Globalization demands people to communicate in a new context of communication. People should be able to communicate across nations and become the part of global society. Since a language is a means of communication, people should master language well to support them in their communication activities. Meanwhile, learning language is not only learning different words for the same things but also learning another way about things. Byram and Fleming (1998: 7) state that the potential of language teaching to prepare learners to meet and communicate in other cultures and societies than the specific one usually associated with the language they are learning. It means that language learner should master the knowledge of how to express appropriate messages …show more content…
According to Common European Framework for Languages (2002) that cited by Vrbova (2006: 9), intercultural awareness as a product of the relation between knowledge, awareness and understanding of ‘the world of origin’ and ‘the world of the target culture’. Therefore, Fantini (1995: 13-14) suggests that language education should focus more on intercultural aspects so that learners can develop awareness, attitude, skill, and knowledge that will make better participant on local and global level, able to understand and emphatize with others in new …show more content…
Based on the preliminary study conducted by the researcher, there are some finding which showed the learning condition of cross-cultural understanding (CCU) to EFL at UNISKA MAB. The lecturer has already had positive attitude toward intercultural teaching in which he is aware that he has to teach English along with its culture in the classroom. He has provided culture learning and provided cultural materials both English and Indonesian cultures, and also media to be used in his class. However, (1) Some students have low intercultural awareness because the they have less motivation and less curiosity toward English and Western cultures. (2) The level of students’s intercultural awareness in cross-cultural understanding to EFL are influenced by the three factors; individual experiences, collective experiences and wider social influences. (2) The students have lack of cultural learning practice in their cross-cultural understanding class which are influenced by the students’ level of intercultural awareness. (4) The lecturer needs to provide the detail cultural exposures in the cross-cultural understanding classroom by promoting the students’ culture learning practice, students’ self-motivation, students’ self-curiosity, teaching technique, teaching topic, teaching media and learning facilities in order to provide good
The concept of face is referring to the socially approved self-image. It is about honor and shame belief and value systems. Facework is the verbal and nonverbal interactions we use in regards to our own social self-image and the social image of others.
Basic foreign language skills are important in communicating with people. With new technologies, we can communicate with people who do not speak English. In recent years, the number of people in the United States who do not speak English has also risen. Also, only ten percent of the world's population speaks English. Although one year of a foreign language will not allow students to...
All my life I have been in the midst of culture, from helping my mom cook our dinner of Jollof rice to holding a fundraiser event past dawn to aid in the building of primary schools in Nigeria. As a result, I am grateful for my family because, from them I have cultivated my early interest in culture. One thing I am especially proud of is that I initiated a cultural awareness club at my school to create a more inclusive and thus safer environment for my peers with a cultural background. Each month I write out an agenda for the culture that is being highlighted; our monthly meetings include a speaker or performer and some snack that relates to the culture. For example, in November we celebrated Native American heritage and had Quinoa. We invited
Recently, regardless of how good technologies are nowadays, how modern the universe can be using the creativeness and intelligence of human’s mind, we must always not forget to communicate with one another every day. Communication is define as the act of transferring information from one place to another. It may be in a form of vocally, written, visually or non-verbally (skillsyouneed.com, 2017). As for me, the ability to communicate effectively is the most importance of all life skills. This is what I have been struggling in my daily routine life as an international student here in Dublin, Ireland. Back in Malaysia, my first language is Malay, but when I came here for the first time, I found it quite difficult as English is not
It is believed that miscommunication is one of the most frequent problems in intercultural communication. Through such factors as idiom, interpretation, translation errors and body language so communicative skills can fail due to the misunderstanding. When these intercultural mistakes happen between people, it might be experienced by different cultures as unmannered, laughable, confusing or frighten. However, the situation occurs not only in general society, but also in classrooms which are increasingly international communities.Therefore, this essay will explain several different causes and effects of miscommunication in intercultural classrooms, which consist of: participation in classroom, physical touching and non-verbal communication.
Language is the main way to communicate with others, and when a foreigner comes to a new country, the communication is the major thing he has to deal with. According to the text, “the first is so obvious it hardly needs mentioning-language. Vocabulary, syntax, idioms, slang, dialects, and so on, all cause difficulties, but the person struggling with a different language is at least aware when he is in this kind of trouble” (p. 69). Language is an obvious blockade in a cross-culture communication, because of the different grammar, words, slang, and so on. If a person knew the language of that country, at least he could know when he is in the trouble and what kind of the trouble, and I perceive this as the most important thing, to be able to understand. The difficulty of learning a language, is not only know the vocabulary and syntax, but the actual meaning of the sentences. I totally agree with this stumbling block of cross- culture communication, due to my experience of being an international student who studies in another country. When I wanted to come to the
With an increase in globalization, many people venture into other countries to seek employment and education opportunities. The United States-based corporations employ over 100 million overseas workers. They also hire a large number of locals who then move to take roles in other countries where the company has operations (Reichard et al. 2015). This means that Americans are exposed to a high number of people from other nations with diverse cultures in their workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other social places. Therefore, people need to improve their intercultural communication skills to enable them to interact efficiently with people with diverse cultures. The improvement of technology has made the media an agent for enhanced
I have learned a great deal about different cultures and the communication between those cultures. I didn’t really think I would learn as much as I did. I am from an older cohort than most of the people in my class; therefore my experience level is a little greater. This did not prevent me from learning a few things and enhancing the knowledge I already have.
