Have you seen it? Interesting

Intercultural competence

Language is a bridge between cultures as well as a tool for communication.  The fact that our globalised world facilitates exchange and mobility, learners tend to belong to  different ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds.  As a result, the question of language and plurilingual competence comes into play. The Council of Europe addresses the language question openly:

         "Language  learning  helps  learners  to  avoid  stereotyping  individuals, to develop                             curiosity and openness to others  and to discover other cultures. Language learning

           helps them to see that interaction with individuals having different social identities

           and cultures is an enriching experience” (2008, p. 16).

The objectives of teaching should include intercultural  and not only linguistic competences. In other words, learners should learn how to communicate successfully with people of different cultures and develop certain skills that will enable them to communicate with their peers in an effective way without offending anybody and being respectful of and tolerant towards each other. Indeed the challenge faced by teachers today is to ensure that these goals are met.

                       

References

Council of Europe (2008) White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue. ‘Living Together as Equals in Dignity’. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.(2007/C287/01 – 16 November 2007). Brussels; European Union.

Ruby Vurdien , apart from being an extraordinary professional, is the tutor of this online course.

"Challenging teachers for Plurilingual Integration through projects 2"

Ruby Vurdien is the director of White Rose Language School in Spain. She has been involved with EFL teaching for more than thirty years. She gained her EdD in the Development of Intercultural Competence via Email from the University of Sheffield. She researches into the application of Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, wikis, online forums or social network tools to language teaching. She is also a Speaking Examiner for the Cambridge English Main Suite of exams. She has published a chapter and articles in refereed journals. 

Yesterday she was awarded with  FECEI TOP for her innovative approach to language teaching 

I Edición de los Premios FECEI TOP (Madrid, 13/02/2015)

Congratulations !!!