scholarly journals Culture and Interculture: What are we talking about? Challenges for the ELT Community

HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 105-118
Author(s):  
Carlos Rico-Troncoso
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Foreign Languages

Talking about culture in the field of teaching foreign languages is not a new topic, but talking about interculture and interculturality is a subject that is now gaining a lot of interest in the field of ELT. Especially in the last two decades we have witnessed the growth of publications in this regard. We find all kinds of publications, but we are still having seeing the same fundamental questions that become relevant in these times of change: what we teach, who we teach it to, why we teach it, and how we teach it. These questions have always been relevant for language teachers, but today they have become even more meaningful since we are living in different times, times marked by unexpected political changes, strong economic pressures, and an unreasonable need to homogenize and standardize all the processes of teaching and learning. We must think collectively from new (postmodern) paradigms, empower ourselves, and begin to change our pedagogical practices. The aim of this paper is to share reflections on what foreign language teaching should be and how we should be thinking about culture and interculturality in our classrooms. This is an invitation to think about the need to interculturalize the teaching of the foreign language.

scholarly journals Examining foreign language teaching and learning in Nepal: an ecological perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prem Prasad Poudel ◽  
Madan Prasad Baral
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Foreign Language Instruction ◽  
Ecological Relationship ◽  
Language Teaching And Learning

Abstract In recent years, in Nepal, while some languages of the nation are on the verge of extinction, some foreign languages (such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese) are emerging as new attractions among the youths and adults and are widely taught in the marketplaces through the private sector initiative. Against this backdrop, in this article, we have examined the current foreign language teaching and learning situation drawing on qualitative empirical data obtained from the institutes involved in foreign language instruction in a city in Gandaki Province of Nepal. The data were collected from a survey in forty institutes, ten individual interviews and five focus group discussions. Drawing on the data, an ecological model was adopted, which focused on dynamic interaction, co-existence, and competition among languages, and findings were discussed in line with these aspects of ecological understanding. Findings revealed that learning foreign languages has been established as a conduit towards economic gains and opportunities for employment and education, which has largely been contributory towards reshaping the ecological relationship among the foreign languages in Nepal.

MLA Foreign Language Proficiency Tests for Teachers and Advanced Students

PMLA ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 77 (4-Part2) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
Wilmarth H. Starr
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
American Association ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Modern Language Association ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
South Central

I. Brief History of the Project: Since 1952, the Foreign Language Program of the Modern Language Association of America, responding to the national urgency with regard to foreign languages, has been engaged in a vigorous campaign aimed in large part at improving foreign-language teaching in our country.In 1955, as one of its activities, the Steering Committee of the Foreign Language Program formulated the “Qualifications for Secondary School Teachers of Modern Foreign Languages,” a statement which was subsequently endorsed for publication by the MLA Executive Council, by the Modern Language Committee of the Secondary Education Board, by the Committee on the Language Program of the American Council of Learned Societies, and by the executive boards or councils of the following national and regional organizations: National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations, American Association of Teachers of French, American Association of Teachers of German, American Association of Teachers of Italian, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, Central States Modern Language Teachers Association, Middle States Association of Modern Language Teachers, New England Modern Language Association, Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Northwest Conference on Foreign Language Teaching, Philological Association of the Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, South Atlantic Modern Language Association, and South-Central Modern Language Association.

scholarly journals Neue Ansätze in der DaF-Methodik und ihre Konsequenzen für die Lehrwerkgestaltung

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Luiza Ciepielewska-Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Target Groups

The following factors have contributed to arising new target groups in teaching foreign languages: the European Union’s claim concerning the multilingualism of its members, migrations, common mobility. As a consequence of this situation new handbooks for teaching and learning foreign languages have appeared on the market. Thus, the teacher is often confronted with the necessity of choosing the handbook, which is most adequate for the needs of a particular group of learners. The present article aims at defining the criteria of handbook selection in the light of the latest trends in foreign language teaching methodology.

