Resumen: Este ensayo analiza los desafíos que plantea el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa intercultural en el marco de la formación de profesores en el contexto poscolonial chileno. A partir de una revisión de antecedentes bibliográficos se reconoce que la preparación de los nuevos educadores no ha logrado implementar de manera transversal el enfoque educativo intercultural. Esto ha permitido conservar la hegemonía de la monoculturalidad eurocéntrica, generando que los profesores en formación mantengan una comprensión insuficiente de las culturas (...) presentes en la sala de clases. Con el propósito de aportar a la discusión crítica, se reflexiona acerca de las posibilidades que entrega la CCI en la búsqueda de nuevas formas de conocer y comunicar que confronten la educación monocultural, para avanzar en la construcción de procesos educativos interculturales, ya sea en territorios indígenas o en los nuevos contextos que surgen por la inmigración.: This paper explores the challenges posed by the development of intercultural communicative competence in relation to teacher training in the postcolonial Chilean context. Through a review of bibliographic sources it is recognized that the preparation of new teachers has failed to transversely implement an intercultural educational approach. This has allowed Chile to keep the hegemony of eurocentric monoculturality, resulting in these teachers’ insufficient understanding of the cultures present in the classroom. In order to contribute to this critical discussion in the field, this paper reflects on the possibilities that ICC provides when seeking new ways of knowing and of communicating that confront monocultural education and develop intercultural educational processes, either in indigenous territories or in the new immigration contexts. (shrink)

La formación del profesional de la salud de perfil amplio constituye uno de los objetivos principales en la educación médica superior. Sobre la base de este planteamiento se desarrolló una investigación en la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas "Carlos J. Finlay", de Camagüey, con el objetivo de exponer los fundamentos teóricos en los que se sustenta la competencia comunicativa intercultural en la enseñanza-aprendizaje del idioma Inglés. Se utilizaron diferentes métodos de investigación de los niveles (...) teórico y empírico. Se concluyó que estos fundamentos integran factores cognitivos, afectivo-emocionales, motivacionales, sociales, culturales, axiológicos y creativos, del proceso de desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa analizada. Formation of the health professionals with a wide profile constitutes one of the main objectives in high medical education. On this basis the present work is the result of a research carried in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Medical College of Camaguey. Its main objective is to expose the theoretical foundations of the intercultural communicative competence in the learning and teaching of English. For its elaboration different investigative methods of theoretical and empirical levels were applied. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to examine preservice Chinese language teachers’ cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. In the study we collected data through in-depth interviews with seven preservice teachers in a Master of Education program at a university in Hong Kong SAR, China. The findings indicated that the participants had a relatively positive attitude and inclination toward the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence, while their conceptualizations of culture tended to be static (...) and ambiguous. In addition, the participants’ objectives in teaching intercultural communicative competence were found to be more attitude-than knowledge- or skill-oriented. The study offers valuable insights that preservice language teachers’ cognition plays a crucial role in their future professional development and calls for curricular innovations with intercultural aims in teacher education programs. (shrink)

Self-efficacy as applied to language learning encompasses the belief in one’s ability to obtain mastery in a sought-after domain of linguistic competence by committing to goals and maintaining acquired skills. Intercultural communication and effectiveness are of interest to the professional and personal language goals of learners as their progress depends upon a strong motivation to put practical language skills to use when the real-world requires it. Studying or working abroad and engaging in intercultural training are two such (...) contexts that bind research in learner characteristics between applied linguistics and positive psychology as they provide a substrate of concrete interactions through language brokering, transformative experiences characterized by opportunities for changes in self-concept, negotiations with values and authenticity, and forms of interpersonal development underwritten by intercultural communication as an ability. The Self-Efficacy in Intercultural Communication Scale (SEIC) was developed by Peterson et al. (2011) in a sample of educators with overseas sojourning work experience. However, the original study lacked confirmatory analyses of internal and external validity that would provide clarity toward model identification and applicability for research that deals with intercultural communication competence across populations with diverse sample characteristics. A total of 876 teachers (M age = 37.48, SD = 10.81) and 266 university students (M age = 19.48, SD = 0.74) in Japan responded to items from the SEIC instrument. Acceptable model fit was supported for the 8-item short-form as proposed by Peterson et al. (2011). Metric invariance was observed for individuals from a sample of sojourning English language teachers similar to the original validation and a nationwide survey of Japanese teachers of English, offering indications of cross-cultural validity. Degrees of equivalence were also found for the Japanese items as extending fitness for use to students from two universities in Japan. Concurrent validity was supported for self-efficacy in intercultural communication measured by the scale with intercultural effectiveness competencies and speaking and listening self-efficacy constructs used in classroom contexts. Together, this study offers a tool of valid indicators for researchers and practitioners who aim to observe this self-efficacy in positive education or programs that intersect with language learning and intercultural communication. (shrink)

From the standpoint of an intercultural communication trainer in an exploration mode, the author starts by analyzing and evaluating two Third Culture models in order to sort out their contributions to practically improving intercultural communicative performance with the stranger. In his exploration he strives to move from competence to performance by shifting the focus of the abstract potential of competence to the body as an experiencing organism and its environment, the point in a situation where (...) performance takes place. Along his path he also discovers interfaces with related discussions. All of these interfaces together the author found are internally commensurable with each other. (shrink)

_Purpose._ This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of a human being within the Confucian tradition as well as its interpretations from intercultural perspective. _Theoretical basis._ One of the ways to understand the deepest level of the intercultural dialogue is to reveal the interpretations of a human being in philosophical traditions, since they refer to the formation of personality and identity within a given culture including interpersonal, intergroup, and intercultural relations. Humanism based on the unity of Human (...) and Heaven runs like a red thread through the philosophical teachings of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming defining the ideas of human nature, his/her duties, his/her place and roles in society that shaped the Chinese mentality. _Originality._ Quite often, Chinese concepts (for example, human dignity beyond the ideas of democracy and mass political participation, guanxi, mianzi) are incomprehensible to the representatives of the Western civilization, which leads to the challenges in intercultural communication. The interpretation of these ideas in the context of Confucianism allows to understand them from the perspective of Others and expand the set of patterns of cultural perception. This ultimately leads to the awareness that there are many social, political, cultural realities, which we perceive through the lens of our own concepts and attitudes. The participants of an intercultural dialogue realize that each of them has a unique experience, own way of posing a problem and resolving it, and no one is better or worse. _Conclusions._ Confucian philosophy shaped the worldview of Chinese people, defined values, goals, meanings, attitudes, communication models, which affected all spheres of Chinese life and culture. The study of the philosophical heritage of the great Chinese civilization enhances the cultural competence of the intercultural communicators and expands the field of dialogue to the level of global communication. (shrink)

In this, the second of two articles outlining a theory of communicative competence, the author questions the ability of Chomsky's account of linguistic competence to fulfil the requirements of such a theory. ?Linguistic competence? for Chomsky means the mastery of an abstract system of rules, based on an innate language apparatus. The model by which communication is understood on this account contains three implicit assumptions, here called ?monologism?, ?a priorism?, and ?elementarism?. The author offers an outline (...) of a theory of communicative competence that is based on the negations of these assumptions. In opposing the first two assumptions he introduces distinctions, respectively, between semantic universals which process experiences and those that make such processing possible, and between semantic universals which precede all socialization and those that are linked to the conditions of potential socialization. Against elementarism, he argues that the semantic content of all possible natural languages does not consist of combinations of a finite number of meaning components. Differences in systems of classification preclude this, and such differences can be seen to infect all respects of intercultural comparison. Using the notion of ?performative utterance?, the author elucidates the role of dialogue?constitutive universals as part of the formal apparatus required of a?; speaker's capacity to communicate. He then notes what would be required of a general semantics based on a theory of communicative competence; and finally points out how this theory might be used for social analysis. (shrink)

The article introduces theories of epistemic justification to the problems of understanding in communication. Two dominant approaches in contemporary epistemology — foundationalism and coherentism — are applied in intercultural discourse. Since the intended meaning of utterances in communication is reached through inference, beliefs about the intended meaning are justified with respect to the evidence of communicative behaviour and context. Tracing the difficulties of intercultural dialogue, the article argues that the coherentist method of justification is more useful than (...) foundationalist one. Coherentism is consistent with the open-mindedness and unprejudiced reasoning, both of which are crucial parts of intercultural competency. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the practical question of how the ideas of John Dewey can contribute to improved intercultural communication theory and practice, especially to training. The question is answered in four parts. The first part refers to the presumed superiority of sensitivity to difference as opposed to similarity in intercultural communication. The second part suggests that Dewey’s duality of potentiality and interaction can be carried over to the duality of competence and performance. The third part highlights (...) the use of the generic concepts of pattern and habit to better understand culture as a practical experience. The final part advocates a closer look at the idea and experience of rhythm as an epistemological alternative to subject vs object. The author relies on his experience as a trainer and a teacher of Intercultural Communication and proceeds down an interdisciplinary path, especially attempting to set up a dialogue with biology, systems and the arts. (shrink)

Due to the development of global economy and increased geographical and occupational mobility, communication with people from multicultural backgrounds has become commonplace in many healthcare institutions. As the demographic profiles of both patients and medical personnel are increasingly varied, intercultural competence has become an integral component of English for Medical Purposes training. However, are medical students generally familiar with the notion of intercultural competence? What intercultural aspects should they be aware of in order to practise (...) effectively when they graduate? The aim of this article is to present medical students′ understanding of IC based on a survey conducted among undergraduate learners at the Medical University of Bialystok, Poland. The article begins with a discussion on intercultural competence in the context of health care. Following this, a discussion on why intercultural competence needs to be incorporated and used in Medical English programmes is presented. (shrink)

The aim of the paper is to identify and describe some specifics of intercultural competence development at the tertiary level in the framework of language and culture. Different views on intercultural competence development in higher education are presented as well as intercultural competence development in different countries and many scholars’ points of views. The results show certain specifics of intercultural competence development including linguistic competence, linguistic and cultural competence, as well (...) as the components of intercultural competence development: the knowledge of foreign languages, cultural background knowledge, and basic soft skills. It is stated that knowing foreign languages, understanding the national culture of the target language, and having universal soft skills are necessary for successful intercultural competence development. Some soft skills are developed too, such as: tolerance, a sense of responsibility for one’s actions, the ability to empathy, understanding and acceptance of a foreign culture, the ability and desire to understand the difference and unity of one’s culture and the country culture of a target language, a sense of adequate and friendly perception of a foreign language and its realities. It is concluded that it is important to know a theory and have a practice for intercultural competence development and intercultural communication, since a foreign language, culture can only be acquired through activities. As for the specifics of intercultural competence development at the tertiary level in national universities, an indirect character of its development and patterning during intercultural communication are characterized. (shrink)

In response to the changing global climate and the growing recognition of the professional associations in the teacher education community, universities around the country are beginning to recognize the need to add a global dimension to their education programs. One way to prepare teachers to address the challenges associated with teaching children in a global age is through carefully structured, international and intercultural field experiences where candidates are immersed in another culture. Intercultural Student Teaching demonstrates examples of such (...) successful programs. (shrink)

Economic migration, international mobility and refugee crises have brought about both risks and opportunities. Alongside the socio-economic and cultural potential to capitalize on they have generated challenges that need to be addressed. In such an increasingly globalized and diverse world, intercultural competences have become strategic resources underpinning the concept of democratic citizenship and social integration. The objectives of the present article are thus two-fold: firstly we want to explore the concept of cultural cognition and highlight the importance of (...) class='Hi'>intercultural and diversity awareness, and, secondly, we intend to present and discuss the results of intercultural training sessions for uniformed services conducted within the “Open Lodz” project (Otwarta Łódź POWR.03.01.00-IP.08-00-3MU/18) (2019-2022) coordinated by the University of Lodz in collaboration with the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center in Łódź, the Municipal Police, the City of Lodz Office and the City Guard in Łódź. The project was aimed at enhancing foreigners’ quality of life and functioning in Poland. With this goal in view project activities, addressed at two groups of beneficiaries, namely foreign nationals and frontline workers (police, city guard officers, and municipal clerks) focused on improving communication skills (linguistic and cultural competences). (shrink)

En este estudio se exploran recursos didácticos para fomentar la reflexión intercultural en el aula de idiomas. En un aula de alemán como lengua extranjera de una universidad española, con alumnas y alumnos de nivel inicial (A1.2), se integraron actividades para el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa intercultural en una programación anterior de orientación comunicativa y con fuerte presencia de la interacción oral entre pares. Los resultados obtenidos en esta investigación cuasi-experimental informan sobre el desarrollo de la conciencia (...) cultural de las y los participantes. (shrink)

Vague language refers to expressions with unspecified meaning (for instance, 'I kind of want that job'), and is an important but often overlooked part of linguistic communication. This book is a comparative study of vague language based on naturally occurring data of a rare combination: L1 (American) and L2 (Chinese and Persian) speakers in academic settings. The findings indicate that L2 learners have diverse and culturally specific needs for vague language, and generally use vague words in a more concentrated fashion (...) compared with L1s. The book explores the interconnection and continuum between the linguistic realizations of a vague term and the functions it serves, and how 'elasticity' underpins the frequency and functions of vague language. The implication is that vague language may be integrated into the curriculum of English language teaching as part of L2 speakers' communicative competence. This book will be of great interest to researchers in the fields of intercultural education and applied linguistics. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Justifying the Arts:Drama and Intercultural EducationMike Fleming (bio)IntroductionFor teachers of arts subjects, questions about justification can be tiresome in the same way that contemporary aestheticians may feel fatigue about defining art.1 Providing justification can feel more like an exercise in rhetoric than theoretical enquiry, induced more by political necessity than intellectual challenge. If the value of the arts is not self-evident, it is difficult to advance arguments to (...) convince those who have no knowledge or affinity with them. Not that many educationists admit to falling into the latter category. As Eisner has said, nobody wants to be seen as a philistine.2 Yet to those with a deep commitment to the value of the arts in education and wider society, the arts are rarely thought to be taken as seriously as they should be.3 This paper will describe five approaches to the question of justifying the arts before examining the specific case of drama and intercultural education.Approaches to Justifying the Teaching of the ArtsFaced with questions of justification, providing a list of reasons for teaching the arts is one approach but not the only one. Instead, looking for broader categories of justification within possible lists (e.g., between art and entertainment, feeling and cognition) exposes differences of emphasis more easily. Exploration of the tension between such concepts as "creating" and "responding" may help get behind bland claims of the kind that the arts can "develop creativity." In this way, the relevance of aesthetic theory, which often centers on the tension between competing concepts, can be demonstrated more readily. Another approach to the question of justification is to reject the idea that the arts should serve instrumental goals at all by advancing an argument in favor of their intrinsic rewards. A fourth approach is to [End Page 54] question whether it is appropriate to seek justification for the arts as a generic concept, rather than looking instead at individual art forms; the benefits of dance may be different in certain respects from those of visual arts. Finally, a priori enquiry could be abandoned altogether in favor of seeing what teachers actually say about their reasons for teaching the arts. Each of these positions will be examined briefly.Mortimer includes physical education and personal and social education among the areas of benefit he attributes to the arts.4 Within five broad categories, he describes further subcategories, amounting to more than seventeen reasons for teaching the arts. He also claims that the arts are a way of developing life skills and attitudes that are transferable across the curriculum and are a way of contextualizing other learning. It is easy to sympathize with someone who is passionate about the arts and concerned that they should be seen as a "fundamental" not as a "frill," but such general claims do not always bring clarity or insight. It is difficult for example to see how poetry "encourages physical confidence in balance." A visit to a children's home may be more fruitful in "developing sensitivity to others." The benefit of "using imagination and creativity" (a catchall phrase that on its own says very little) may in practice find tension with other stated benefits such as "discriminating, selecting, editing." The latter concepts suggest a more constrained, skills-oriented form of teaching rather than an approach that encourages free flow of imagination. Long lists of justifications can obscure theoretical differences and from a tactical point of view in the political arena can appear overblown. They are well meant but not always helpful. Nor do they go far in explaining the deep importance of the arts in so many people's lives.The influential Gulbenkian report in the United Kingdom was wide-ranging in its claims but reinforced the idea of the arts as being an alternative to academic study and what it termed "logico-deductive thought."5 "Society," it argued, "needs and values more than academic abilities." In the 1980s, many writers were keen to free themselves from the influence of narrow theories of self-expression to embrace a wider discipline-based approach but continued to underplay the cognitive dimensions of work in art.6 Of course an emphasis... (shrink)

