New media – especially the personal computer – play a significant part in people´s private area as well as in the occupational area. Thus, there is talk about transition of industrial society into an information society. Such transition has been fulfilled since the end of the 1960s and includes a digitalized and interconnected world for the greatest extend. Those changes affect the whole everyday reality; an increasingly number of the population spend their time in front of monitors inside a virtual reality. The internet and mobile devices facilitate communication with both, familiar and unknown people all over the world. For the young generation – the so called “digital natives” – the constantly networking and opportunity of gaining knowledge easily became obviously.
Furthermore, the kind of learning has changed as well. Due to the digitalized world knowledge is not only represented differently but also accessible at any place and is not bound to a personal producer or mediator. The digital learners should not “consume” rehashed knowledge anymore but, need to be able to have the ability to use available knowledge and information, screen those usefully and thus, reach efficient learning outcomes. Hence, media literacy becomes a key qualification to participate in the information society.
In the course of lifelong learning and concomitant increasingly compulsion to flexibility of learning, weblogs as a form of e-learning can represent an efficient media to realize a new culture of teaching and learning since contents are spread independently from place and time and are made available for the recipients. Besides, the access to blogs created by people and companies all over the world enables an absorption and participation in foreign cultures, values and perceptions by the digital learners. Blogs make our society more interconnected and self-aware.
By considering the aspects of education and intercultural learning written in the scholastic standards, it is necessary to examine blogs concerning their features and potentials, possible applications in the English foreign language classroom and finally, to provide theory into a practical and realistic teaching unit of a 11th grade at a German advanced level of a high school.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. New Media in the English Foreign Language Classroom
3 Defining “Weblogs”, Their Features and Applications
3.1 Features and Functions of Weblogs
3.2 Possible Applications of Weblogs
4. Why Teaching with Weblogs? - Potentials and Skills
4.1 Communicative Skills
4.2 Cultural Awareness through Weblogs as a Key Competency
5. Teaching Own and Foreign Stereotypes by Weblogs
5.1 Introduce the Blog
5.2 Teaching Unit
5.2.1 First Teaching Lesson
5.2.2 Second Teaching Lesson
5.3 Competencies and Learning Targets
5.3.1 Intercultural Communicative Competence
5.3.2 Text- and Media Literacy
5.3.3 Language Awareness
6. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this work is to explore the pedagogical potential of weblogs in the English Foreign Language Classroom (EFLC), specifically focusing on how digital media can foster intercultural communicative competence and help students overcome cultural stereotypes.
- The transition from industrial to information societies and its impact on modern language education.
- The technical features and educational applications of weblogs in classroom settings.
- Development of communicative skills and cultural awareness through digital interaction.
- Implementation of practical teaching units targeting personal and national identity.
- Alignment with educational standards regarding intercultural learning and media literacy.
Excerpt from the Book
4.2 Cultural Awareness through Weblogs as a Key Competency
In order to explain the upcoming teaching unit, it is necessary to briefly explain the rather complex topic of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). In 1997 Michael Byram established a new model about how ICC works and skills it includes (see Fig. 1). The combinations of the following five skills represents the concept of ICC: In the context of ICC “attitudes” describe the mindset one person has about another. Mostly, these mindsets are overwhelmed with prejudices or stereotypes, which is the central topic of the upcoming teaching unit (Byram 1997: 31). Therefore, the impression and a successful communication is poisoned. The key to overcome the stereotypical way of thinking is to decentre yourself, to detach from your former attitude in order to experience something new.
Beyond this, Byram separates the second domain, “knowledge” into two parts: mainly the society-knowledge and secondly the individual knowledge. He claims that the relationship towards a certain topic determines whether you as a learner can take the knowledge for granted in a specific situation. So knowledge is always situation-dependent. Another important domain of ICC are the skills themselves (Byram 1997: 35).
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Outlines the shift toward an information society and establishes the necessity of integrating digital media into foreign language education.
2. New Media in the English Foreign Language Classroom: Discusses the evolution of teaching tools and the role of "digital-natives" in leveraging technology for social communication and learning.
3 Defining “Weblogs”, Their Features and Applications: Defines weblogs and examines their technical structure, such as chronological posting and comment areas, alongside their varied educational applications.
4. Why Teaching with Weblogs? - Potentials and Skills: Explores how blogging fosters communicative skills and intercultural competence by creating a "learning space" for engagement and feedback.
5. Teaching Own and Foreign Stereotypes by Weblogs: Presents a concrete teaching unit for 11th-grade students, using a Canadian-authored blog to challenge stereotypes and reflect on personal values.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes the potential of weblogs as a tool to cultivate an expansive repertoire of teaching methods that foster responsible digital citizenship and intercultural dialogue.
Keywords
Weblogs, Digital Media, EFLC, Intercultural Communicative Competence, Stereotypes, Language Learning, Media Literacy, Cultural Awareness, Personal Identity, E-learning, Teaching Unit, Communicative Skills, Information Society, Digital Natives, Intercultural Dialogue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this publication?
The work examines the pedagogical integration of weblogs into the English Foreign Language Classroom to support students in developing intercultural competence and overcoming cultural stereotypes.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study covers digital media in education, intercultural communicative competence (ICC), the use of blogs as learning spaces, and the practical implementation of teaching units focused on identity and cultural values.
What is the primary objective of this research?
The goal is to demonstrate how blogging activities can bridge the gap between traditional pedagogical standards and the modern digital needs of 11th-grade learners to facilitate meaningful intercultural dialogue.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author combines theoretical frameworks, such as Michael Byram's ICC model, with a practical, step-by-step design of a teaching unit, incorporating student-centered methods like THINK-PAIR-SHARE.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body details the technical functions of blogs, the specific pedagogical benefits regarding communicative skills, and a detailed lesson plan involving the analysis of a real-life blog created by a Canadian traveller.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Weblogs, Intercultural Communicative Competence, Digital Media, Language Awareness, Media Literacy, and Stereotype Reduction.
How is the concept of "personal identity" utilized in the classroom?
Personal identity serves as a framework that allows students to explore their own values before contrasting them with foreign cultural symbols and stereotypes found in the blog.
What role do the "overlapping circles" play in the teaching unit?
The circles are used during the teaching unit to visually represent commonalities between German and Canadian values, serving as a tool to counteract negative generalizations and stereotypes.
Why are weblogs considered "transformational" technology?
They are described as transformational because they shift the learner from a passive consumer to an active producer, providing access to authentic cultural voices and real-world communication.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Olesja Yaniv (Autor:in), 2016, Digital Media and Culture. Counter Stereotypes about Foreign Cultures by Using Weblogs in the EFLC, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/338603
