13 Intercultural communicative competence:

creating awareness and promoting

skills in the language classroom

Sandra López-Rocha1

Abstract

I ntercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) needs to be incorporated

in the language curriculum if educators hope to help students develop an
appreciation for the language and culture studied, an awareness of their own
culture, and the development of skills that will allow them to be competent,
adaptable, communicators. The key question addressed in this paper
focuses on the importance placed on the incorporation of those skills, now
recognised as crucial when learning a language: are we as teachers creating
the conditions for the development of ICC, or are we simply hoping students
will become interculturally competent on their own? It is, thus, necessary to
understand what is meant by ICC, why must we consider fully integrating
it in the language curriculum, and address the challenges associated with its
inclusion.

Keywords: intercultural communicative competence, cultural awareness, language

curriculum.

1. Introduction

In the last decades, Intercultural Competence was reintroduced as Intercultural

Communicative Competence (ICC) as the result of its impact on foreign
language teaching (López-Rocha & Arévalo-Guerrero, 2014). The distinction
between the two needs to be understood when we make decisions on the cultural

1. University of Bristol, United Kingdom; [email protected]

How to cite this chapter: López-Rocha, S. (2016). Intercultural communicative competence: creating awareness
and promoting skills in the language classroom. In C. Goria, O. Speicher, & S. Stollhans (Eds), Innovative
language teaching and learning at university: enhancing participation and collaboration (pp. 105-111). Dublin:
Research-publishing.net. http://dx.doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016.000411

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content in the curriculum. With regards to ICC, one of the key questions for
language tutors is whether or not we are preparing students for this challenge:
are we providing general information hoping students will develop the skills
they need to communicate more efficiently and understand cultural tendencies?
Or, conversely, are we creating the conditions for students to develop skills
preparing them for the intercultural challenge? This paper aims, first, to address
key issues in the language classroom with regards to fostering the development
of ICC among foreign language students, and second, to provide practical
ideas for tutors to promote ICC in a more integral way. The key idea is that
students need to be further challenged and guided in order to develop critical
communicative skills.

2. Why ICC?

As Hennebry (2014) observes, “[i]t has been argued that culture is the
marginalized sister of language” (p. 135). What is interesting about this quote
is that this idea has been echoed by students, suggesting “[i]t would be nice if
we are studying the language to know a bit more about the country and what
people are like there” (Jones, 2000, p. 158). The question that remains, which
is indeed our concern, is how can we help students learn about culture and
develop intercultural awareness and ICC? Although it is true that we as tutors
strive to provide a cultural foundation for students, this often presents important
shortcomings. One of the most significant problems is that we, perhaps
inadvertently, may indeed reinforce stereotypes because, instead of fostering
ICC, we often focus exclusively on the language as communication, while
the context in which that communication occurs, and which gives meaning
to the messages, is often relegated to second place. It is, thus, necessary to
understand what we mean by the culture that needs to be promoted in class.
One way to visualise it is by studying the Iceberg Theory advanced by Edward
T. Hall (1976), contrasting the surface/conscious (food, language, festivals)
and deep/unconscious (beliefs, values, perceptions) elements of culture. These
elements influence our actions, behaviours and the way we interact with each
other. In addition, oftentimes these hidden elements of culture are the ones

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responsible for culture shock and misunderstandings, potentially leading to

stereotyping and even prejudice.

It is necessary to distinguish between Intercultural Competence and

Intercultural Communicative Competence. According to Byram (1997), the
first refers to people’s “ability to interact in their own language with the people
from another country and culture,” while ICC takes into account language
teaching and focuses on “the ability to interact with people from another
country and culture in a foreign language” (p. 71). In Byram’s (1997) view, a
person who has developed ICC is able to build relationships while speaking
in the foreign language; communicates effectively, taking into consideration
his own and the other person’s viewpoint and needs; mediates interactions
between people of different backgrounds, and strives to continue developing
communicative skills.