This exploratory enquiry seeks to examine the largely unexplored potential of semiotics for intercultural training and education. The proposed three-partdiscussion describes the process by which semiotic theoretical principles were selected and progressively refined into an applied model which was then pilotedthrough a 2007 research initiative entitled Tools for Cultural Development. The case study involved six groups of French and Australian trainees from both theacademic and professional sectors, in collaboration with university, government and community partners. The first part of the (...) article summarizes a review of theliterature on approaches to cultural competence training. The study then outlines the transcoding process by which the stated objectives of intercultural educationwere reformulated in semiotic terms, particularly in reference to cultural semiotics on which the theoretical core of the applied model was subsequently based.Relevant principles from other semiotic schools as well as similar theoretical and methodological stances in the social sciences reinforced the established body of theory for the training design. The third part of the study discusses the process by which semiotic principles were further defined as skill-based outcomes and goals for workshop implementation. This pragmatic defining process facilitated development of questionnaires and surveys, thereby allowing participants to evaluate the training experience by examining their perceptions about the workshop outcomes at the beginning and end of the sessions. This article presents the quantitative results of the evaluation and, in discussing the gains and limits of data obtained, provides the context for a follow-up article on the qualitative findingsof the study. (shrink)

This exploratory enquiry seeks to examine the largely unexplored potential of semiotics for intercultural training and education. The proposed three-partdiscussion describes the process by which semiotic theoretical principles were selected and progressively refined into an applied model which was then pilotedthrough a 2007 research initiative entitled Tools for Cultural Development. The case study involved six groups of French and Australian trainees from both theacademic and professional sectors, in collaboration with university, government and community partners. The first part of the (...) article summarizes a review of theliterature on approaches to cultural competence training. The study then outlines the transcoding process by which the stated objectives of intercultural educationwere reformulated in semiotic terms, particularly in reference to cultural semiotics on which the theoretical core of the applied model was subsequently based.Relevant principles from other semiotic schools as well as similar theoretical and methodological stances in the social sciences reinforced the established body of theory for the training design. The third part of the study discusses the process by which semiotic principles were further defined as skill-based outcomes and goals for workshop implementation. This pragmatic defining process facilitated development of questionnaires and surveys, thereby allowing participants to evaluate the training experience by examining their perceptions about the workshop outcomes at the beginning and end of the sessions. This article presents the quantitative results of the evaluation and, in discussing the gains and limits of data obtained, provides the context for a follow-up article on the qualitative findingsof the study. (shrink)

I wish to carry out a philosophical inquiry into the present day intercultural public spheres. The thesis I endeavour to support is that the achievement of inclusive public spheres largely depends on one’s willingness and capacity to foster the “appreciation of diversities” by first, enhancing policies and forms of cooperation between the citizens’ emotional and motivational resources, and then enhancing their cognitive competences. More specifically, my proposal is to understand such an effort from the viewpoint of post-Weberian responsibility, that (...) is of an ethics and politics that overcome the traditional divisions between theory and practice, cognition and emotion, “Verantwortung” and “Gesinnung” , and therefore succeed in enhancing the citizens’ awareness and attitudes as – in Habermas’ words – “democratic co-legislators”. The case study of Matthew Lipman’s “Philosophy for Children/Community” succeeds precisely in highlighting these results. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 24.1 (2004) 241-243 [Access article in PDF] International Conference on Religion and Globalization Ruben Habito Perkins School of Theology The International Conference on Religion and Globalization, with over two hundred participants from thirty-one countries, was hosted by Payap University and its Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 27 July to 2 August 2003, with the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies among (...) the several cosponsoring organizations. Other sponsoring and cosponsoring organizations included the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, the Christian Conference of Asia, and the Museum of World Religions. Prof. John Butt, convener of the conference and director of the Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture, with other officials of Payap University, welcomed the delegates at the opening ceremonies on 27 July in a program that included musical and cultural presentations from the riches of the northern Thai heritage.Plenary speakers included Dharma Master Hsin Tao, founder of the Museum of World Religions based in Taipei, Taiwan, who spoke on "Education for Interreligious Understanding in a Global Age." Donald Swearer, of Swarthmore College and Harvard University, spoke on "Religious Identity and Globalization," with a provocative subtitle: "Would Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammed Drive an SUV?" He addressed sociological aspects of religious living in a globalized age, with particular reference to Thai society. Phra Paisan Wisalo, a noted Thai forest monk and ecological activist, spoke on the "Reform of the Thai Sangha in the Light of Global Realities." Dr. Wesley Ariarajah, a Methodist theologian from Sri Lanka who has worked for many years with the World Council of Churches, spoke on "Religious Diversity and Interfaith Relations in a Global Age."The Venerable Dhammananda (formerly known as Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) was scheduled to give a plenary address on "Women's Experience in Theravada Buddhism," but could not attend due to the untimely death of her beloved mother, the Ven.Voramai Kabilsingh, one of the pioneering twentieth-century bhiksuni s in Thailand. Mae Chee Vimuttiya delivered an address titled "The Tripitaka Answer to the Extremes in the Modern World." Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong (ret.) presented an address titled "Transcending the Limits of Religion in Search of the Wonder [End Page 241] of God," and spoke of challenges to Christian faith and life in a postmodern society. Muslim scholar and activist Chandra Muzaffar described the challenges to and prospects for the religions in the wake of the globalizing process in a plenary address titled "Religion and Society in a Global Age." Dr. Muzaffar's presentation succeeded in highlighting key issues faced by those sincerely looking for ways in which religious traditions and communities can contribute to global healing, rather than continue to be part of the problem that divides the human family. Michael von Brueck gave the final plenary address, titled "An Ethics of Justice in a Cross-Cultural Context," suggesting pathways for a hopeful future.In addition to the plenary addresses, there were twelve plenary panels covering various topics. These included "Education for Global Awareness," chaired by Ruben Habito; "Religion and Media in a Global Age," chaired by Louis Gabaude; "Interfaith Dialogue in a Global Age: Personal Testimonies," chaired by Donald Swearer with members from the Interreligious Group for Theological Encounters, better known as the Cobb-Abe group; "Religion and the Globalization of War," chaired by Nancy Martin; "The Shadow of Religion: Killing People and Making Peace," chaired by John Butt; "Women and Spirituality," chaired by Roshan Dhunjibhoy; "The Transformation of Religious Traditions through Global Interreligious Encounter," chaired by JosephRunzo;"Islam,Social Justice,andGlobalization," chairedby Chandra Muzaffar; "Pluralism, Human Rights, and Buddhism," chaired by Michael von Brueck; "Students of Subaltern and Superpower States: Intercultural Communicative Competence via Information Technology," chaired by Daniel Wessner; "Globalization and ReligiousVocation," chaired by Herbert Swanson; and "Contemporary Exemplars of Interreligious Bridge-Building: Thomas Merton and Bede Griffiths," chaired by Douglas Conlan. In addition to the plenary sessions, individual paper sessions were held in three concurrent groups, with more than sixty topics presented by scholars and religious leaders throughout the entire... (shrink)

Cross-cultural competence is often studied as part of the foreigner's one-way adaptation to the host culture while ignoring the dynamic nature of adaptation at the discourse level of interactions. To address this issue, this article proposes a conceptual model to study cross-cultural discursive competence exhibited in individual interactions in business settings. The model is based on relational empathy and genre theories and, in particular, it develops the notional concepts of `cultural space' and `text reconstruction' that stress a two-way (...) cultural adaptation underpinned by building relational empathy and intercultural alliances. In addition, the study proposes that the triangulation of cultural, institutional and sociocognitive spaces is the key to understanding and interpreting text reconstruction as a dynamic process of two-way cultural adaptation. The three-space model is exemplified through an analysis of cross-cultural interactions that occurred at a business negotiation meeting. (shrink)

I wish to carry out a philosophical inquiry into contemporary intercultural public spheres. The thesis I will support is that the achievement of inclusive public spheres (namely, with respect to our European and Western experience, the accomplishment of democracy) largely depends on one’s willingness and capacity to foster an “appreciation of diversities” by first, enhancing policies and forms of cooperation between the citizens’ emotional and motivational resources, and then enhancing their cognitive competences. More specifically, my proposal is to understand (...) such an effort from the viewpoint of postWeberian responsibility, that is of an ethics and politics that overcome the traditional divisions between theory and practice, cognition and emotion, “Verantwortung” (responsibility) and “Gesinnung” (conviction), and therefore succeed in enhancing the citizens’ awareness and attitudes as – in Habermas’ words – “democratic co-legislators”. Fiinally, a case study of Matthew Lipman’s “Philosophy for Children/Community of Inquiry” succeeds precisely in embodying this cultural project. (shrink)

This paper reports on collaborative research undertaken with the African Australian Christian Impact Centre (CIC) in Perth, Western Australia. It is part of a larger university philosophy outreach program in which the researchers seek to create opportunities for those on the educational and social margins, and young people, to engage in ‘doing philosophy’, and to learn from them about their experiences. We were interested to evaluate whether the collaborative philosophical inquiry methods we use in our university teaching could be beneficial (...) outside of a formal educational setting, for members of the culturally diverse, faith-based community of CIC. In this multi-method evaluative study, we examined the extent to which participation in a series of Community of Inquiry (CoI) sessions improved or did not improve participants’ self-assessment of: (1) their competence and confidence in communicating with others in different contexts; (2) their competence and confidence as a ‘thinker’; and (3) their social competence and confidence. Our findings on ‘communication’ are discussed in this paper. The facilitated philosophical discussions led to insights about ‘speaking out’ and ‘listening’, particularly with respect to participants’ experiences of cultural and generational differences. We suggest that participation in CoI in a faith-based community setting has the potential to significantly increase confidence in communication skills, and lead to greater intergenerational, intercultural, and intercommunity sensitivity. (shrink)

Autism Spectrum Disorders have been defined as a group of developmental conditions that affect the capacity to interact with the physical and social environment, among others. A core feature of autism is the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors that vary in complexity, form, and frequency throughout life history. These core features have traditionally been defined as impairments that interfere with communication competence. From an embodied approach, however, these actions could be seen as characteristic ways of interacting with the (...) world. In this sense, we take an enactive and embodied approach to cognition in which we conceive cognitive agents as sensorimotor systems whose perception-action occurs in terms of affordances. This framework provides an integrative view of autism considering affectivity, perception, action, exploration, and interaction within a complex and dynamic dimension. Following this, we propose different applications based on embodied, intercultural, and feminist epistemologies, to understand and participate with autistic and cognitively diverse populations. The change in theoretical and methodological paradigms within embodied cognitive science towards autism and other cognitive diversities and how they engage with the world can lead to more comprehensive, integrative, and bioethical approaches. (shrink)

This conceptual paper argues for the reconfiguring of Intercultural Communication Education (ICE) through a dialogical engagement with Istina (Truth) and Pravda (Truth in Justice). The paper argues that the field of ICE is predominantly characterised by normative conceptualisations of truth (e.g., characterised by fixed or ‘objective’ interpretations of language and culture) or hyper-relativist post-truth conceptualisations (e.g., non-essentialist approaches to ICE). This conceptual paper, therefore, addresses the following research question: To what extent can a dialogical approach to truth address and (...) redress epistemic power imbalances in ICE? Through engaging with Russian language and the dialogical approach of Mikhail Bakhtin a non-normative approach for ICE is proposed. The paper conceptually argues in moving beyond the binary of normative and post-truth interpretations in ICE through dialogism. The paper serves at an important juncture amidst calls that the field of ICE is characterised by epistemic violence and epistemic power imbalances. The proposed dialogical approach to truth in ICE aims to redress epistemic imbalances in arguing for a form of non-normative dialogical ethics. (shrink)

