Negotiating cross-cultural difference in electronic discussion

Although a good deal of research exists both on computer-mediated communication(CMC) and on cross-cultural communication, rarely are the two areas brought together. In practice, however, extrapolation from one context to the other is common, with the internet and email being increasingly used to teach cross-cultural communication. What assumptions about the transfer of culture into cyberspace inform these practices? And are these assumptions well-founded? This paper explores practices of discussion on French and British internet media sites to determine the extent to which they reflect communicative practices elsewhere in those cultures. The case studies underline the importance of attending to the interaction between culture and genre, and have pedagogical implications for the use of such sites in the teaching of cross-cultural communication.

English teachers' choice of language for publication: Qualitative insights from Bangladesh

The aim of this small-scale research was to gain some understanding of Bangladeshi English language teachers' language preference for publication purposes & the extent of the use of Bangla (Bengali), the L1, in their professional practice. Qualitative data for the study were gathered by means of a self-produced questionnaire. Results show that about three-quarters of the teachers published or would publish entirely in English because they believed that it was, among other reasons, the usual professional practice. More importantly, a number of teachers stated that they felt more comfortable writing academic essays in English. Regarding the use of L1, all 37 respondents pointed out that they used it sparingly in the classroom, & only a small number considered it a barrier in learning English, the L2. While emphasising the study's limitations, the paper suggests that English teachers' lack of confidence in L1 academic writing may be seen as indicating the potential direction of a slowly emerging individual bilingualism among university teachers of English. However, the paper also argues that the emergence of this potential bilingualism can be seen only at the individual rather than societal level, &, within the academic context, only in the limited domain of academic writing. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document