EIL and intercultural competence in ESP contexts

Meei-Ling Liaw

National Taichung University of Education

Presentation Outline

Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts

Pedagogical considerations for integrating intercultural competence in ESP education

Integrating Intercultural Competence into ESP teaching and learning: An Example

Conclusions

Questions and Answers

Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts

EILELF (English as a lingua franca)English as a global languageEnglish as a world languageEnglish as a medium of intercultural communication

EIL varietiesKachru’s (1985) division into inner, outer, and expanding circlesRespect for the different varieties of English

Key Issues of teaching intercultural competence in EIL contexts

Intercultural competence in professional contexts Awareness of how different cultural beliefs influence linguistic

choices Intercultural competence includes knowledge, sensitivity, attitude,

interpretation skills, discovery and interaction skills, critical awareness of culture and political issues (Byram, 2000)

Teaching intercultural competence in ESP settings ESP competence can be cultivated by a combination of gained

experience as well as attitudes and abilities developed through learning (Byram, 2000)

An effective ESP teacher is not solely a subject matter or an English language expert, but must also be somebody who can help learners become intercultural speakers

Pedagogical considerations

EIL varieties in the ESP classroom exposures to different forms and functions of English opportunities to interact with EIL users collaborate with other teachers in all three circles of

world Englishes

Considerations of ESP learners’ intercultural encounter needs authenticity task-based activities for meaningfulness collaborative tasks designed according to students’

professional communication needs

Pedagogical considerations

Taking advantage of information technologies Provide authentic, up-to-date information that reflects

the current global context cultural immersion ability to discern, identify, explain culturally appropriate

patterns of Internet-mediated interaction

Intercultural competence of ESP teachers “an agent for social cohesion” partners with students

Example - Telecollaborative project

The students work in group to build something (a prototype) to be used in a kitchen and then present the object to the class using a PPT presentation.

The presentation should include a) a marketing plan, b) a construction plan, and c) a User's Manual.

After the in-class PPT presentation, then the students present their creation to their international partners via Videoconference. The students comment and ask questions about others’ creations during videoconference presentations

Example - Telecollaborative project

Infinity Video PPT

Reizouko Video PPT Text

An example

Conclusions

Positive research findings of task-based computer-mediated communication Appel & Gilabert Guerrero, 2006 Deutschmann & Panichi, 2009 Healey (2006)

If culture is treated experientially, it can have a powerful motivating effect

ESP teachers should not be the sole cultural mediator Learners can be cultural informants help students become autonomous learners

Thank you!

Questions?