Although intercultural concepts tend to essentialism and reductionism and thus run the risk of constructing artificial ethnic differences and stereotypes, the existing models are quite useful for teaching purposes as well as for the purpose of this paper which is to analyse a textbook for German high school in order to find out more about its potential to help develop ICC. In my view, using both terms interchangeably is acceptable as long as one considers culture to be a dynamic, negotiable phenomenon (cf. Freitag 2008). Regarding the actual teaching I agree with Hu (2009) that intercultural concepts in spite of their deficits cannot and should not be replaced immediately, but gradually with the narrative-constructive concepts of intercultural learning in mind. The national KMK-Bildungsstandards (2010: 12f.) set rather high standards for ICC emphasising the role of literature and diversity of texts in developing ICC. Landeskunde should be taught as well, but not only to impart fact knowledge, but to enable students to communicate in real intercultural situations.
Generally speaking, the task of a teacher is to prepare his students for the challenges of future life and they are definitely going to take place in a globalized, inter- or transcultural world. According to the White Paper on Intercultural Learning by the Council of Europe, in a democracy, we do not only have the opportunity, but the duty to act as active, responsible, reflective and self-critical citizens, respectful of others and to help build a peaceful, democratic world. (2008: 29). I think that helping students to achieve this aim is best done by enhancing their discourse ability (more in chapter 2.1)
Since the most common way of teaching EFL in Germany is by using a textbook (cf. Kurtz 2010), this paper will try to find out how well this can be done in regard to developing ICC based on the realities of the FL classroom. In order to do so first of all we have to clarify the basic theoretical concepts which are needed to understand the idea of intercultural communication and consequently the competences which are required for the successful accomplishment of that interactive task. In a second step I will conduct a small qualitative research exploring and evaluating both the theoretical ICC learning models and the textbook New Context.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Teaching Intercultural Communicative Competence in German Highschool – Analysis of a Teaching Unit
2.1. Theoretical Foundations
2.2. The Research Design
2.2.1 Criteria for the Evaluation of the Unit Regarding the Overall Quality of Texts
2.2.2. Criteria for the Evaluation of the Tasks
2.3. The Overall Analysis of the Complete Teaching Unit „The UK – Redefining a Nation?“ with Suggestions for Improvement
2.4. Additional Criteria for a Detailed Analysis of Chosen Texts and Tasks in Regard to Their Suitability for Developing ICC
2.5. The Analysis of the Two Speeches by Robin Cook and Queen Elizabeth II
3. Conclusion
4. Works Cited
Objectives & Research Focus
The paper examines the potential of the textbook unit "The UK – Redefining a Nation?" to foster Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) among German high school students. It investigates how well the provided teaching materials and tasks facilitate the development of critical cultural awareness and prepare learners for intercultural encounters in a globalized world.
- Theoretical concepts of transcultural learning and ICC.
- Evaluation of textbook material based on discursive and five-dimensional culture models.
- Analysis of specific teaching units, including speeches by Robin Cook and Queen Elizabeth II.
- The role of the teacher in adapting and supplementing textbook content.
- Methods for promoting pluralistic understanding and reflecting on national identity.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1. Theoretical Foundations
As mentioned before the essentialist point of view can be neglected since it naturalizes phenomena, which are rather products or in fact dynamic processes of social construction. The decision which constructionist definition to chose is still fairly difficult, since hardly any definition accounts for all the elements and facets of the highly complex phenomenon called culture. Therefore every single definition is in a way simplifying, but there are some useful approaches like Hallet’s (2007) cultural didactic approach. By focusing on learners as cultural agents and emphasising their active role in the classroom interaction it meets the requirements of the European Foreign Language Education Standards. We can assume that learners always participate in social and cultural discourses, no matter if they take place inside or outside of the classroom. On the one hand their prior knowledge, their world views as well as their interests affect every learning process in some way. On the other hand the classroom discourses affect the learners’ construction of identity. And this in turn affects all the cultural conceptions and perspectives in the real world. Therefore educators must create teaching arrangements, which are related to real world discourses. This concerns relevant topics such as work, citizenship and living environment and can best be put into practice through tasks (cf. Hallet 2007: 33f.).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the shift towards a transcultural approach in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) and states the objective to analyze a high school textbook regarding its potential for ICC development.