scholarly journals Towards LSP (II) – Language Teaching for Future Interpreters: Graduate Profiles

10.29007/wzmn ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Adams ◽  
Laura Cruz-García
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Oral Performance ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Development Of Language

This paper presents some of the findings from research carried out among language teachers on translation and interpreting (T&I) degree courses in Spain, who responded to a questionnaire aiming to obtain a clearer idea of how foreign language teaching in this field of studies differed from approaches in other areas. The main purpose was to compile data based on actual practice, rather than theoretical notions. While the questions posed tended to be framed in such a way as to draw conclusions more for translation than for interpreting, a number of them were conducive to eliciting responses relating to aural and oral performance. Our paper will set forth the ensuing findings that can be applied to the development of language- and culture-based competences for subsequent interpreting courses and practices, as well as exploring possible further areas of study in the area of the teaching of both foreign languages and the mother tongue based on the specific language competences required in the different modalities of interpreting. We are, of course, immensely grateful to all those teachers who took the time and trouble to answer our questions.

scholarly journals INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AT LEVELS B2 - C1 (FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF THE TEXTBOOK)

2013 ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
E. B. Yastrebova ◽  
D. A. Kryachkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Basic Features

The article analyzes how professors and students of MGIMO-University’s School of International Relations perceive innovations in language teaching.As a synergy system, language teaching relies on selfdevelopment based to a great extent on innovations, which can be initiated either from the inside or from the outside. To identify the basic features of innovations in foreign language teaching, the authors conducted a survey of professors and students of the School of international Relations. The results suggest that for most respondents the main purpose of innovations in foreign language teaching and learning is to attain a significantly higher level of communicative competence, which is seen as feasible only if fundamentally new teaching materials and computer technologies are used. According to the survey, the success of innovations largely depends on their source (innovations ‘from the top’ and innovations ‘from the bottom’) and commitment on the part of professors and students to participate in them, the latter being often prompted by their discontent with the state of play. Innovations ‘from above’ tend to be more encompassing and affect the entire system of language education, whereas innovations ‘from the bottom concern the teaching process per se. Though the survey suggests that it is innovations ‘from the top’ that tend to be more successful, the authors conclude that language education as a synergy system adopts only non-shattering innovations that address its most vital needs, thus encouraging its sustainable development.

Zur Bedeutung der Didaktik der nichtlinguistischen Disziplinen im FSU

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-53
Author(s):  
Petra Besedová ◽  
Karolína Soukupová ◽  
Kristýna Štočková
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching Learning

IMPORTANCE OF THE DIDACTICS OF NON-LINGUISTIC DISCIPLINES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING Learning does not mean anything but learning with all your senses and feelings. The young generation lives nowadays in a complex media world to which foreign language didactics also has to respond. Educators and teachers should use numerous materials that do not only develop language skills, but also conveycultural approaches. The teaching of non-linguistic disciplines plays a key role in foreign language teaching, and foreign language teaching is currently very modern in its cultural context. The paper attempts to outline the existence of the so-called didactics of non-linguistic disciplines in foreign language teaching in the Czech Republic. On the basis of a questionnaire survey among foreign language teachers, the extent to which foreign language teachers are confronted with the content of didactics of non-language subjects was examined. The authors were also interested whether there are differences between teachers of different foreign languages (English, German, Russian, French), and which preferences teachers of these foreign languages manifest when choosing their teaching material. We believe that the content of the didactics of non-linguistic disciplines is an essential part of foreign language teaching and can greatly enrich this field.

scholarly journals TECHNOLOGIZATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (11(79)) ◽  
pp. 189-191
Author(s):  
Oleksandra Borzenko
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers

The article reveals the features of professional improvement of foreign language communicative competence of foreign language teachers in the European Union, which is the result of the development of European integration, globalization and information processes. Emphasis is placed on the importance of professional development of teachers and the need for changes related to the development of new goals in teaching foreign languages with the new up-to-date innovative teaching aids. It is determined that foreign language teachers of European countries are constantly looking for and actively apply in practice innovative methods, modern information technologies, as well as distance learning in language teaching. It is noted that an essential feature of modern innovation processes in the field of education and upbringing is their technologicalization – strict compliance with the content and sequence of stages of the implementation of innovations. Among all new technical aids for foreign language teaching, the computer is an essential component of the educational process, which has one of the most significant influences on the course of teaching. New up-to-date approaches to the formation of foreign language communicative competence in the foreign language teaching put forward new requirements for the professionalism of the teacher, his/her qualifications. It is determined that the improvement of foreign language competence of the foreign language teacher is influenced by the properties of his/her personality, general and professional competence, which is provided by a combination of knowledge of didactics, linguistics, methods of teaching foreign languages, cultural studies and creativity, professional mobility, continuous self-development. Foreign language teachers of the European Union improve their professionalism through various forms of education. The views of scientists on the research problem are characterized. Conclusions and prospects for the use of further development of the study are made.

scholarly journals Student interest in cultural content of a foreign country

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Katarina Krželj
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Target Culture

The paper presents results of a study on the interest of students of non-philological faculties (of universities in Serbia) in contents from foreign cultures and how high importance students attach to learning about the target culture in foreign language teaching and learning at non-philological faculties. The goal of modern foreign language teaching at non-philological faculties, in addition to the development of communicative competence in the profession, is also to develop pluricultural competence. In order to test the chances of attaining this goal, it is necessary to perform an analysis of the legislative framework in which teaching foreign languages for special purposes takes place, an analysis of learning aims and the possibility of developing cross-cultural sensitization. An analysis of the needs for and interests in the contents of the target culture must be precededed by an analysis of the specificities of intercultural learning and intercultural competence. Based on these results, it is possible to establish the correlation between the elements of the culture already present in the existing teaching material and the interests and needs of the target group which these materials are intended for.The data thus obtained will serve as a basis for defining the guidelines for selecting contents of the target culture, which, on one hand, will be based on methodological and didactical principles of interculturally oriented foreign language teaching, and on the other hand, will reflect the real needs and interests of the students from a number of non-philological faculties.

scholarly journals The Cultural and Historical Elements in the Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: the Polish Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 335-362
Author(s):  
Mateusz Bogdanowicz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Learning And Teaching

The article calls for a thorough revision of the cultural and historical content of English language curricula at all levels of the Polish educational system. The benefits of coordinated and well-managed language education based on cultural and historical content are outlined. The article is based on the author’s research into part-time university students who are English language teachers, as well as the cultural and historical background knowledge imparted during English classes. The study was conducted at the Department of English Studies of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn in 2010–2019. The article expounds the reasons behind students’ and teachers’ reluctance towards incorporating cultural and historical content into English language curricula. The benefits stemming from cultural and historical background knowledge for teachers, students and foreign language teaching in general are discusses. Based on these observations, the last part of the article explores the most effective methods for promoting, introducing, implementing and developing teaching modules that incorporate cultural and historical knowledge. Culture and history-related content would undoubtedly increase the attractiveness and efficacy of language programs, promote competence development (linguistic, extra-linguistic, and general) among students and teachers, increase motivation in the learning and teaching process, and deliver tangible benefits for schools.

Preparation of College and University Language Teachers

PMLA ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-14
Author(s):  
Jack M. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Dynamic Leadership ◽  
College And University ◽  
National Defense Education Act ◽  
Education Act

The improvement of foreign language teaching in America in the past ten years under the dynamic leadership of the Foreign Language Program of the MLA is a fact in which we can all rejoice. The added impetus, financial and otherwise, provided recently by the National Defense Education Act, has made it possible for the Program, instead of retrenching after the period of Foundation endowment was ended, to expand with unprecedented vigor and effectiveness. The FLP has been active over a broad spectrum of foreign language teaching and learning, but there are areas where its influence has not yet been felt. One of these is the preparation of college and university language teachers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document