Intercultural Communication Activities and Techniques in Business English Teaching

Abstract

This paper aims at showing the paramount importance of sensing cultural similarities and differences for understanding and communicating with people belonging to different cultures, especially in a business environment. Teachers have become increasingly aware of the role played by interculturality, intercultural education, cross-cultural communication, the attitude towards prejudice, stereotypes and conflicts. In this respect, certain EU documents have been discussed, anthropologists’ opinions have been provided, and a case study has been presented. This case study is based on the idea that the English business teaching process and the studens’ language skills could also be improved by incorporating intercultural communication elements. Several activities and techniques that could support the insertion of intercultural communication in business English teaching (such as the use of authentic materials, role plays and simulations, project-based learning, and the use of various online tools) are briefly presented for this purpose.

Keywords

• intercultural education
• communication
• teaching
• business
• esp