2. Read the text and match the headings to each paragraph. There is one extra heading.

A. Ways of Dealing with Conflict

B. Ways of Using Symbols

C. Ways of Learning

D. Ways of Knowing

E. Ways of Non-verbal Communication

F. Ways of Solving Problems

G. Ways of teaching English

3. Read the text again and decide whether the following statements are True (t)

or False (F).

1. In the United States information is acquired through "non-academic" sources.

2. Cultures solve problems taking into consideration their distinctive values, philosophy and beliefs. 

3. In Korean culture, smiling signals embarrassment and being afraid to ask questions. 

4. In the United States classrooms can be student-centered, with the teacher as a facilitator.

5. In the United States written exchanges might be preferred over face-to-face encounters as a means of conflict resolution

6. In many Asian countries individuals are encouraged to deal directly with conflicts when they do arise. 

7. Symbols that are unique to various cultures should be correctly understood and interpreted. 

8. It is vital that students continuously educate themselves, discovering all that they can about their peers and their backgrounds. 

4. Answer the questions.

1. How can acquiring cultural competence be achieved?

2. How do different cultures acquire information?

3. Why do respondents from Asian cultures state that they would save the mother in a particular situation?

4. Why is it crucial for teachers to know that cultures have different ways of non-verbal communication?

5. What are the differences in learning styles in some cultures?

6. How do people react to conflicts in some cultures?

7. Why is it important to understand and interpret symbols that are unique to various cultures?

8. How should teachers guide their students more effectively toward academic and personal success and fulfillment?

COMMUNICATION

1. Work in groups of three or four. Express your agreement or disagreement on the following issues about Intercultural Competence.

1. Cultural knowledge does not necessarily lead to competence.

2. Cultural contact does not necessarily lead to competence.

3. Cultural contact may lead to reduction of stereotypes.

4. Language learning may not be sufficient for culture learning.

WRITING

1. Consider the ideas discussed in COMMUNICATION exercise.

2. Write an essay on Intercultural Competence in 300-350 words.

READING

1. Skim the text and guess the meaning of highlighted words.

The intercultural dimension' in language teaching

When two people talk to each other, they do not just speak to the other to exchange information, they also see the other as an individual and as someone who belongs to a specific social group, for example, a 'worker' and an 'employer' or a 'teacher' and a 'pupil'. This has an influence on what they say, how they say it, what response they expect and how they interpret the response. In other words, when people are talking to each other their social identities are unavoidable part of the social interaction between them. In language teaching, the concept of 'communicative competence' takes this into account by emphasizing that language learners need to acquire not just grammatical competence but also the knowledge of what is 'appropriate' language.

When two people in conversation are from different countries speaking in a language which is a foreign or second language for one of them, they may be acutely aware of their national identities. They are aware that at least one of them is speaking a foreign language and the other is hearing their own language being spoken by a foreigner. Often this influences what they say and how they say it because they see the other person as a representative of a country or nation. Yet this focus on national identity, and the accompanying risk of relying on stereotypes, reduces the individual from a complex human being to someone who is seen as a representative of a country or 'culture'.

Furthermore, often in language teaching the implicit aim has been to imitate a native speaker both in linguistic competence, in knowledge of what is 'appropriate' language, and in knowledge about a country and its 'culture'. The concept of 'culture' has changed over time from emphasis on literature, the arts and philosophy to culture as a shared way of life, but the idea of imitating the native speaker has not changed and consequently native speakers are considered to be experts and the models, and teachers who are native speakers are considered to be better than non-native speakers.

In contrast the 'intercultural dimension' in language teaching aims to develop learners as intercultural speakers or mediators who are able to engage with complexity and multiple identities and to avoid the stereotyping which accompanies perceiving someone through a single identity. It is based on perceiving the interlocutor as an individual whose qualities are to be discovered, rather than as a representative of an externally ascribed identity. Intercultural communication is communication on the basis of respect for individuals and equality of human rights as the democratic basis for social interaction.

So language teaching with an intercultural dimension continues to help learners to acquire the linguistic competence needed to communicate in speaking or writing, to formulate what they want to say or write in correct and appropriate ways. But it also develops their intercultural competence i.e. their ability to ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and their ability to interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own individuality. As a consequence, the 'best' teacher is neither the native nor the non-native speaker, but the person who can help learners see relationships between their own and other cultures, can help them acquire interest in and curiosity about 'otherness', and an awareness of themselves and their own cultures seen from other people's perspectives.

Thus, developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching involves recognizing that the aims are: to give learners intercultural competence as well as linguistic competence; to prepare them for interaction with people of other cultures; to enable them to understand and accept people from other cultures as individuals with other distinctive perspectives, values and behaviours; and to help them to see that such interaction is an enriching experience.

(Michael Byram, Developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching)