PERSPECTIVES - PROGRAM SAMPLER

What Is Intercultural Communication? Intercultural communication is a complex activity that combines cross-cultural knowledge and language skills. It involves initiating, understanding, and responding to what is communicated, using culturally appropriate language and behavior in a given context. The term intercultural communication refers only to the use of culturally appropriate verbal and nonverbal skills to build relationships with people of different cultures. Researchers such as Byram (1997, 2002), M. J. and J. M. Bennett (2003), Deardorff (2006), and Fantini (2006) agreed that developing Intercultural Communicative Competence is a complex, non-linear process built from an accumulation of cultural knowledge, practices, and social encounters experienced within a variety of cultural contexts. An apt metaphor is a mosaic whose total image is an assemblage of smaller, unique pieces. Each intercultural experience provides an opportunity for interpretation, discovery, interaction, and reflection that motivates learners’ curiosity and leads to awareness of self and others. Because intercultural growth involves elements in the affective domain, it can be a challenge, and sometimes impossible, for educators to evaluate learners’ progress. Educators can, however, evaluate how well learners’ language use demonstrates intercultural competence, given that the extent to which one can fully understand and participate in a culture is related to the level of language proficiency. The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements for Intercultural Communication suggest examples that allow for and support these opportunities for intercultural encounters. The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements for Intercultural Communication show the intersection of language proficiency and cultural competence, which do not always align. One individual may possess strong cultural competence yet demonstrate a low level of language proficiency (figure 1). Another individual may display high language proficiency but minimal cultural competence (figure 2). Intercultural Communication Language Proficiency Cultural Competence Novice IC FIGURE 1 Intercultural Communication Language Proficiency Cultural Competence Novice IC FIGURE 2 The NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements for Intercultural Communication focus on the extent to which learners can demonstrate their intercultural competence through verbal and nonverbal communication. These Intercultural Can-Do Statements are aligned with the Language Can-Do Statements to ensure consistency with the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. The statements are intended to depict the linguistic competency from Novice to Distinguished levels of language proficiency across the modes of communication. IAE-29 STANDARDS 11