Resources for teaching intercultural relations.

Mode of access: Internet.

Teachers’ perception of the concept of intercultural competence in teaching English

Intercultural competence (IC) as an essential part of conceptualization of the cultural dimension in FLT has been promoted by educationalists as the most preferred type of competence. One of the challenges of incorporating IC into FLT is to move from the recognition of IC as a model of teaching (Byram, Nichols and Stevens, 2001) to the development of practical applications. This can be due to the fact that teachers do not have sufficient knowledge of the theory behind the concept and consequently, have difficulties to implement the curriculum requirements with regards to IC into their teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers of English in upper secondary schools in Sweden interpret the concept of IC and, accordingly, what is their view of culture in English language teaching. In order to answer the research question, I used an exploratory investigation by adopting a qualitative research method in form of semi-structured interviews. The results are similar to the previous studies (Lundgren, 2002; Larzén, 2005) and suggest that teachers lack theoretical background and central guidance with regards to IC and do not always integrate language and culture into an intercultural model of the English language pedagogy.

Memoria e identidad cultural : Expresión y construcción de la ciudadanía intercultural en los pueblos Misak, Nasa e Inga

El proceso de reconstruir la identidad cultural, parte de evidenciar la memoria como el elemento dinamizador del reconocimiento personal, colectivo y cultural. En este sentido, el documento se basa en el reconocimiento cultural de los pueblos indígenas Misak, Nasa e Inga, a partir del análisis y reflexión de sus prácticas culturales fundamentadas en la memoria colectiva, pretendiendo evidenciar ésta como mecanismo de preservación dentro y fuera de los territorios ancestrales a los que pertenecen. Es así, como la identidad cultural sustentada en la memoria colectiva se constituye como referente político de las comunidades, es decir, los indígenas politizan la identidad cultural con la finalidad de preservar, mantener y ubicar su cultura en una sociedad mayoritaria y homogénea, lo que se denominaría "ciudadanía intercultural". La ponencia busca analizar los anteriores elementos, y a su vez, establecer como históricamente las políticas públicas emanadas por el gobierno han asumido al indígena en Colombia, a partir de las distintas posiciones de lamemoria colectiva, de la identidad cultural y de la ciudadanía nacional por medio de la narración de tres líderes indígenas para así, depositar en las dinámicas sociales colombianas una herramienta en la vindicación de los pueblos indígenas colombianos

Telenovelas coreanas en América Latina : ¿una nueva forma decomunicación intercultural?

La distribución de telenovelas coreanas en distintos países latinoamericanos es un fenómeno relativamente nuevo que, a diferencia de otros vinculados al audiovisual, no ha sido demasiado investigado desde la academia. Sonata de Invierno, Otoño en mi corazón y Escalera al cielo, entre otras, son las telenovelas que posibilitaron el acercamiento de audiencias tales como la mexicana, la peruana, la paraguaya, etc. a la cultura coreana, distante y disímil. Cautivaron a la audiencia en su diversidad al punto de fomentar, en ciertos casos, la conformación de comunidades de fanáticos. Este trabajo se plantea como una primera aproximación al tema postulando que las telenovelas constituyen una forma apropiada de comunicación entre culturas. El abordaje se basa en el tratamiento de los siguientes ejes: a) las telenovelas como industria cultural y género seriado de ficción; b) descripción del fenómeno del Hallyu como contexto general de surgimiento y propagación de las telenovelas coreanas; c) la presencia de las telenovelas coreanas en América Latina, y d) la ficción popular como forma de comunicación intercultural en la era global. El análisis permite concluir con una valoración del aporte al entendimiento intercultural que propaga la participación de las telenovelas coreanas en América Latina, y esboza algunas propuestas que favorezcan el intercambio entre culturas desde enunciados democráticos y plurales

La educación de jóvenes en perspectiva intercultural : Sexualidades y discapacidad

Fil: Barletta, César M.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Reconciliation through communication in intercultural encounters: potential or peril?

As we reflect on the events of September 11th and their aftermath, there is strong motivation in many places to improve intercultural and international relations through communication. This laudable aim implicates the long history of research into intercultural encounters, which has always bad this goal. To achieve it, researchers and trainers must go beyond conceptualizing intercultural encounters as like interpersonal ones, except that participants have different and sometimes conflicting cultural rules and values. We must develop programs to train metaskills in analyzing miscommunication and its negative consequences. This requires the recognition that, in many interethnic and intercultural contexts, participants are not. motivated to communicate well. In such cases, the larger sociopolitical situation must be addressed, or skills training may even exacerbate the conflict. It is also crucial to understand intercultural communication as simultaneously intergroup and interpersonal, to incorporate both aspects into interventions, and to advocate for such training to improve intercultural relations.

Border Patrol in the Borderless World: Negotiating Intercultural Internet Discussion

Public Internet discussion forums appear to offer limitless opportunities for communication across linguistic, geographical and cultural borders. Closer inspection, however, reveals that cordial intercultural exchanges are far from widespread in this genre. And yet, such forums have a great deal to offer the independent language learner in terms of ease of access, potential for meaningful language practice and feedback, and exposure to different cultural conventions. This paper explores obstacles to the participation of advanced language learners in public forums of this kind through an examination of the speaking positions most readily available to the non-native speaker. A case study of sustained intercultural interaction on a public discussion thread suggests an alternative to these. Here a core of Francophone and Anglophone participants manage to negotiate an intercultural identity in order to pursue their communicative goals. The paper traces the way in which participants shift footing to regulate insider and outsider status on the forum and draws conclusions regarding the conditions for successful intercultural exchange in this genre

The Seduction of Sarah: travel memoirs and intercultural learning

The paper explores the nexus between intercultural storytelling and intercultural learning. Noting the wide appeal of the travel memoir set in France, it takes as a case study a book that, while positioned within that genre, attempts to shift some predictable patterns: Sarah Turnbull’s best-selling Almost French. Analysis shows that the book in fact participates in a subtle play of genres, whereby the lure of the travel memoir is used to entice readers towards a position where they read the book as a guide to French culture. The particular form of hybridity attempted is, however, a delicate enterprise, as the reception of the book demonstrates, in that the intercultural lessons on offer risk being overshadowed by the expectations readers bring to the genre of the travel memoir. The paper examines the competing seductions operating throughout the text and relates the conditions for taking up the opportunity for intercultural learning to questions of genre. It offers a pedagogical uptake of the textual analysis, thus bridging disciplines in a way that mirrors Turnbull’s bridging of genres