dressing up -Ornaments -How the party begins -People unwrap their presents -sing carols -listen to the Queen -Finally students play related guessing games, board games, and memory games Stage 3. Intercultual stage Act.1 Jigsaw reading -T prints out several pieces of information about one culture -Ss brainstorm what they know about the given culture -SS read their texts -SS come together and find ‘what’s new to them’ Act 2. Movie (clips of conflicts/miscommunication) Mini-plays(solutions) Act. 3. Analysing texts/conversations Act. 4. Real life objects (food, clothes, cuisine, CDs, music/musical instruments, jewelry, etc...) Images: http://flickriver.com/search/culture/. Act.5. Project work information about a given culture IMPLEMENTATION Motivate students Encourage appropriate attitude Consider student age PRACTICE Work in groups. Choose one unit from one Tieng Anh book (10, 11, 12), and design one activity to promote ICC. Discussion: Q1. Do you think it is challenging to develop students’ ICC in EFL lessons? Why/Why not? Q2. Do you think ICC should be one component of CC? Why/Why not? Video to watch at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1pSouFwNhM References Chlopez, Z. (2008). The intercultural approach to EFL teaching and learning. English Teaching Forum, 4, 10-27. Ur, P., (2012). A course in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.