Tracing intercultural and interlinguistic moves within and beyond student mobility programmes: The case of the IEREST project
Journal Title: Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 2
Abstract
The paper presents the core aims and objectives of the teaching materials developed within the IEREST (Intercultural Education Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers) project, and shows how the innovative approach adopted for these activities can be implemented in the classroom. The IEREST teaching modules are innovative in that the approach adopted draws strongly on the notions of critical cosmopolitanism (Holliday 2012) and intercultural communicative competence (Byram 1997 and 2012). The activities in the modules promote a view of culture as a negotiated „process” among individuals, small or large groups and intercultural communication as a co-construction of meaning conveyed across linguistic and cultural boundaries, thus rejecting explicitly any “essentialist” attitudes and simplistic overgeneralisation of “otherness.” The approach to language use in intercultural encounters observes how the above concepts are expressed in a number of contexts, while also building on the view that intercultural communication among bilinguals often takes advantage of a lingua franca, a foreign language that all the participants in the communicative activity have in common because they had learned it. Taking into account the concept of “linguaculture” (Risager 2012) the modules seek to raise awareness of the negotiating process in rendering meaning through a linguistic and cultural blend of both the target language and the speake’s first language. The paradigm shift proposed by the IEREST Modules indicates a need to rethink current practices in intercultural education and to acknowledge societal changes in multilingual Europe and beyond.
Authors and Affiliations
Neva Čebron
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP256597
- DOI 10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.2.3
- Views 113
- Downloads 0
Advanced learners’ foreign language-related emotions across the four skills
Individual differences researchers have recently begun to investigate the concept of emotions and their role in language learning (MacIntyre, Gregersen, & Mercer, 2016). Our aim is to report on a project exploring Englis...
Language learning strategies: An holistic view
The language learning strategy question has been debated on a number of levels, including definition, the strategy/success relationship and strategy coordination. In addition, awareness has been steadily growing of the i...
Past and future research agendas on writing strategies: Conceptualizations, inquiry methods, and research findings
This paper offers a retrospective narrative review of research on L2 writing strategies and a prospective discussion of potential theoretical and pedagogical relevant lines of inquiry to be explored in...
The role of input and output tasks in grammar instruction: Theoretical, empirical and pedagogical considerations
In this paper, a review of the role of input, output and instruction in second language acquisition is provided. Several pedagogical interventions in grammar instruction (e.g., processing instruction, input enhancement,...
Critical thinking in the intercultural context: Investigating EFL textbooks
The multicultural world has made intercultural teaching necessary. It should focus on students’ ability to comprehend quickly and accurately, and then act appropriately and effectively in a culturally complex environment...