2. Teaching Intercultural Communicative Competence in German Highschool – Analysis of a Teaching Unit: Provides the core theoretical framework and the qualitative research design used to evaluate the textbook unit.
2.1. Theoretical Foundations: Discusses constructionist definitions of culture and the role of learners as cultural agents within the FL classroom.
2.2. The Research Design: Describes the methodology for selecting and evaluating texts from the textbook "New Context".
2.2.1 Criteria for the Evaluation of the Unit Regarding the Overall Quality of Texts: Details the criteria based on Hallet and the Indiana Textbook Evaluation Guide, focusing on intertextuality and authentic cultural discourses.
2.2.2. Criteria for the Evaluation of the Tasks: Defines characteristics for meaningful tasks that encourage critical engagement with cultural materials.
2.3. The Overall Analysis of the Complete Teaching Unit „The UK – Redefining a Nation?“ with Suggestions for Improvement: Offers a comprehensive evaluation of the textbook unit's text variety, intertextuality, and its focus on Britishness.
2.4. Additional Criteria for a Detailed Analysis of Chosen Texts and Tasks in Regard to Their Suitability for Developing ICC: Explains the integration of Byram's competences and Moran's five dimensions of culture for deeper analysis.
2.5. The Analysis of the Two Speeches by Robin Cook and Queen Elizabeth II: Conducts a detailed evaluation of specific speeches to demonstrate how they can be used to teach national identity and transculturality.
3. Conclusion: Summarizes findings, noting that textbooks alone are insufficient for full ICC development and emphasizing the crucial role of the teacher.
4. Works Cited: Lists the academic literature and sources used throughout the paper.
Keywords
Intercultural Communicative Competence, ICC, Transcultural approach, Foreign Language Teaching, FLT, Textbook analysis, Cultural awareness, Constructionism, Hallet, Byram, Moran, New Context, Britishness, Teacher role, Discourse competence
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper examines how German high school English textbooks can be used to develop Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and facilitate a transcultural understanding of identity.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The study focuses on theories of culture, textbook evaluation criteria, the role of teaching units in shaping perspectives on national identity, and the pedagogical importance of teacher-led discourse.
What is the main research question?
The main question is how well the teaching unit "The UK – Redefining a Nation?" from the textbook "New Context" helps learners develop ICC, and how it can be improved.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author performs a qualitative analysis by combining multiple theoretical frameworks, including Hallet’s cultural didactic approach, Byram’s model of ICC, and Moran’s five-dimensional model of culture.
What does the main part of the paper cover?
The main part encompasses the definition of theoretical foundations, the development of evaluation criteria for texts and tasks, and a concrete analysis of specific materials like the speeches by Robin Cook and Queen Elizabeth II.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Central keywords include Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC), transcultural learning, textbook analysis, cultural constructionism, and discourse competence.
Why does the author critique the exclusive use of textbooks?
The author argues that textbooks are insufficient for the final stages of ICC development, such as immersion, and that they often require supplemental teaching methods like student exchanges to be truly effective.
How does the author propose to use the speeches by Robin Cook and Queen Elizabeth II?
They are used as examples of authentic materials that represent multiple perspectives on Britishness, which allow students to compare historical and contemporary views on national identity.
What role does the teacher play in this context?
The teacher is viewed as a facilitator who must reflect on their own cultural attitudes and adapt textbook tasks to foster real student engagement and discussion.
- Quote paper
- Irina Maric (Author), 2011, Teaching Intercultural Communicative Competence with a Textbook, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/204687