In the article, the development of intercultural readiness of university students for intercultural communication by using the developed multifunctional model is considered. The definition of intercultural readiness of students, the units of the developed model, as well as the content of each unit are presented in detail. Moreover, the components of development of readiness for intercultural communication are fully described. The aim of this work is to assess both the approaches of the multifunctional model and the (...) pedagogical conditions of development of students’ intercultural readiness. The authors analyze the results of technical universities students’ survey aimed at finding out the respondents’ levels of intercultural readiness. (shrink)

The author of foregoing article has a thesis that a conception of interculturality in the modern world determines new standards in politics, economy and especially in teaching foreign languages. The starting point of the discussion is the explanation of key words: culture, interculturality, intercultural teaching, intercultural competence. The author explains the specificity of intercultural teaching during the foreign language classes and regards the intercultural competence as an essential requirement for effective communication with representatives of (...) other cultures. She considers referring to our own model of interpretation to understand a statement as one of the most important reasons of misunderstanding in intercultural communication. To avoid this misunderstanding while working on vocabulary, one should underline the differences and similarities between cultures. (shrink)

This study presents a first assessment of the challenges faced by Dutch health care providers dealing with the increasing cultural diversity in Dutch society. Qualitative interviews with 24 Dutch caregivers and policy-makers point to a number of important difficulties encountered when confronted with the growing diversity of patient populations. The study focuses explicitly on the challenges health care providers perceive in their direct interactions with patients. On the basis of the observations of the 24 respondents five strategies were formulated to (...) improve the delivery of care in a multicultural environment. Their findings were further evaluated by confronting the empirical data with care-ethical notions (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness) and intercultural communication-theory. (shrink)

This study presents a first assessment of the challenges faced by Dutch health care providers dealing with the increasing cultural diversity in Dutch society. Qualitative interviews with 24 Dutch caregivers and policy-makers point to a number of important difficulties encountered when confronted with the growing diversity of patient populations. The study focuses explicitly on the challenges health care providers perceive in their direct interactions with patients. On the basis of the observations of the 24 respondents five strategies were formulated to (...) improve the delivery of care in a multicultural environment. Their findings were further evaluated by confronting the empirical data with care-ethical notions (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness) and intercultural communication-theory. (shrink)

Drawing on interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives, this book critically examines intercultural theory and its interrelations with globalisation, education and dialogue in multicultural societies. Applying the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas, the author repositions intercultural communication within a new paradigm that challenges static interpretations of self and other, and suggests future directions for the development of a post-methodological framework based on the decentring of the researcher. This innovative work will provide researchers and language teachers with the critical tools needed to challenge (...) instrumentalist approaches to communication in a diverse global context, characterised by conflict and fear of the other and fresh insights to scholars of education, applied linguistics and sociology. (shrink)

Concerns about intercultural communication practices in child and family health were raised during a South Australian ethnographic study. The family partnership model was observed as a universal pedagogic tool introduced into the host organisation in 2003. It has a role in shaping and reshaping cultural production within child health practice. In this study, we draw on insights from postcolonial feminist scholarship together with three‐body analysis to critique the theoretical canons of care that inform intercultural communication in the child (...) and family health setting.We contend that although the family partnership model may be very useful, its intended universal application is problematic in the context of multiculture. Issues of race, gender and class were seemingly unattended when using a communication approach based in historical scientific rationalism. Liberal interpretations of discourses of equity and empathy arising out of contemporary models of communication were often adopted by child and family health nurses and protected them from seeing the inherent binaries that constrain practice. Insights from postcolonial feminist thinking enabled us to recognise the problems of applying theory to practice in a linear fashion. We demonstrate the use of three‐body analysis as a deconstruction strategy to refigure how theory might be understood and worked with in the multiculture that is Australia. (shrink)

This paper presents some thoughts focusing on the problems of ethnico-cultural communalism, its meaning in the current global socio-political context and its implications with regard to principles of democracy, citizenship and the nation-state. It gives particular attention to the issues of interculturality and intercultural communication (IC) as central markers in the contemporary socio-political landscape. The author claims that IC (particularly in its communal and ethnic forms) may prevent or resolve the communal separation that threatens many groups throughout the world. (...) Apart from the essential role it has in production, reproduction and circulation of meaning within, as well as outside, the group, the discourse developed by communal communication media is an ideological, reflexive construction whose aim it is to create an impact on the social cognition of its receivers. This is why ethnicocultural groups scattered around the world generally have effective communal media that reinforce their social, cultural and political cohesion at local, national and global levels. Because, as well as expressing their positions and views on the issues facing a nation's society, this formal discourse provides group members with a legitimate and coherent framework for action and argument. (shrink)

The concept of communicative competence has been studied widely for over 40 years in several fields, including linguistics, psychology, and speech communication. Different definitions of communicative competence and measurement of communicative competence exist in these fields. A clear approach to communicative competence for typical speaking individuals and its measurement of communicative competence is unclear. This paper aims to: review four main approaches to communicative competence and highlight strengths and (...) weaknesses of each approach; develop an integrated approach to communicative competence for typical speakers; and address measurement of communicative competence. An integrated approach to communicative competence for typical speakers provides a fundamental access to communicative competence in different fields. For examples, scholars and speech, language pathologists have clear knowledge assessing communicative competence of individuals with communication disorders. (shrink)

