Teaching Intercultural Communication

Christina Salmon
January 20, 2007

Article: Building Awareness and Practical Skills to Facilitate Cross-Cultural Communication

Author: Eli Hinkle

Summary

Visible vs. Invisible Culture

Invisible culture consists of the sociocultural beliefs and assumptions that most people are not even aware of and thus cannot examine intellectually. (Hinkle, 2001) Invisible culture is not always taught in explicit instruction.

Summary

Students need to learn both visible and invisible culture in their instruction.
They need to be taught how to recognize socially acceptable behavior and language and when to use this behavior and language. ELL students are at risk for alienation from their peers, misunderstanding by their teachers, and lost opportunities if they are not aware of cultural norms.

Pragmatics

Intermediate and advanced ELL students will continue to have a communication problem if they have not learned how to use language in social situations. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, pragmatics deals with three major communication skills: Using languages for different purposes Changing language according to the needs or expectations of a listener or situation Following rules for conversations and narrative rules may vary depending on language and culture.

Empowering Students
Students need to become observers of sociocultural norms. They need to pay attention to politeness routines, social status, and expressions used in everyday conversations. Students must then identify why certain expressions were used while others were not in various situations. Students must use their gained knowledge when communicating with others.

Teachers as Cultural Brokers

All teachers must have an understanding of his/her students cultures.

Why do some students speak in class while others do not? Why wont some students make eye contact with the teacher? Why would a student openly criticize his/her teacher?

Cultural Considerations
Larri Fish has noted these differences between ELL learners.

In some cultures, maintaining silence is a form of respect. It is disrespectful to make eye contact with elders in other cultures. Israeli children are taught to criticize a professor if they feel the person is giving incorrect information. Hispanic children are accustomed to hugging, kissing, or touching authority figures.

Analysis
Elementary students may have difficulty in understanding why certain expressions in language are used when others are not. They will need to be taught to recognize nonverbal cues as well as the other signals described in this article. This article offered strategies for older students which may not be as effective for younger learners.

Using Common Linguistic ExpressionsKnow your Audience

Students must learn when it is appropriate to use certain expressions. Hinkle emphasizes the importance of learners being astute and consistent people-watchers. Students must consider sociocultural variables, such as gender, age, social status, the relationship between speaker/listener, and even the location and length of the conversation. Students must use and understand nonverbal communication.

Common Linguistic Expressions

Greetings
Least polite Yo.

Hey, whats up? with a highfive Hi, hows it going? Hi, how are you? Hello, how are you today? with a handshake

Most polite

Common Linguistic Expressions

Telephone Greetings
Least polite

Hey, let me talk to Matt. Hey, can you put Matt on the phone?

Hi, is Matt there?

Hi, its Sara. Is Matt there? Can I talk to him? Hello, this is Sara. Is Matt there? Can I please speak to him? Thank you.

Most polite

Common Linguistic Expressions

Inviting Someone to Visit You
Least polite Come over to my house and

Most polite

play with me. What are you doing after school? You should come over and play. Can you come over after school and play at my house? Can you please come over to my house and play after school?

Lesson Plan
Goal: To use English to communicate in social settings: Students will use English to participate in social interactions. Objective: Students will observe social interactions and identify strategies to use when speaking to others. Warm-Up: Ask students to name all the different kinds of people they typically speak to in one day. Make a list of their thoughts and ideas.

Lesson Plan
1.

ESOL students will observe role plays of various social interactions (examples: between teacher/student, student/student, and student/parent.) They will be asked to pay attention to the following: -gender, age, social status, the relationship between the speaker/listener, location, and amount of time the conversation lasted The actors may use exaggerated facial expressions and/or pictures to show feelings and reactions during the conversations.

Lesson Plan
2.

3.

After each situation, students will discuss (to the best of their ability) what they observed and why it happened. They will also need to recognize how each person felt during and after each interaction using nonverbal clues. Students will take turns role playing the same situations showing how they would feel after each linguistic expression.

Lesson Plan
4.

5.

Take students to their regular education classroom and have them observe teacher/student and student/student communication. After a period of time, bring students back to discuss what they observed. If students are having difficulty understanding why certain expressions were used, it will be necessary for the teacher to explain them.

Lesson Plan
After students are more aware of the appropriate use of the expressions, show students clips from television/movies to see how children communicate in other situations. Older students may compare the situations they observe to similar situations in their native countries. 7. Have students determine if the children in the clips used appropriate communication. Discuss any nonverbal clues they observed. Ask students to tell anything that surprised them.
6.

Lesson Plan
8.

For home practice, have students observe communication they see at home, on the bus, in a grocery store, or any public setting. Students could keep a log of what they notice and then bring it to the ESOL classroom so all classmates can discuss their observations. They can also tell about their speaking skills from their own conversations.

Lesson Plan
9.

As closure, review with students these strategies to use when communicating:

Think about the person you are

speaking to. (ie. You would not talk to your teacher the way you would talk to your friends.) Is this person older than you? Where are you? How long do you have to talk to him/her?

 Compare your situation to other

situations you have observed. What happened in those situations? What did other people say and do?

Lesson Plan

Watch the other persons face and

actions while you are speaking. Look for any clues to show how he/she is feeling.

Self-Evaluation: Strengths of Activities/Strategies

Students will have multiple opportunities to observe communication. Students will be able to practice their own communication skills. Students will learn to use and understand nonverbal communication. Students will become more aware of sociocultural norms.

Self-Evaluation:
Weaknesses of Activities/Strategies

It will be necessary to have proficient English speakers to first role play situations, which means students may miss their instructional time. Puppets could be used instead, but ELL students would miss the realistic facial expressions/nonverbal cues. Start a collection of dialogue clips as soon as possible. Several clips found did not portray realistic communication between teachers and students. Students will need a lot of additional practice in observing different types of communication before having a thorough understanding of invisible culture.

References
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Pragmatics, Socially Speaking. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/pragmatics.htm

Fish, L. (n.d.). Building Blocks: The First Steps of Creating a Multicultural Classroom. Retrieved January 8, 2007, from EdChange Multicultural Pavilion, http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/buildingblocks.html
Hinkle, E. (2001). Building Awareness and Practical Skills to Facilitate Cross-Cultural Communication. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed.) (pp. 443-458). Boston: Heinle and Heinle. Meyers, H. (Writer). (2006). Its a Mannequins World [Television series episode]. In M. Poryes (Producer), Hannah Montana. Hollywood, CA: Disney Channel. Retrieved January 18, 2007, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5o2ot9FZN4