Publication details
Intercultural Communication of Speakers of English: Integrating Theory and Practice
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The fundamental goals of communicative competence include an appropriate language use in context. English language teaching should thus incorporate cultural proficiency and reflect the link between language proficiency and cultural factors that define the context of communication. The paper presents the course of Intercultural Communication designed for international students at Masaryk University. The aim of the course is to enhance the students' intercultural awareness and improve their communication skills in intercultural settings. The students, native and non-native speakers of English, take part in certain activities, such as on-line discussions and writing of reflective journals, through which they share their experience of intercultural interactions and relate their intercultural experience to the knowledge they have obtained in the course. The students' findings are further used as a source of data for a research in the field of intercultural communication. Both the course and the research underline the concept of English as a contact language in intercultural situations characterized by linguistice as well as cultural complexity. |