Intercultural Language Learning

What is culture?

Before looking more closely at Intercultural Language Learning, let’s first consider what we understand by the term ‘culture’.

What is culture?

“Culture is a complex system of concepts, attitudes, values, beliefs, conventions, behaviours, practices, rituals and lifestyle of the people who make up a cultural group, as well as the artefacts they produce and the institutions they create.”

(Report on Intercultural Language Learning Commonwealth of Australia 2003 p 45)

Visible and Invisible Aspects of Culture

Visiblereadily observable

Invisibleusually out of our own and others’ conscious awareness

dress

language

behaviours

appearance

beliefsvaluesexpectations

perceptionsnorms

assumptions

world view roles

habits

time orientation

The invisibility of culture Our own culture is invisible to us.

We naturally believe that the way we see the world is ‘the way things really are’.

We attribute the mannerisms, behaviours and values of others, to their ‘culture’.

Learners need to recognise that they have a culture of their own before they can be open to accepting that other people do things differently and have other new frames of reference – or at the very least, to recognising that there are other frames of reference.

Phillips, E. 2001. IC? I see! Developing learners’ intercultural experience. LOTE CED Communiqué, p2.

Language plays a primary role in the transmission of cultural behaviour.

Both the language forms

-the visible-

and the messages conveyed by them

-the invisible -

provide cultural knowledge.

In this way, language and culture are inextricably linked.

Language is embedded in a cultural context

By themselves, the words don’t convey the message.

Understanding a language and culture is not just knowing the words.

It is seeing the deeper meanings created by the words and knowing when and where they are used.

ILTLP: Professional Learning Programme 2007

Let’s look at the ‘invisible’ messages in some Australian and Chinese terms.

Bring a plate

Tall poppy

铁饭碗 小皇帝

Language and culture

Language does not have to be complex and complicated to carry cultural messages.

Language and culture are fundamentally interrelated.

They work together to shape how we view the world and how we function in society.

Culture as Practice In Intercultural Language Learning, culture is

viewed as sets of practices, as the lived experience of individuals.

Behaviours are seen as context-sensitive, negotiated and highly variable.

Being interculturally competent is seen as having the ability to interact in the target culture in informed ways.

It does not involve making generalisations about, or stereotyping, a group of people.

In the Culture as Practice approach:

cultural knowledge is knowing about how to engage with the members of a cultural group.

it is not simply a case of knowing information about the culture.

it is not about learners being observers of facts they are merely required to recall.

In the Culture as Practice approach:

culture is not regarded as a separate component of the LOTE curriculum.

learning about culture and the link between language and culture are part of the language learning process right from the very beginning.

learning about culture is not something that we ‘put off’ until later on or do separately.

In the Culture as Practice approach, learners understand that culture is:

multifaceted: • within a particular cultural group, people adhere

to the cultural codes of the group to varying degrees and in different ways

variable: • there is not one fixed, stereotypical way of living,

thinking and being within a particular cultural group

• people adopt a variety of practices in order to live their lives and interact with members of their society.

dynamic:• these practices are constantly being created and

re-created and vary from person to person, group to group and over time.

In the Culture as Practice approach:

learners develop an intercultural perspective - the Third Place

where the language and culturein which they live - the First place -

are made apparent alongside the target language and culture -

- the Second place -

Moving to the Third Place

Learners use the knowledge they have gained from their exploration and analysis of their First Place and the Second Place to reach their Third Place positions.

This Third Place position then forms the basis for the ongoing development of their intercultural skills.

Culture and IcLL

The Culture as Practice approach is the approach to culture

that best supports Intercultural Language Learning

Why the need for IcLL?

Education needs to engage with and be responsive to a changing world.

Learners need to develop the knowledge, understanding and attributes necessary for successful participation and engagement within and across local, regional and global communities and in all spheres of activity.

The development of language skills and inter-cultural understanding is an investment in our national capability and a valuable resource.

National Statement p2

Aims of IcLL:Develop in learners the capabilities to: communicate, interact and negotiate within and across

languages and cultures

value and understand their own and others’ languages thus extending their range of literacy skills

understand themselves and others, and to understand and use diverse ways of knowing, being and doing

further develop their cognitive skills through thinking critically and analytically, solving problems and making connections in their learning

Such capabilities assist learners to live and work successfully as

linguistically and culturally aware citizens of the world.

National Statement for Languages Education in Australian Schools p3

What is Intercultural Language Learning?

(IcLL)

Intercultural Language Learning:

represents a major direction in languages education in Australia … and elsewhere in the world

involves the fusing of language, culture and learning into a single educative approach

begins with the idea that language, culture and learning are fundamentally interrelated

places this interrelationship at the centre of the learning process

IcLL :

is an overall approach – a personal orientation based on principles of teaching and learning

connects with contemporary curricular and pedagogies that emphasise students’ initiative in making sense of their learning

impacts on our work as designers and teachers of curriculum

means we need to address the ways in which learning about language and culture will occur in our classrooms

IcLL recognises:

the need to develop with learners an understanding of their own language(s) and culture(s) in relation to an additional language and culture.

that learners need to develop a cultural position – their Third Place - which mediates between languages and cultures.

The Third Place:

is not a fixed point common to all learners.

is negotiated by each individual learner as an intersection of the cultural perspectives of the self and the other.

Teachers accept and respect a student’s informed Third Place decision.

Third Place positions/decisions may change over time as a result of increasing knowledge and experience.

The Third Place:

is a position of higher understanding about a learner’s own language and culture and the target language and culture.

involves a higher-order level of intercultural learning other than merely learning about a culture and comparing it to one’s own.

means reconsidering who we are.

involves reflection about oneself, others and one’s reactions to both.