For some time, the role of culture in language education within schools, universities and professional communication has received increasing attention. This article identifies two aporias in the discourse of intercultural communication : first, that it contains an unstated movement towards a universal consciousness; second, that its claims to truth are grounded in an implicit appeal to a transcendental moral signified.These features constitute IC discourse as ‘totality’, or as ‘metaphysics of presence’.The article draws on the work of Levinas ; and (...) Derrida to propose more considered ethical grounds for intercultural praxis. Contra a Hegelian impetus towards universal consciousness,we posit an irreducible distance and separation between the self and other. In so doing, not only are we able to supersede the field’s implicit appeal to the transcendental as a source of truth but also to counter perceptibly ‘exorbitant’ claims and actions of the intercultural other. In this vein, the article proposes a discourse ethics of responsibility by which it still becomes possible for a critical intercultural praxis to make value judgements and to take potentially transformative action vis-à-vis cultural acts that challenge the limits of intercultural tolerance and hospitality. (shrink)

The concept of communicative competence has been studied widely for over 40 years in several fields, including linguistics, psychology, and speech communication. Different definitions of communicative competence and measurement of communicative competence exist in these fields. A clear approach to communicative competence for typical speaking individuals and its measurement of communicative competence is unclear. This paper aims to: (1) review four main approaches to communicative competence and highlight strengths (...) and weaknesses of each approach; (2) develop an integrated approach to communicative competence for typical speakers; and (3) address measurement of communicative competence. An integrated approach to communicative competence for typical speakers provides a fundamental access to communicative competence in different fields. For examples, scholars and speech, language pathologists have clear knowledge assessing communicative competence of individuals with communication disorders. (shrink)

Moral emotions shape the effectiveness of culturally diverse teams. However, these emotions, which are integral to determining ethically responsive patient care and team relationships, typically go unrecognised. The contribution of emotions to moral deliberation is subjugated within the technorational environment of healthcare decision‐making. Contemporary healthcare organisations rely on a multicultural workforce charged with the ethical care of vulnerable people. Limited extant literature examines the role of moral emotions in ethical decision‐making among culturally diverse healthcare teams. Moral emotions are evident in (...) ethnocentric moral perspectives that construct some colleagues' practices as ‘other’. This article examines how moral emotions are evoked when cultural dissonance influences nurses' moral perceptions. We use a qualitative investigation of teamwork within culturally diverse healthcare organisations. We use Haidt's () account of moral emotions to examine practice‐based accounts of 36 internationally educated and 17 New Zealand educated nurses practising in New Zealand. The study provides evidence that moral emotions are frequently elicited by communication and care practices considered ‘foreign’. The main implication is that although safe practice in healthcare organisations is reliant on highly functioning teams, collaboration is challenged by interprofessional power relations of contested culturally shaped values. We address practice‐based strategies that enable engagement with moral emotions to enhance effective teamwork. (shrink)

Source: Author: Olena Znanetska In the current article the problem of foreign communicative competence of higher school students has been considered. The notion, the main point and the components of higher school students` foreign competence have been analyzed. The scientific works under the problem have been investigated. ]]>.

This article explains why intercultural communication always should be studied in context and how even though misunderstanding is normally at stake in intercultural communication, one can argue that the promotion of mutual understanding actually is of mutual interest for all of humanity. Studying in context means paying attention to circumstances around the uses of signs as well as to the roles and moods of the users of signs. Promoting mutual understanding means avoiding a state of mind that implies (...) the depreciation of the other. To be intercultural, a communication must not be infected by prejudices. Any real attempt at intercultural communication is a paradoxical procedure. It supposes that human beings who engage in it at one and the same time recognize the stranger as similar and as different. Also, it can lead to acceptance of the other and a better understanding of what communication is about as well as to rejection and obscurantism. In this paper, I argue that even though people always relate in various ways to common and different cultural backgrounds, they still have to relate to common issues that govern their ways, and that focusing on those common issues and studying the various communicative contexts and contents help promoting mutual understanding, as these activities highlight the implicit role of the value of respect in all interpersonal communication. Human beings cannot avoid evaluating situations, contexts, relations, peoples and cultures. How can we establish that mutual respect and open-mindedness are better than disdain and dogmatism? Well, precisely by affirming that human relations commonly build on the inevitability of communicating and contrasting values and norms. Meaning in interaction permanently transforms cultural elements and patterns into something new. Intercultural communication becomes more respectable when it acknowledges the variety of ways humans interact meaningfully and the plurality of their logic of action. It is good and reasonable to value understanding because this variety and this pluralism always have kept the social alive and more than ever in our modern globalized world contribute to the creativity and interactivity of modern life. The interest of pragmatics in user attitudes, its focus on practical rather than on alethic modalities, can contribute to a more nuanced approach to intercultural communication, where the different elements of meaning in interaction can be studied in various bundles rather than in a single strand. (shrink)

Japan has been facing with paradigm shift necessity in terms of the demographic structure, globalizing business and technology revolution, and as its consequence, also with deficiency of human resources with global literacy. The Japanese government has established a new strategy aiming to develop and foster “Global Human Resources” with high language and communication skills capable for international operations. Analyses of the literature on Japanese sociocultural behavioral characteristics and empirical case studies carried out in Poland with pragmatics approach in this paper (...) reveal that honorifics regarded as a technical layer of interaction management and Japanese habitus consisting of uchi/soto behavioral scheme, unique uchi-codex are causes of interaction failure. These features make Japanese uchi-group ethnocentric and almost impossible for a non-Japanese to assimilate themselves to the uchi-codex. Neither a foreign speaker’s high level of proficiency of the Japanese language nor their good knowledge on Japanese culture itself guarantee successful communication and interaction in the Japanese business sector without their practical ability and endeavors to apply this Japanese behavioral scheme even partially. The whole sociocultural and behavioral discrepancy or this incompatibility of Japanese behavioral scheme to other cultures seems to keep the Japanese away from achieving Human Resources with global literacy. (shrink)

