Developing intercultural understanding and skills: models and approaches

Researchers from a range of disciplines have been theorising and empirically examining intercultural competence and intercultural education for decades. This review article synthesises the research literature about these concepts around three questions: What is intercultural competence? How can it be developed? And how can it be measured? Our aim is to provide an overview of current theories and empirical findings, as well as to show gaps in the literature.     

The effects of cross-cultural competence on my teaching and studying in the UK context

In this paper, I reflect on my experiences as a Chinese educator, attempting to take my previous experiences into a new situation: teaching in the UK. These reflections take me down a path that shows how my Chinese cultural background and experiences created both challenges and opportunities for my teaching. I attempt to show how important it is to gain cross-cultural competence if one is to take one’s teaching into new cultural environments.     

Fostering assessment of student mobility in secondary schools: indicators of intercultural competence

ABSTRACT

The present study explores the internationalisation of secondary schools. It focuses on the assessment of the intercultural competence (IC) of returnees who participated in an annual study-abroad programme offered by the Italian educational association Intercultura (a non-profit organisation). The precise aim of this research is to find possible assessment indicators of IC, specific to the context of student mobility in secondary schools. To reach this goal, a qualitative methodology was adopted; 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the returnees, their parents, friends, teachers and Intercultura volunteers. The findings suggest that the elements to be considered in assessing the IC of returnees should include, among others, curiosity towards people perceived as having different cultural backgrounds, interest in global issues, self-awareness, new understanding of home context, knowledge of host context, ability to make critical comparisons, adaptability and ethnorelative view.     

Development of intercultural competence among US American teachers: professional development factors that enhance competence

The increasing diversity of the student age population in the USA calls for increased cultural competence on behalf of educators to effectively teach students. This article reports on a study of a suburban school district’s initiatives that utilized the Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a baseline measurement tool, and subsequent professional development for teachers, to promote the development of intercultural competence. ANOVA and regression analysis models were used to determine the variables that affect teachers’ perceived intercultural competence after their participation in professional development.     

Developing intercultural competence of teachers of English as a foreign language through an international project

This paper reports an international project which took place at Nicolaus Copernicus University, where students and teachers from four European universities met for a two-week summer school. The main objective was to develop intercultural competence of teachers of English as a foreign language and their ability to demonstrate this skill during an English lesson. The paper depicts the tools implemented in the project and shows how they affected the learning outcomes by presenting the students’ and teachers’ perspectives.     

Exploring intercultural sensitivity in early adolescence: a mixed methods study

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore levels of intercultural sensitivity in a sample of fourth to eighth grade students in the United States (n = 162). Intercultural sensitivity was conceptualised through Bennett’s Developmental Model of Sensitivity, and assessed through the Adapted Intercultural Sensitivity Index. Follow-up interviews provided additional information regarding the views and understandings of individual student participants. Quantitative data analysis indicated many early adolescents in this sample were accepting of cultural difference. However, subsequent qualitative data analysis suggested this acceptance was largely hypothetical, due to the participants’ perceived isolation from diversity. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Encountering and dealing with difference: second life and intercultural competence

With increasing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, intercultural competence (IC) to interact and co-exist in multicultural environments is recognized as being very important. Research indicates that cultural knowledge alone, or even being immersed in a different cultural environment does not necessarily lead to the development of IC necessary to deal with differences in behaviour, communication styles, and values and beliefs. Rather, it requires intentional development particularly of critical awareness of an individual’s cultural identity, and the values and beliefs that underpin one’s attitude and behaviour. Providing effective learning and teaching approaches to facilitate development of these affective and behavioural dimensions, challenges traditional pedagogical practices. Second life (SL), a multi-user virtual environment, potentially provides effective intercultural experiential learning opportunities to develop the desired IC by challenging personal beliefs and assumptions underpinning cultural frameworks and identity. This paper evaluates SL as one of the approaches used to develop IC in a first year IC module in a New Zealand university. Based on data from two case studies, it presents and discusses significant findings in terms of using SL and the development of students’ IC.     

From cultural knowledge to intercultural communicative competence: changing perspectives on the role of culture in foreign language teaching

Approaches to the concept of culture and teaching cultural competence in a foreign language classroom have been changing over the last decades. The paper summarises, compares, contrasts and evaluates four major approaches to teaching cultural competence in foreign language teaching, that is, knowledge-based approach, contrastive approach, Communicative Language Teaching and intercultural communicative competence approach.     

