I am a huge supporter of intercultural communication. I think that it is very important for learners to get a good understanding of other cultures and just a better world view in general. Studying abroad personally, I saw first hand that you never fully understand a culture until you are immersed in it or even exposed to it. Learning about a new culture can really change a person's belief system. It helps them to see outside the box and to really analyze not only the new culture but their own culture as well.
Intercultural communication I think is especially important for language learners. One of the best ways to help a student understand and better appreciate the language is to expose them to that language's culture. For example, finding out cultural customs or beliefs might make the language a little more interesting to the student who is simply in the class to get the credit. The only risk I believe in the success of intercultural communication is that it definitely relies on the effective participation of both sides. Like we have seen in our readings, sometimes intercultural communication does not always yield positive results when there is a lack of teacher preparation or misscommunication between partners. Successful intercultural communication also relies on the fact that participants are sensitive to and know the "socio-pragmatic" rules for communicating with the other culture.
But like I said, I am still a huge fan of the benefits of intercultural communication. A lot of these benefits are as Byram mentioned, being more curious and open, getting an understanding of different social groups and practices, learning skills of relating and interaction, and just developing better cultural awareness in general.
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5 comments:
I agree that intercultural communication is really important in helping students to understand a new culture. I think you are right about the risk of unequal participation effecting an intercultural communication. I think this can be controlled (to some degree at least) by providing clear guidelines to students!
As you pointed out, students often begin a intercultural communication project with different expectations and levels of motivation. It would be frustrating and disappointing to be paired with someone who didn't care or put much effort into the project. I liked Dr. Lomicka's way of establishing partners.
I agree that intercultural communication is definitely a good idea when learning a language. Like you said, studying abroad is the best way, in my opinion, to learn this. However, I think that it all depends on the individual student.
Good job! 10/10
I am also a fan of ICC. In fact, I decided to use it in my teaching purpose. It is crucial to find a teacher that is willing to work and follow through but once that is set in place I'm sure its smooth sailing! :)
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