FOSTERING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Cultural diversity has been one of the essential realizations of the globalized society. Once individuals have become interconnected they have also become aware of their being culturally diverse. However challenged today’s globalized society may have become, the issue of overcoming cultural differences still remains actual. Following this line of thought, this paper starts with an overview of the status of English as a lingua franca, and then shifts the focus to the clarification of the concepts of cultural diversity, cultural awareness and intercultural competence, while emphasizing their complementarity. Finally, it explores how intercultural competence may be fostered and developed in a sector of the ELT such as English for Law Enforcement. Some instances of classroom activities, which teachers may use to trigger their students’ awareness of police‐related cultural aspects, will be analysed from a didactic perspective.

Keywords

• cultural diversity
• cultural awareness
• intercultural competence
• english language teaching (elt)
• english for law enforcement (lee)