La acción de los medios de prensa de construir y representar realidades socioculturales genera --en reiteradas ocasiones-- relaciones desiguales, promoviendo e institucionalizando unas identidades en desmedro de otras. La situación se complejiza cuando se trata de países vecinos, con sus respectivas tradiciones socio-histórico-culturales, pasados comunes y límites bisagra. Bajo este escenario se analizaron las producciones noticiosas de cobertura nacional publicadas en los periódicos de mayor tirada de dos países limítrofes: “El Mercurio” de Chile y “El Comercio” de Perú. De este (...) modo, y por medio de una herramienta metodológica ligada al Análisis Crítico y Complejo del Discurso, esta investigación busca comprender los procesos de construcciones noticiosas y representaciones que los medios de prensa chilenos y peruanos hacen en torno a los “discursos de la diferencia” que se institucionalizan en la relación entre ambas naciones. The action of the press media of constructing and representing socio-cultural realities generates --on numerous occasions-- unequal relationships, which promote and institutionalize certain identities in detriment of others. The situation becomes more complex when it deals with neighboring countries and their corresponding socio-historical-cultural traditions, shared pasts, and “hinge-like” borders. Under this scenario, the production of national news by two nationwide press media of the neighboring countries will be analyzed: “El Mercurio” of Chile and “El Comercio” of Perú. In this manner, and using a methodological tool based on the Critical and Complex Analysis of the Discourse, the main objective of this research is to understand processes of construction of news and representations that the Chilean and Peruvian press make linked to the “discourse of the differences” which have been institutionalized in the relationship between them both. (shrink)

The Intercultural, Educational, and Interdisciplinary Borderlines -- Intercultural Encounters, Discord, and Discovery: Medieval Times Amid Evil Times? -- The Dialogical Paradigm -- Al-Kindi on Education: Curriculum Theorizing and the Intercultural Minhaj -- Intercultural Farabism: Towards a Tripartite Model of Dialogical Education -- Rihla as the Sojourner's Deliverer from Error: Al-Ghazali's Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Journey of Epistemic Crisis -- The Averroesian Deliberative Pedagogy of Intercultural Education -- Concluding Thoughts and Implications.

Individuals from different cultures have been coming into contact for thousands of years with varying levels of success. Certainly history is replete with examples of cultures in conflict from larg...

Semiotic construction has an enormous influence on the latest studies in promoting intercultural communication. Understanding all symbols of traditional rites and fostering mutual respect, compassion, sympathy and empathy for other cultures is understood as a new angle. Moreover, semiotic construction is a contact tool for cultural qualities. This research aims to explore and reveal the multicultural values that are contained in the tiba meka rite. The analysis examines 50 custom spokespersons over the period of February to December 2019 and (...) uses interviews, stationery collection, field notes and audio-visual recordings. Three research results concerning the tiba meka rite were found. First, semiotic meanings used in tiba meka rites are semiotic expressions that invite national or international outsiders, government guests, religious leaders and community leaders. Second, the philosophy relates to the theory, personality and morality of economics behind semiotic spoken words. This philosophy is influenced by the following main philosophies: pragmatism and indoctrism. Third, the tiba meka rite's multicultural values include respect, gender, politics, solidarity, faith, tolerance, political, social, economic, authority and familiarity, and these values promote intercultural communication. The six steps used by the Manggarai people to welcome outsiders include these concepts. (shrink)

El pueblo mapuche, pueblo originario del Sur de América --Chile--, posee un sistema de comunicación propio articulado a una visión mítico-simbólica y sacralizada del mundo, condición que implica una diversidad de códigos y lenguajes que operan integradamente para la comunicación entre las diferentes dimensiones y entidades que componen este cosmos. La irrupción de occidente ha incidido en la transformación de la práctica tradicional de este pueblo debido al proceso de dominación hegemónica que ha buscado desarticularlo, ante el cual el pueblo (...) mapuche, desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX, implementa diversas estrategias tendientes a recuperar su territorio y autonomía cultural. Este trabajo sostiene que una de las principales estrategias contrahegemónicas es la creación de un macrosistema de comunicación intercultural que responde a un proceso metacognitivo complejo sustentado en distintas fases y niveles de elaboración epistémica. Con el propósito de dar cuenta de este proceso este trabajo se centra en el estudio de uno de sus subsistemas: el artístico, desde el cual se describen y reflexionan los territorios y fronteras simbólicas que se generan respecto del sistema de comunicación occidental. The Mapuche people in southern Chile, South America, have a system of communication organized upon a sacred mythical symbolic view of the world, a condition that implies a diversity of codes and languages working altogether to communicate in the different dimensions and entities that integrate this cosmos. Irruption of the western world and its hegemonic dominance have influenced and transformed these people’s culture, trying to break it apart. Since the second half of the 20th century, Mapuche people have developed varied strategies to recover their land and cultural autonomy. The present paper holds that one of the main strategies against this hegemony is the creation of a macro system of intercultural communication, which derives from a complex metacognitive process supported by different phases and epistemic elaboration levels. This paper focuses on one of those systems: the artistic one, from which we describe the land areas and symbolic borders produced in relation to the western communication system. (shrink)

The following article deals with intercultural communication research as a subfield of communication studies. The broader aim is to contribute to the history as well as to the systematization of the field of intercultural communication research. The author is mapping three very different national research communities: Germany, France and the US. The main question is: Why, in each of the countries under comparison, do communication studies deal so differently with the subject of intercultural communication as a research (...) topic and/or field? The methodology is comparative and focuses on the differences and similarities in the three national communities of communication studies and research. Both the German and the French communication researchers look closely at US research. It appears that research traditions and general trends of mainstreaming in communication studies are highly influential as gatekeepers or barriers to intercultural communication research as a subfield of communication studies. (shrink)