Title: Promoting Language and Culture Learning in an EFL Context
Abstract: This Independent Professional Paper (IPP) describes the intercultural communication project I undertook during my Interim Year Teaching Practicum (IYTP) in Granada, Spain. Throughout the academic year of 1998-1999, Englishspeaking students enrolled in the University of Granada’s Spanish Language and Culture Courses were invited to participate as volunteer language and culture exchange partners with my Spanish-speaking, intermediate-level English as a Foreign Language students. These classroom experiences, designed to enrich the course’s speaking, reading, writing, and listening curriculum, were intended to stimulate authentic communication and to heighten personal and intercultural awareness among the participants. The argument presented in this paper is that by designing and implementing projects of this sort, language teachers, especially those working in a foreign language context, can adopt a teaching approach that not only acknowledges the interrelationship between language and culture, but also encourages the development of learners’ communicative competence. In addition, intercultural communication projects, such as the one described in this paper, can help alleviate some of the inherent challenges of a teaching context, where the language of study is not present. ERIC DESCRIPTORS: CULTURE: Cross Cultural Studies, Cross Cultural Training, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Education, Cultural Exchange, Culture contact, Intercultural Communication, CURRICULA/PROGRAMS: Intercultural Programs, TEACHING PROFESSION: Teaching Experience, METHODOLOGY/CLASSROOM PRACTICES: Experimental Teaching, Teaching Methods, FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING: Communication Skills.
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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