Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (Mar 2014)
THE ROLE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Abstract
By now it is well-known that the role of modern education is to equip students with several types of competences necessary for their future personal and professional life. One of these competences, namely communication skills, has a component whose development is, according to the author’s opinion, mainly in charge of foreign language teachers. It is their role to create the shift from the ethnocentric level of students’ attitude towards cultural issues to the ethnorelativistic stage that is to make their students aware of and accept cultural differences and to help them acquire skills necessary for intercultural encounters. The two main topics present study is focusing on are: to what extent it is necessary to intervene in this respect and which are the ways teachers can develop intercultural sensitivity and competence.The results of a questionnaire applied to more than 200 students of the University of Oradea, Romania – studying Economics, Medicine and Law – confirmed the author’s hypothesis that in spite of the extended international relations and travel opportunities Romanian students are not really aware of cultural diversity and its overwhelming impact upon people’s behaviour, reactions and way of thinking. To change this situation, teachers, especially foreign language teachers may resort to techniques and methods like simulation games on cultural differences (Barnga, Ecotonos, BaFá BaFá, Randömia Balloon Factory etc.) that intercultural communication trainers use successfully in their seminars to make participants aware of cultural diversity and help them manage real life situations involving international encounters and/or appeal to the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies and the internet, through youtube and different socialization platforms.
