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МЕТОДИКА ПРЕПОДАВАНИЯ ЯЗЫКА
УДК 81-139
USING ENGLISHINTERACTIVELY: INTERDEPENDENCE OF LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Shpresa Qatipi (Tirana, Albania)
Language learning and teaching have changed a lot in the course of time. One of the major changes has been the shift from a linguistic centered approach towards a linguistic and cultural perspective and experience in which the whole process develops in line with the understanding of the target and learners' culture. The following article attempts to focus, describe and reflect upon the experience gained by the teachers of the English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages in the University of Tirana. This experience brought to the fore new ideas of how to enrich and improve their language teaching contexts and enhance intercultural awareness. Through discussing some alternatives the article offers opportunities tofacilitate communication globally.
Keywords: intercultural, interdependence, communication, awareness, competence
Introduction
Today schools are facing a new society and dealing more and more in a global scenario. Borders or distance do not keep people constrained within walls any more. Teaching and learning English in particular have become a pan-national project in Albania. Before '90ies learning a foreign language was almost elite and now it is an integrated part of the national curriculum for schools. The opening of our country to the world, its involvement in the process of globalization, economic development and tourism make up those areas which need attention. It should be taken into consideration the fact that since 2008 Albanian teachers have been working to develop and implement the European Language Portfolio (ELP), a document which was accredited by the Council of Europe. Being part of such changes interdependence of language and intercultural communication play an important part. They influence people's ability to communicate
effectively within a culture. It seems right to agree that the need for effective and clear intercultural communication is becoming vital in securing success in today's globalized workplace (Samovar and Porter, 1991).
Outlining Theory
We are unique and different and that I could have been you, you could have been me, given different circumstances, in other words, that the stranger „.is inyou (Kramsch, 1996). What defines culture?
1. A complex of beliefs, attitudes, values and rules which a group of people share (Larson 1984)
2. The way of life and its manifestations, which are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression (Newmark, 1998)
3. Culture is composed of everything that a person should know, be able to feel and to do in order to succeed in behaving and acting in an environment like somebody from this environment (Schmitt, 1999)
4. Different cultures have different focuses. Some societies are more technical others are less technical (Larson, 1984)
5. Cultureme is a cultural phenomenon that is present in culture X but not present in the same way in culture Y (Nord, 1997).
In teaching and learning a language interdependence of the study becomes more evident when someone approaches a language from the point of view of cultural realization. Students cannot master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which a language exists (Peterson and Coltran, 2003). When teaching English teachers focus on two items of great importance. Firstly, it is what we call Mastering English Language Skills and secondly what we usually refer to as Culture Corner. Thus we try to study the language and culture. Studying culture related to the language being mastered is vital to develop cultural awareness. Studying general cultural features of English speaking countries involves the responsibility of helping learners to understand other peoples and their cultures. Teachers as mediators between cultures need to help students be critical towards culture in general. It is essential to start work being based not only on thejudgments about the target culture but also on the analyses and comprehension of teachers and students' own culture. A major complexity in discussions of culture is that people hardly ever have the chance to examine the influence of their own cultural background as regards their behavior (Brislin, 1993). The ways of people are praised by that same people while looked upon with suspicion or disapproval by
the others (Lado, 1998). We can infer the necessity of an intercultural approach to cultural practices (Byram, 2000; Hinkel, 2005). In the context of language teaching, teachers should enhance and facilitate the development of cultural awareness in order to promote intercultural speakers, translators and interpreters. An intercultural speaker is a tolerant and open-minded person who is able to interact with other cultures taking into account cultural differences (Kramsch, 2002).
We have been studying the impact of cultural communication in language teaching and learning in the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Tirana for several years. What we wanted to know was the understanding of the cultural norms and values embedded in a language. We wanted to see the close ties that exist between them. But there was another thing of importance which attracted our attention. It is what Hirvela (1988) warned us about the deliberate or non-deliberate misuse of texts esp. literary texts, whose culture tends to be imposing on students. This is what made us decide to focus our research on intercultural communication proposed to be carried in two stages.
Aims of research
In the first stage we aimed at recognizing the students' understanding of culture. It included different activities such as analyses of their experiences and readings which could serve as guides for reflection on the issue. It is clear that language is the means to manipulate and or use varied cultural products or it is also the tool to nominate, and understand values, attitudes and beliefs that rule ways of life (Moran, 2001). Globalization and media have produced new ways for people to learn about other cultures and build or strengthen stereotypes and prejudices (Brown, 200).
In the second stage students focused on the features of culture in communicative interactions. Non-verbal communication, personal relationships, family ties and values, cultural conflicts and life styles are essential for reflection. Generally speaking students compared some English speaking countries and Albania in particular.
The research was developed all along a semester. It started with project proposals then it was followed by a report and finally a paper came out which gave ample time to students to share the outcomes.
Methodology
The research was conducted at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Tirana. The subjects of the study consisted of 80 students who had English as their major. The students, males and females were selected at
random. Their ages ranged from 18 to 21, with an average of 19 years old. The group was composed offresh students.
