Global Convention on Language Issues and Bilingual Education

Singapore 2006

Developing intercultural awarenessthrough language teaching and learning – groups 1 and 2 of the IB Diploma

Overviewdefinitions of culture and intercultural learningthe role of culture in groups 1 and 2the assessment of culturefuture directions: intercultural learning in groups 1 and 2

Importance of Culture

If … language is seen as social practice, culture becomes the very core of language teaching…. Culture in language teaching is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing” (Kramsch, 1993).

Origins of the Word

The primary meaning … in husbandry [is] the tending of natural growth. [15th century]

(Raymond Williams, 1976)

Origins of the Word

“The word [culture] charts within its semantic unfolding humanity’s own historic shift from rural to urban existence., pig-farming to Picasso, tilling the soil to splitting the atom.”

(Terry Eagleton, 2000)

Culture:Three Broad Categories of Usagegeneral process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic developmenta particular way of life, whether of a people, a period, a group, or humanity in generalthe works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity(Raymond Williams, 1976)

Language ab initio Syllabus OutlineReference to Culture

During the language ab initio course students are expected to become familiar with aspects of the everyday life and culture of the countries in which the language is spoken.

Language A2 Syllabus OutlineReference to Culture

The study of texts includes an exploration of the culture(s) related to the language studied. In this study students are encouraged to examine how cultural contexts influence language use.

Main Focus of these References

knowledgeappropriate use of language

“… cultural awareness is interpreted in a narrow and reductive way in the details of the curricula and does not include the attitudinal, affective dimension in any substantial way.”

(Byram, 2005)

Intercultural Learning

The process of becoming more aware of and better understanding one’s own culture and other cultures around the world. The aim of intercultural learning is to increase international and cross-cultural tolerance and understanding.

(British Council)

Intercultural Communicative Competence

ICC is an attempt to raise students’ awareness of their own culture, and in so doing, help them to interpret and understand other cultures. It is not just a body of knowledge, but a set of practices requiring knowledge, skills and attitudes.

(British Council)

Why Is ICC Important in the IB Context?

internationally mobile studentsdevelopment of the qualities essential to the ‘sojourner’ as opposed to the ‘tourist’ (Byram, 1997)native speakers of a target language cannot be the ideal

IBO Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

The aims of group 2 are to:

encourage, through the study of texts and through social interaction, an awareness and appreciation of the different perspectives of people from other cultures

The aims of group 2 are to:

develop students’ awareness of the relationship between the languages and cultures with which they are familiar

Factors in Intercultural Communicationknowledgeskills

interpret and relatediscover and/or interact

attitudeseducation

(Byram, 1997)

Groups 1 and 2 Assessment Tasks

Ab Initio: individual oralLanguage B: individual oralLanguage A2: written tasksLanguage A1: world literature assignment

ICC-related Assessment Tasks

essayoral presentationworld literature assignmentwritten tasks

Groups 1 and 2 Curriculum Review and ICC

relate the learning of culture to the IBO mission statementthe learner profile the international dimension of the DP

integrate ICC into the syllabus and the assessment

Byram, Michael (1997).Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.