Intercultural understanding as part of the new Language ab initio
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Transcript Intercultural understanding as part of the new Language ab initio
Intercultural Competence Assessment
in the IB Diploma
AFMLTA 2013
Carmen de Miguel
[email protected]
[email protected]
Outline
O Intercultural Language Teaching and
Learning
O Assessment of the intercultural
O The Context: The International
Baccalaureate (IB)
O Diploma Programme
O New Language curriculum
O Languages ab initio: The assessment of
the Intercultural understanding
O Research Plan
Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning
The need to incorporate intercultural
perspectives into languages courses
appears early in the literature (Zarate 1986,
Kramsch 1993, Byram 1997) although the
understandings of the intercultural and its
relationship with the languages often differ.
O Nowadays, in an increasingly globalised
world, there is a fresh impetus in the
literature and a renewed interest in
intercultural language teaching and learning
(Derwin & Liddicoat 2013, Liddicoat &
Scarino 2013)
O Reviews on this issue (Dervin 2010,
Liddicoat & Scarino 2013, Sercu 2010)
O
Relationship between language and culture
Contrasting paradigms
Culturalism
Interculturalism
Language and culture as two
dimensions interconnected
Integration of language and culture.
Objectivist perspective
(inter) Subjective perspective
Culture as fixed static entity
Culture is dynamic. Focus on intradiversity
Culture as things
People as social enactors of culture
Emphasis on national (ethnic)
identities
Focus on learners as participants in
diversity
Cultural products and facts
Language plays an important role
Passive observation of difference
Active being in diversity
Intercultural Competence
Languages Cultures
Target
Language
Target
Culture
Meaningmaking
Example of “culturalism”
The Lewis Model of national cultural profiles
Example of “culturalism”
The Lewis Model of national cultural profiles
Assessment of the intercultural
Procedures and instruments
O Assessment tools instruments and inventaries:
Fantini & Tirmizi (2006) compile up to 85 different
assessment tools of intercultural competence.
Most inventories and questionnaires are used as self
assessment or in the professional domain for
intercultural training. They focus in single aspects.
O Long term dynamic assessment: observations,
portfolios, journal, diaries, logs, blogs. This
procedures invite students to analyse, explain and
elaborate including de-centring and a metaawareness of the meaning-making process in
intercultural interactions. (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013)
Assessment of the intercultural
The “savoirs” model (Byram 1997)
Skills
interpret and relate
(savoir comprendre)
Knowledge
of self and other;
of interaction:
individual and societal
(savoirs)
Education
political education
critical cultural awareness
(savoir s’engager)
Attitudes
relativising self
valuing other
(savoir être)
Skills
Discover and/or interact
(savoir apprendre/faire)
This model has been expanded with a new dimension:
Meta-cognitive (planning, monitoring and reflecting on learning
(Sercu 2004)
O
Assessment of the intercultural
From traditional to alternate assessment
(Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013)
Traditional
Alternate
Cognitive views of learning
Sociocultural views of learning
Psychometric testing
Performance, classroom-based &
dynamic assessments
Focuses in summative assessment Formative & summative assess.
Testing “content” through
“objective” to a standard
Seeks for ways to demonstrate
what the students know
Focuses in the product
Values the process & the product
Assessment of the intercultural
Assessment cycle
Conceptualising
what to assess
and its
representation
Eliciting
how to gather
evidence
Judging
how to
appraise
Validating
how to justify
inferences and
establish/examine
consequences of the
assessment
Validating (assure the quality of the assessment process)
(Scarino & Liddicoat, 2009)
The Challenge
O
My experience: 30 years of language
teaching two languages (English & Spanish)
in two countries (Spain & Australia)
O IB experience: 12 years teaching Spanish ab
initio. Workshop leader & forum faculty
member
O Investigative stance: (Crichton 2009)
O Decision: start a PhD to investigate the
assessment of intercultural in IB language
programmes.
THE CONTEXT
http://www.ibo.org/
The IB provides a distinctive context for exploring
intercultural assessment because:
O Its international dimension: more than a million students
across 144 countries.
O It involves many languages and cultures and
innumerable international schools.
O It incorporates international and intercultural
perspectives in its mission and aims
O There is a language policy that requires that all students
learn at least two languages
O Development of intercultural understanding explicitly
included as an objective in language courses and their
assessment
O Personal involvement in IB teaching, assessing and
teacher training gives me insights and experiences
IB MISSION STATEMENT
O The International Baccalaureate aims to develop
inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people
who help to create a better and more peaceful world
through intercultural understanding and respect.
O
To this end the organization works with schools,
governments and international organizations to
develop challenging programmes of international
education and rigorous assessment.
O
These programmes encourage students across
the world to become active, compassionate and
lifelong learners who understand that other people,
with their differences, can also be right.
IB learners we strive to be:
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inquirers
knowledgeable
thinkers
communicators
principled
open-minded
caring
risk-takers
balanced
reflective
AIMS OF GROUP 2 (ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES)
O develop students’ intercultural understanding
O enable students to understand and use the language they
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have studied in a range of contexts and for a variety of
purposes
encourage, through the study of texts and through social
interaction, an awareness and appreciation of the different
perspectives of people from other cultures
develop students’ awareness of the role of language in
relation to other areas of knowledge
develop students’ awareness of the relationship between the
languages and cultures with which they are familiar
provide students with a basis for further study, work and
leisure through the use of an additional language
provide the opportunity for enjoyment, creativity and
intellectual stimulation through knowledge of an additional
language
Language ab initio Assessment
Summative assessment:
• RECEPTIVE SKILLS: Understanding of authentic
print texts
EXTERNAL
• PRODUCTIVE SKILLS: Two writing tasks
• INTEGRATED PRODUCTIVE AND RECEPTIVE
SKILLS: Written assignment (WA)
INTERNAL
• PRESENTATION and follow-up questions based on
a visual stimulus
• CONVERSATION based in general topics and
written assignment
The Written Assignment (WA)
O The WA is the culmination of independent research
carried out on one of the topics of the course.