The instrument used to collect data on what students were asked to do during the two stages of the research mentioned above, was a questionnaire that consisted of two parts. The first part was meant to collect personal information whereas the second aimed at figuring out students' interests in aspects of their own culture, comprehending connections between cultures and visualizing how ideologies of foreigners were perceived by others. The frequencies and percentages of their responses to the items of the questionnaire were calculated and presented in an open discussion. The findings help develop guidelines for future work regarding how to overcome barriers in students' minds towards intercultural communication and interdependence of language. There were three questions addressed to students who participated in the research:
• Are learners of English as a foreign language in the Faculty of Foreign Languages acquainted with the notions of interdependence of language and intercultural communication?
• How is the students' perception of culture in terms of its aspects?
• Are there any differences between students concerning their perception of Mastering their Language Skills and Cultural Awareness?
Results and discussions
The project had to show evidence of the analyses done and connection with theory which could be supportive enough in this way. At the same time it could be developed about the culture and cultural elements chosen according to students' preferences. 75% of the students answered the first question positively. These students valued learning independently and much of their knowledge came from other resources different from what was currently in use in their classes. Almost all students 90% knew what defines culture and its importance in language learning. 45% of the participants were at loss for words to explain what is meant by cultural awareness. It was hard for them to grasp its implications in their life.
95% of the topics were chosen on cultural issues important for the third millennium. For instance students chose to work on urban cultures, region cultures, blood-feud, dialect diversities, Romani culture etc... 80% expressed interest in sub-cultural groups i.e. groups which manifest attitudes considered violent or anti-social due to differences in the way they dress and the kind of music they listen to. Another work that is worth mentioning is the importance of understanding other people's culture patterns. The research helped students understand for instance what Roma
people and culture are. Which are their beliefs? Which is the most common behavior of those people when they decide to have a secluded life, separated from others? What is their attitude to animals, like horses and bears? Why is it almost impossible for them to settle somewhere once and for ever? Why have they always chosen to live in caravans by waterfront?
Another example is related to the attitude of Albanian people towards blood-feud. It seemed completely eradicated during the dictatorship but unfortunately it was brought back again. This phenomenon once was explained by the complete lack of laws in the Albanian Highlands. Social and political life of the highlanders was governed by the well-known Canon of the Mountains. Students chose this topic and centered on understanding this cultural subject not only from the perspective of an outsider but also from that of an insider. By being critical about the influences that make us choose, students understand such new forms which help facilitate building intercultural communication. Nowadays students are able to read their environment from the foreign and native perspectives related to their respective cultures. 65% of the students who participated in the research emphasize the importance of being inter-culturally linked while studying a foreign language. 54% found more explicit relations between language and culture. 100% felt that studying the native language and a foreign one helps them understand their and other peoples' reality. They believed that knowing other peoples' culture notjust their language make them strip off prejudices which have been accumulated in their society because of different reasons. The epoch we are living in wants us to be open to understand and change the reality. These projects are helpful for the students to understand the importance of cultural awareness and develop intercultural communication while studying a foreign language. The analysis between Albanian speakers and English speakers facilitated the identification of those aspects that connect language and culture. The students examined negative and positive stereotypes which make us come nearer or reject a culture.
Are there variations between culture and language skills? Of course mastering English language skills focuses on the development of language skills such as reading, listening, speaking and writing. So we should accept the idea that language and culture are intertwined (Gladstone, 1980). Language is one of the ways that culture manifests itself (Kramsch, 1993 and Hinkel, 1999). Based on readings on this topic students expressed the fact that the new cultural characteristics of another country can cause shock. This kind of reaction is known as culture shock which can be expe-
rienced through feelings like sadness. The experience presented attempts to make culture meet ends with language teaching. So we posed and asked the question: Can we focus on the development of critical intercultural competence in our teaching context?
A critical intercultural approach aims at having two outcomes. The first is to enhance critical intercultural awareness and the second to develop intercultural communication competence. Critical perspective needs to take part in the study, teaching and learning of culture. Cultural and social patterns are in interaction and act upon individuals. In the project mentioned above we assumed a critical intercultural view. The various explorations of cultural practices were the context for our students to build up critical intercultural competence.
Conclusions
One of the most important reflections developed during the research was the dialogue, the discussion which was turned into a very useful source for teachers' professional development. Experiences should be shared not only among teachers but also among students. Such experiences constitute a resource for future personal and professional growth. At the very beginning the research started as a process which could not be referred to as collaborative or cooperative. But in the course of time it affected the academic community of our faculty. In regard to culture, we noticed that it is still in need of further investigation in the field of language teaching and learning in Albania. New strategies are being employed to connect culture and language learning. The experience shown here demonstrates that the role of both students and teachers, especially teachers may change. They become mediators in the process of exchanging cultures. This role is not difficult to be applied in education if teachers are open to dialogues and look forward to new perspectives. Teachers can generate new dynamics of interaction in which intercultural competence in language teaching plays an essential part.
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