The process of finding one’s Third

Place is: dynamic developmental on-going

It engages learners: cognitively behaviourally affectively

Four recognised stages in IcLL:

1. The need to learn about languages and cultures.

2. The need to compare and contrast them.

3. The need to analyse, experiment and reflect.

4. The need to find one’s own Third Place.

To arrive at their Third Place, students need to develop strategies of:

Observation Exploration Reflection Mediation

It is our role as teachers to help them develop these learning strategies.

Let’s look at a possible situation in Australia and China and

engage in a little observation and reflection ourselves.

Responding to compliments in Australia and China:

Your husband is wonderful! He’s such a great help around the house.

Well, really. He’s just average. He could do more to help.

You’ve really made great achievements at work lately.

Oh, you're over-rating me.

What do you notice about theresponses here?

What is similar?

What is different?

Why do you think this is so?

How would you respond inthis situation?

Development of intercultural competence: ongoing & cyclical

A cyclical, ongoing process. There is noabsolute endstate or finalgoal.

Comparing

Reflecting

Noticing

Interacting

ILTLP: Professional Learning Programme p69

Noticing

Noticing can involve different modes: visual,auditory, cognitive, affective…

What do you see?

What do you think?

What do you feel?

What do you understanding about yourself?

What do you understand about others?

No ‘one size fits all’

Observations and ‘trying things out’ may lead to a positive or negative evaluation of an interaction.

Students may find new practices comfortable or uncomfortable.

These may be evaluated as having been successful or unsuccessful.

In coming to a Third Place decision, learners need to make choices about:

what to hold on to what to adopt what to relinquish what to let pass

They also need to know what the consequences of their choices would be. In intercultural interactions, the ethical consequences are always heightened.

Teachers need to understand that:

they do not assess if a student’s informed Third Place decision is right or wrong.

it is not about them making value judgements.

rather, teachers assess the strengths and weaknesses of a student’s argumentation – their skills of observation, analysis and reflection.

In summary: IcLL teaches students…

to look for the invisible features of their own and another language and culture.

how to step out of the confines of their own language and culture and to see them for what they are – one possible world view.

to develop flexibility and independence from a single linguistic and conceptual system

to consider diverse perspectives of others

How to apply Intercultural Language Learning in the

classroom.

Guidelines:

1. Base your teaching on the five pedagogical principles of Intercultural Language Learning.

2. Learn where to look for and find cultural messages in language use.

3. Choose resources that support IcLL.

4. Don’t put off cultural learning until later. Start straight away.

Guidelines: cont.

5. Use ICTs to connect students with the target country language and culture.

6. Where possible, invite community members from the Target Country into the classroom.

7. Make every effort yourself to keep up to date with the evolution of your TC language and culture.

Let’s look more closely at the first two points.

Five Pedagogical Principals

1. Active Construction

Learners: use language purposefully in a range of tasks in

which they discover and create meaning in interaction with people, texts and technologies.

Teachers: encourage noticing, recognising, comparing,

interpreting, analysing allow time for questioning, discussing and

experimenting select/design tasks that stimulate student interest

and extend their thinking about language and culture

2. Making connectionsLearners : develop ways to rethink their initial conceptions develop a growing understanding of language and

culture and their interdependence make connections, reorganise and extend their

existing knowledge using these new insights

Teachers: draw on the diverse linguistic and cultural

background of their students and use this as the basis for building new knowledge

challenge students’ initial conceptions and help them reflect on and re-think their initial conceptions

3. Social Interaction Learners: understand that learning is a social and interactive

process

Teachers: provide opportunities for students to engage in

interactive talk and questioning with the teacher, their peers and others

value and promote discussion, thinking, inquiry, experimentation

listen to and build upon student responses

guide conversation to include learners’ views, judgements, rationales

draw upon multiple ideas, knowledge, beliefs, values, behaviours

4. Reflection

Learners: reflect critically on language, culture, and their

interrelationship question stereotypes

develop the capability to reflect on and engage with difference

monitor their own production and its possible consequences and effects

Teachers provide opportunities for students to develop these

skills

5. ResponsibilityLearners: recognise the need to de-centre from their own

cultural perspective show willingness to interact with people and texts

from another language and culture seek and respond to feedback on their own

learning take responsibility for their own learning

Teachers: foster engagement with difference foster awareness of generalisations demonstrate intercultural understanding through

their personal attitudes and behaviours

2. Where to find culture in language use?

Some areas to look for culture in language use:

1. The importance placed on speaking in a society

2. Approaches to interpersonal relationships Proximity versus distance Hierarchy versus equality Consensus versus conflict

3. Approaches to understanding politeness

4. Level of ritualisation

5. Expression of emotions and feelings

See: Framework from Teaching Invisible Culture : Ch 3Joseph Lo Bianco and Chantal Crozet

Ultimately, what does Intercultural Language

Learning mean for teachers and students?

For teachers, it means:

developing an overall position, an orientation, a way of thinking and doing in relation to our work as curriculum designers and teachers.

addressing the ways in which learning about language and culture will be practised by our learners.

For students, it involves:

them developing a similar overall position which will help them towards the ongoing development of their intercultural competence.

Ultimately, it is about each student’s individual journey.

The ‘good news’

Research projects have shown that the implementation of Intercultural Language Learning has made a positive difference to students’ engagement in the language learning process.

Sources :

Report on intercultural language learningAnthony Liddicoat, Leo Papademetre, Angela Scarino,

MichelleKohler July 2003

Striving for the Third Place : Intercultural Competence

Through Language Education : Joseph Lo Bianco, Anthony

Liddicoat, Chantal Crozet

Teaching Invisible Culture : Classroom practice and Theory

Edited by Joseph Lo Bianco and Chantal Crozet