...s encountered by Chinese background students in intercultural communications. This study also suggests including knowledge of nonverbal communication into EFL teaching so as to enable English learners to become fully competent in the targeted language, because nonverbal communication is used in everyday communication, and it is one of the prerequisites to acquire intercultural communicative competence.
Teaching students a language that is foreign can really be challenging for students as well as for the teachers. The dynamic rule for implementing instructing in a diverse class to English-learners is to use resourceful life skills such as diligence, hard work and patience. There are also methods that are involved in teaching English as a second language that can be creative for the teacher, yet beneficial to the student. First building a strong foundation that is essential to English learners will promote the language acquisition process. To do this teacher’s should always start with preparation. Advance preparation is essential in order to provide necessary adaptations in content area instruction and to make content information accessible for second language lear...
People live in the world of communication. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Moore, 1997), communication is defined as, “The activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information”. The significance of communication can be found within the context of a human existing as a social being. As a human being manages his or her life in the course of the interaction between other members of the entire society, communication is inevitable. Communication occurs through the medium of a language and it is presented in two different forms which are written and spoken (Brown & Yule, 1983: 1-10). The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent over the written performance capability. It is because the ability to speak a language reflects a person’s personality, self image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real-time (Luoma, 2004: ix). These days, due to the global trend of internationalisation, the ability to communicate in English is needed as an essential skill. Whenever the international exchange happens, the use of spoken English entails. However, it is not always an easy task for people who use English as a second language to be able to speak to the level of a native speaker. They have to perfectly understand the sound system of English, have almost instant access to proper vocabulary and be able to place words together intelligibly without hesitation. Moreover, they also have to perceive what is being said to them and need to be able to respond appropriately to acquire amiable relations or to accomplish their communicative goals (Luoma, 2004: ix). Therefore, non-native English speakers encounter these barriers and they are subject to make mistakes often. In relation to this matter, this essay argues that there are socio-cultural factors as well as linguistic factors that affect non-native speakers’ communication in English. It provides analysis of several different situations when the use of spoken English has generated miscommunication problems in regards to author’s personal experience.
To elaborate, by mentioning intercultural understanding, I meant that each cultural group has different ways to communicate. For example, Western culture encourages people to be up-front and straight-forward with their communication; contrastly, people who are influenced by Eastern culture might be less outspoken about their ideas and pay a lot of attention to nonverbal language of the people around them. Culture is something that if one have never encountered or exposed to it, he or she would never know. I hope that after this project, besides of the knowledge we gained from the research itselves, all four of us would improve even more on our intercultural and interpersonal communication skills. Because at the end of the day, the knowledge that one have learnt might be forgotten, but all of the skills that one have gained will stay for a very long time.
Therefore, this is able to encourage the ability to communicate and appreciate the depth and diversity of the world. Communication with two different countries, or three, or four, will further bring the world closer together, in hopes of closing the divide between some countries. By learning a second language, it can significantly broaden your native language as it gives you stronger vocabulary skills, improved literacy skills and a better understanding of the grammar and construction of your own native language. Furthermore, this can help you in other educational studies. Though it is possible to travel to another country without acquiring the native language, the experience you will have is greatly diminished as you will not see beyond the surface of their culture. Additionally, knowing the native language makes travelling easier, by being able to order meals in restaurants, ask and understand directions. Additionally, it makes it easier to find accommodation, it’s more enjoyable, informative and more satisfying. You are able to further understand and appreciate international literature, music and films, by being able to understand word plays, innuendoes, cultural references, metaphors and further improve your ability to speak the
Abstract: Globalization has made intercultural communication inevitable. Communicating with other cultures characterizes today’s business, classroom, and community. Technology, especially the internet, has increased the probability that whatever is documented online will be read by someone from another culture. Intercultural communication is of importance in any career field, thus the art of knowing how to communicate with other cultures should be a workplace skill that is emphasized. This is a conceptual paper whose purpose is twofold.
The issue focused on importance of learning of foreign languages. Many people ask "Why should I learn foreign languages? " Learning a foreign language takes assiduity and free time. In order to understand this importance we need first to understand benefits of knowing and learning foreign languages.