3. Incorporating culture in our language

classes in a different way

Globalization and migratory movements have highlighted the need to integrate

interculturality in the language curriculum. This is reflected in the Council of
Europe’s (2001) document addressing plurilingual education in Europe in order
to promote teaching and learning of signatory states’ languages. This document
included sections on the importance of promoting intercultural communication
and the understanding of cultural differences. Other arguments supporting a more
engaging role of culture in the curriculum highlight the need to explore authentic
representations of culture as opposed to superficial elements; the current demand
to understand identity and appreciate similarities and differences (cf. López-
Rocha & Arévalo-Guerrero, 2014), our responsibility to prepare global citizens
(cf. Sinicrope, Norris & Watanabe, 2007), and the result of studying other
defining models, such as the US Standards for Foreign Language Learning
(ACTFL, 2006) that define language goals in terms of communication, cultures,
connections, comparisons, and communities, aimed at preparing students to
develop linguistic and intercultural competence.

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Curriculum design should take into consideration Deardorff’s (2006) Process

Model of Intercultural Competence, which emphasises the development of
self-awareness, openness, and transformation (see also Furstenberg, 2010),
and serves as a common denominator for various models and approaches to
the development of ICC. In addition, what we should be expected to teach can
be summarised in Byram’s (1997; 2008) model of ICC involving five savoirs:
knowledge, attitudes, education, skills to understand and learn.

In order to help our students become more competent in terms of culture

knowledge and interactions, we should explore ready-made activities or design
new ones that support objectives consistent with the development of ICC skills.
With regards to their integration, we can start by observing how the CEFR
incorporates culture as a component in language teaching, particularly as the
classroom context is described as learner-centred, and welcomes interactivity,
active participation, and cooperation among peers. Byram, Gribkova, and
Starkey (2002) point out that based on the CEFR, foreign language teachers
are required to promote curiosity and independent exploration and inquiry
in order for students to be active participants while developing intercultural
competence.

It is necessary to evaluate the materials or resources available prior to their use

in our classes, as oftentimes the materials included in books may indeed be
constraining or perpetuating stereotypes, instead of helping students understand
diverging cultural practices. It is important for students to be further challenged
and guided in order to develop critical communicative skills. Furthermore, as we
strive to create the right conditions, Byram (1997) suggests that the focus should
not be solely on preparing students to communicate without mistakes, but to
communicate openly, forging relationships that will allow them to thrive in the
foreign cultural context. We need to help students develop intercultural awareness
and provide activities where the “other’s” culture, values, and behaviours are
considered (Byram, 1997). In order to allow students to learn about themselves
and others we can use stereotypes, but only in order to deconstruct them and
address misperceptions. Students will also need to first understand, and then
explain, the sources of intercultural conflict and how to deal with them, while

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avoiding misunderstandings. Ultimately, we want to help students become

interculturally competent speakers.

4. Challenges

In addition to finding the right balance between language and culture, the types
of activities we use, the level of motivation and engagement of students as well
as teachers, and our own preparedness for the promotion of ICC skills, one of
the greater challenges we face is assessment. It is not easy to assess the level of
intercultural competence that each student has achieved, since they start with
different perceptions and go through the process at different rates. It is then
necessary to consider the classroom experience as a process (Byram, 1997;
Deardorff, 2006), where each experience becomes the ultimate goal for each of
the students. Furthermore, some researchers propose open assessment, where
the student and the teacher discuss and record the progress (Scarino, 2010),
while others support the idea of a portfolio, as it facilitates the interpretation
of meaning, critical reflection, self-evaluation, feedback, and the opportunity to
become aware of transformations (Schulz, 2007). Other challenges point at the
exploration of which culture? It is not only a matter of national cultures, but also
regional differences and the way the teacher’s own experience and knowledge
will impact the discussion.

5. Conclusion

The need for cultural awareness continues to gather momentum, creating an

urgent need to promote intercultural and linguistic competence among learners. It
is our responsibility, as language teachers, to create the conditions for students to
develop ICC to prepare them to interact in intercultural and diverse environments.
In other words, language teaching should incorporate skills and strategies for
developing cultural awareness leading to ICC for global citizenship. Culture
teaching approaches should move from the descriptive to the interactionists,
fostering interactions and discussion leading to self-awareness, openness, and

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transformation. It is necessary to be aware not only of the need to develop

ICC skills, but also the challenges involved in the process. Finally, developing
intercultural awareness must be combined with language learning, where we use
our own experience to enhance the students’ exploration of culture: Their own
and that of the target language.

References

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