The intercultural challenge for languages in higher education Michael Kelly University of Southampton Director, Routes into Languages Manchester Metropolitan University 12 June 2014

Summary Language learning opens up new worlds of knowledge of other cultures. Language learning does not automatically deliver an understanding of how languages and cultures relate to each other. Five important areas in which intercultural understanding can be applied Issues in established approaches to language learning. The intercultural challenge to develop new pedagogical approaches.

Language learning and knowledge of other cultures Different systems of meaning Different culture or group of cultures Everyday life (lifestyle, values) Contemporary culture and society History

The learner of a second or foreign language and culture does not cease to be competent in his or her mother tongue and the associated culture. Nor is the new competence kept entirely separate from the old. The learner does not simply acquire two distinct, unrelated ways of acting and communicating. The language learner becomes plurilingual and develops interculturality. The linguistic and cultural competences inrespect of each language are modified by knowledge of the other and contribute to intercultural awareness, skills and know-how. They enable the individual to develop an enriched, more complex personality and an enhanced capacity for further language learning and greater openness to new cultural experiences. Learners are also enabled to mediate, through interpretation and translation, between speakers of the two languages concerned who cannot communicate directly. Common European Framework of Reference, C.U.P., 2001, p.43

Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence 4.4 A key form of knowledge and understanding developed among students of languages is the ability to compare the view of the world from their own languages and cultures with the view of the world from the languages and cultures they have studied. The analytical skills they have developed can be used equally well in the study of their own culture and, in particular, in comparing, contrasting and mediating between the two (or more) societies with which they are familiar. Languages and related studies benchmark statement, QAA, 2007

Understanding how languages and cultures relate to each other Target language, target culture Systematic learning of language differences Incidental learning of cultural differences Relation with own culture Relation with other cultures

Applications of intercultural understanding Economic Context: globalisation, trade relations, customers, markets Career opportunities: businesses, mobile workers, recruitment agencies, travel agencies, events management Professional pathways: cultural briefing, mobility training, liaison and representation, translation, interpreting

Applications of intercultural understanding Political Context: international relations, diplomatic relations, war and peace Career opportunities: government (esp. diplomacy, trade relations), European and international institutions, non-governmental organisations Professional pathways: civil service (research, training and support), training agencies, conflict management services, negotiation, translation and interpreting

Applications of intercultural understanding Social Context: migration, border control, social inclusion Career opportunities: border agencies, development agencies, legal, social and health services, education, voluntary bodies Professional pathways: cultural briefing, training, liaison and representation, mediation, public service translation and interpreting

Applications of intercultural understanding Context: cultural transfer, exchanges Career opportunities: leisure industries, heritage, tourism, sport, major events, publishing, media Professional pathways: translation, interpreting, cultural mediation and facilitation

Applications of intercultural understanding Education and research Context: transnational education, international research collaboration Career opportunities: secondary, further and higher education (recruitment, international partnerships), national and international agencies in education and research, educational exchanges Professional pathways: teaching and research in languages and intercultural communication, professional development and training

Issues in established approaches to learning languages and cultures Native speaker model Target language teaching Metropolitan culture focus

The intercultural challenge to develop new pedagogical approaches Intercultural approach to language learning Compare and contrast languages and cultures Relations between own and target language/culture Explore interconnections between languages/cutlures Relativist perspective (even if binary) Cohabitation of languages/cultures Valorize diversity of identities (learners and teachers)