Developing the critical intercultural class-space: theoretical implications and pragmatic applications of critical intercultural communication pedagogy

Teaching intercultural communication presents pedagogical challenges due to the breadth and depth of the discipline and its recent critical turn. Teaching it with a social justice mission, and guiding students to understand critical and postcolonial approaches to its practice, requires complex and multifaceted approaches so as not to oppress or misrepresent marginalised populations. This essay addresses critical intercultural communication pedagogy as a shared system of knowledge among teachers and students, all participants in the cyclical process of learning. Critical intercultural communication pedagogy is presented from a Freirean perspective, as shared ownership of knowledge, including didactic, experiential and reflexive approaches to learning, with educational outcomes that include empathy, connection and ethical responsibilities towards social justice globally and locally. First, several definitions and theoretical perspectives are traced. Next, three short case studies of critical intercultural communication pedagogy (CICP) present varying approaches to teaching critical intercultural issues across diverse populations. Each of the studies is analysed for how the application of different CICP and cosmopolitan pedagogical activities impacts educational outcomes and processes for intercultural students. Finally, several recommendations are given for future scholarship, along with a concluding remark that describes the work’s contribution to critical intercultural communication pedagogy and to the discipline as a whole.     

Effects of international student exchange on pre-service teachers: a quasi-experimental study

This contribution provides empirical answers to the question of how teaching-specific competencies develop during participation in an international student exchange programme. The quantitative analyses of this quasi-experimental study suggest that, generally speaking, no specific developments occur during an exchange experience. These findings contradict the majority of existing literature. Possible reasons for this divergence are discussed. The interpretation of the results suggests future research should focus on the key question of pre-conditions for productive exchange experiences.     

Mediating transnational spaces: international students and intercultural responsibility

Despite the significant body of literature on international students’ intercultural development, the core issue of how they see their own responsibility in transnational intercultural spaces is largely neglected. This paper addresses this paucity by examining the intercultural responsibility perceived by international students. It is based on a four-year study that includes interviews with 105 international students and fieldwork in vocational education institutions. It draws on positioning theory and three key concepts: intercultural competence, intercultural capital and national attachment to interpret the nature of international students’ intercultural responsibility. The research underscores four main forms of intercultural responsibility perceived by international students: responsibility to represent the home country, responsibility to respect the host country, responsibility to assimilate into the host culture and responsibility to integrate into the host culture. Intercultural responsibility can emerge from international students’ national attachment and be embedded in their intrinsic commitment and imagination of their role in representing their home country in a transnational space. Intercultural responsibility can also manifest in international students’ self-determined responsibility to respect, accommodate or integrate into the host culture. However, the finding shows that international students’ act of positioning at the periphery of the host community and their perceived responsibility to assimilate into the host culture precludes their capacity to engage in and negotiate reciprocal and respectful intercultural interactions. The study highlights the role of international students’ self-positioning between and across home and host cultures in underpinning their perceived responsibility in transnational spaces.     

Teaching for transformation: converting the intercultural experience of preservice teachers into intercultural learning

Fostering intercultural learning among preservice teachers has become increasingly important. This article describes the results of a three-year study of semester-long projects in which cohorts of undergraduate education majors (N = 41) engaged with first-semester international students and were asked to reflect on becoming involved participants in a linguistically and culturally diverse learning community. The findings reveal the transformative effect of intercultural encounters on future teachers.     

Developing critical and empathic capabilities in intercultural education through the VaKE approach

One of the core goals of intercultural education is to develop critical and empathic reflection on social justice, particularly as related to humanistic choices and how individuals can counteract exclusion. The present article analyses the Values and Knowledge Education (VaKE) approach, which is aimed at raising awareness about implicit value-oriented priorities in decision-making. Through the Human Development and Capability Approach, the applicability of VaKE’s didactic principles is analysed in relation to young people’s perspectives on resettlement in Europe. The VaKE method was used at a 2013 summer camp in Austria with a culturally diverse group of young Europeans who were presented with a dilemma story that highlighted the complex issue of providing assistance to asylum seekers. The participants engaged in various knowledge and moral viability checks that enabled them to engage with opposing arguments. The participants evidenced critical reflection and self-scrutiny, as well as affiliation and empathic imagination, regarding problems that are encountered by asylum seekers.     

What teachers say about addressing culture in their EFL teaching practices: the Vietnamese context

This paper examines Vietnamese EFL teachers’ beliefs about the role of culture in language teaching. It also considers how they address culture in their teaching practices in a Vietnamese university. Ethnographic data collected from semi-structured interviews indicated that opportunities for culture to find its way into EFL classroom activities were still limited. Priority was given to teaching language knowledge and skills, while culture played a minor role only.     