O The aim of the WA is to describe the chosen topic
before identifying differences and/or similarities
between their own culture(s) and the target culture(s).
Students reflect on these differences and/or similarities
by responding to a set of guiding questions.
O The research process is student driven and guided by
teachers.
O Sources may be generated by the student or the
teacher or a combination of both, and can be in any
language. Sources from the classroom may be included
as part of the research process, as can externally
generated sources.
The Written Assignment (WA)
The WA should have three sections:
O DESCRIPTION: A description of the chosen topic
O COMPARISON: A comparison of the differences
and/or similarities between the chosen topic in the
target culture(s) and the student’s culture(s)
O REFLECTION: A reflection related to the chosen topic
including answers to all of the following questions:
① Which aspect of your chosen topic surprised you?
② Why do you think these cultural
similarities/differences exist?
③ What might a person from the target culture(s)
find different about your chosen topic in your
culture(s)
The WA: Assessment objectives
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Assessment objective
How is the assessment objective addressed?
Demonstrate an
awareness and
understanding of the
intercultural elements
related to the topics
Students demonstrate an awareness of the
similarities and/or differences between their
own culture(s) and the target culture(s) in
their chosen topic. Students answer the 3
questions for the reflection.
POTENCIAL PROBLEMS
Research topic chosen not clearly cultural related
Topic too general to allow in depth analysis
Topics related mostly to cultural facts and products rather
than cultural social practices
Sources used for research not very reliable and often giving a
filtered view of culture.
Generalisations and stereotypes
Simplistic / trivial explanations for the similarities/differences
Difficulties in de-centring when answering the third question
The WA: Assessment objectives
Assessment objective
How is the assessment objective addressed?
Communicate clearly and
effectively in a range of
situations
Students communicate clearly and
effectively in the context of their research.
POTENCIAL PROBLEMS
• Weaker students not having enough target language
resources to express themselves clearly
• Inappropriate use of research reporting language
(citing, quoting, referencing)
The WA: Assessment objectives
Assessment objective
How is the assessment objective addressed?
Understand and use an
appropriate range of
vocabulary
Students demonstrate comprehension of a
variety of texts selected for the purpose of
researching their chosen topic.
POTENCIAL PROBLEMS
• Choice of target language sources too difficult for
their language level
• Inappropriate vocabulary use interferes with
meaning-making
The WA: Assessment objectives
Assessment objective
How is the assessment objective addressed?
Use a register that is
appropriate to the
situation
Students write in a register appropriate to the
task.
POTENCIAL PROBLEMS
• Difficulty in moving from a researcher register in
the first two sections of the assignment to a
personal reflection in the third part (use of first
person)
Research Plan
O Assessing intercultural understanding
• Why is it important?
• What to assess?
• How to assess it?
O Analyse the Spanish ab initio WA scripts to
answer the following questions:
• To what extent the WA informs about the intercultural
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understandings of the Spanish ab initio students?
What type of intercultural understandings are elicited?
What cultural topics are favoured by the students?
What are the main problems and misconceptions found?
What are the factors affecting the possible differences found in
the sample?
How do the WA reflect the students’ (and teachers’) views on
the intercultural?
How do the WA reflect the IB conceptualisation on intercultural
understanding and assessment?
References
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Byram, M 1997, Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence,
Multilingual Matters, Philadelphia.
Crichton, J 2008, Why an Investigative Stance Matters in Intercultural Language Teaching
and Learning: An Orientation to Classroom-Based Investigation BABEL v43 n1 p31-33, 39
Nov 2008
Dervin, F. (2010). Assessing intercultural competence in Language Learning and Teaching: a
critical review of current efforts. New approaches to assessment in higher education. Bern:
Peter Lang.
Fantini, A., & Tirmizi, A. (2006). Exploring and assessing intercultural competence.
Kramsch, CJ 1993, Context and culture in language teaching, Oxford University Press,
Oxford.
Lewis, RD 2005, When cultures collide: leading across cultures : a major new edition of the
global guide, Nicholas Brealey International,
Liddicoat, T & Scarino, A 2013, INTERCULTURAL LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING.,
WILEY-BLACKWELL
Scarino, A & Liddicoat, A 2009, Teaching and learning languages: a guide, Curriculum
Corporation
Sercu, L 2004, Assessing Intercultural Competence: A Framework for Systematic Test
Development in Foreign Language Education and Beyond. Intercultural Education, 15:1, 7389.
Sercu, L 2010, Assesing Intercultural Competence: More Questions than Answers. In: Paran,
A & Sercu, L 2010, Testing the untestable in language education, Multilingual Matters,
Buffalo, N.Y.
Zarate, G. (1986). Enseigner une culture étrangère. Paris, Hachette
Acknowledgements
O Pembroke School and Luke Thomson (Principal)
O Angela Scarino & Tony Liddicoat (Supervisors)
O MLTASA (sponsorship)
“If you talk to someone in a language he or she
understands, that goes to the person's head.
If you talk to somebody in his or her language, that
goes to the heart.”
Nelson Mandela
THANKS / GRACIAS