Researching the links between social-emotional learning and intercultural education: strategies for enacting a culturally relevant teaching

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the links between social-emotional learning (SEL) and intercultural education. The work calls for pedagogical attention to the role of emotions in intercultural education and analyses the role of SEL within the umbrella of intercultural education. It claims that both SEL and intercultural education offer a framework for rethinking and changing curricula, school climates and relationships providing the foundation for quality of education for all. Therefore, this connection is not only critical but also inevitable and desirable. It asserts that SEL in intercultural landscapes is a human right that all students are entitled to, and argues that ignoring this right amounts to a social injustice. Some pedagogical considerations and strategies for enacting a culturally relevant implementation of SEL in intercultural settings will be provided. The purpose of the paper is to inform the debate on the role of emotional aspects in intercultural education, and how to configure culturally responsive teachers.     

Intercultural teaching competence: a multi-disciplinary model for instructor reflection

Abstract

This article presents a model for Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) that instructors may use as a tool for reflection as they prepare to facilitate learning across cultures. Building on previous research on intercultural competence, culturally relevant teaching, intercultural trainer competencies, and student-centred approaches to teaching, the model identifies concrete facilitation techniques for instructors who would like to further develop their own teaching practice or mentor colleagues in effective teaching across cultures. The model consists of 20 instructor competencies grouped into three categories: foundational skills, facilitation skills, and curriculum development skills for intercultural learning. While intended as a tool to guide instructors in individual and group reflection on inclusive teaching practices, the ITC model may also be used by educational developers to guide feedback during classroom observations or while supporting curriculum internationalisation initiatives. Recommendations for use in faculty learning communities and workshops are included at the end of the article. The ITC model will benefit instructors in a variety of disciplines who teach in diverse and multidisciplinary classrooms, discuss global or social justice issues in their class, and those who seek to include intercultural and Indigenous perspectives in their curriculum.     

Enhancing the intercultural effectiveness of exchange programmes: formal and non-formal educational interventions

This paper examines how the addition of intercultural interventions carried out throughout European credit-bearing exchange programmes can enhance sojourners’ development of intercultural competencies, and it explores how both formal and non-formal pedagogical interventions may be designed and implemented. Such interventions were conducted at a Portuguese university with 31 sojourners throughout one academic year, and their impact was assessed using a mixed methods research design. Sojourners included incoming students of the exchange programmes Campus Europae and Erasmus, as well as highly skilled immigrants. Findings confirm the positive impact of interventions on the development of intercultural competencies and, in turn, their contribution to internationalisation efforts. Implications for further research suggest a need to increase interventions and to develop a systematic approach for fostering intercultural competencies throughout the study abroad cycle.     

The building of the transcultural capacities of preservice teachers to support their employability in a globalised world: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the findings of a pilot project that investigated the impact of the International Professional Experience (IPE) programme within a Faculty of Education at a research intensive Australian University in developing the capacity of preservice teachers (PSTs) to work and teach amidst culturally diverse environments. The pilot was a precursor to a project investigating the impact of IPE on PSTs’ cultural capacity across a range of IPE locations. The importance of teachers acquiring transcultural capacity has become more acute in recent years. Educational globalisation has influenced Australian educators and schools to see working and learning in countries outside Australia as opportunities that support readiness for a professional career. Australian graduate teachers are now required to possess and demonstrate the skills and capacities to relate to, engage with and teach students from diverse cultures. Migration has altered Australian demographics to the point that cultural understandings are now mandated in the national curriculum. The pilot study findings suggest that the IPE experience has a significant impact on the development of transcultural capacity amongst PSTs especially those who have not had opportunities for, engagement with cultural modes outside their place of origin.     

Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs and perspectives on incorporating culture in EFL classes

ABSTRACT

Researcher and teacher beliefs towards culture and teaching culture have changed over the last decade. Nowadays, the main objective of language teachers has shifted from teaching communicative competence to intercultural communicative competence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of a number of Iranian EFL teachers towards incorporating culture teaching into their classrooms. More specifically, the study strived to reveal what Iranian EFL teachers thought about the concept of culture, what cultural information they focused on in their classes, and what obstacles they believed should be removed in order to allocate more time to culture teaching in their classes. The non-random purposive sampling method was used to select the participants for this study. A total number of 10 Iranian EFL teachers with a PhD degree in Applied Linguistics participated in this study. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and a closed-ended questionnaire based on a 5-point scale. The main finding of this study indicated that even though the Iranian EFL teachers favoured including cultural information in their classes, a number of obstacles prevented them from teaching culture in their English classes. Implications for further study have been provided in the article.