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Building Investment & Community in
Intercultural Online Learning
Communities
Geoff Lawrence, Ph.D.
ICIS Co-Chair
Building Effective Intercultural
Communication in Online Courses
Saturday March 19, 2011
Session Overview
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Toronto-Dubai intercultural wiki-writing project:
– Rationale
– Project overview
– Lessons learned!
An intercultural learning framework
Guidelines to develop an online intercultural
practice
Toronto-Dubai Case Study:
Rationale
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Opportunity to explore transnational wiki-writing
collaboration between a Toronto ESL/Emirati
(Dubai) EFL class
Explore the intensely collaborative nature of wiki
writing
Potential for the development of
intercultural/language learning communities
Improvement in academic writing/editing,
extended sense of audience
The Toronto Educational
Setting
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University of Toronto
English Language Program (ELP)
International, multicultural students
– Academic English; strong motivation
– Mixed computer literacy
– Diverse expectations; high intermediate
proficiency
The Dubai Educational
Setting
 Dubai Men’s College (DMC)
 Young male, Emirati population from
similar cultural backgrounds
 English is mandatory
 Advanced computer literacy/
infrastructure
 Familiar with rote, teachercentred learning approaches
Wiki Writing Tasks & Timeline
Home page
Student Details page
Teacher Collaboration page
Initial Student Reactions
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Excitement – collaboration with people
from other countries
Insecurity – new task, new medium,
unknown partners
Concerned with creating good online
identities to present themselves
Essay Editing in Progress
Sample Editing Screens
Final essay example
Toronto-Dubai Case Study:
Student Reactions
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Technologically challenged
Frustrated with selection of famous person
(Emirati students chose first)
Frustrated with lack of peer collaboration/prompt
responses (largely Toronto group)
Frustrated with difference in proficiency levels
Some territoriality over writing
Some student comments…
• What I extremely hated is that I have tried to connect my partner
but he did not respond. …Toronto student
• …the WIKI webpage give me a nice opportunity to make friends
with foreigners and improve English. This time, I knew a Saudi
Arabia (Barbie, I am Emirati, not Saudi ... just as you are
Chinese not Taiwanese) boy whose name is Ahmed Darwish. He
is very friendly and sympathetic…..
•….What makes me upset is that the cooperation between my
partner and I is very little because I think we need more time to
interact. (I agree ... we need more time. My information
about Leonardo is not yet posted, but it's coming...) The
fact sheet for the most part was finished by me.
More student comments…
• In general, the main problem that I observe, is the big differences
between the groups that are been part of this project; because I
consider we don’t have the same expectations and interest on it. In
my experience with my Dubai’s partner, the project as a
collaborative assignment did not work at all. He did not answer my
messages, and probably the reason is in part that he did not
understand how the page works…
And more…
• The WIKI is so interesting, and I like it a lot. It makes us improve
our English, and teaches us how to communicate with others from
different countries.
• Firstly, this project is useful for me as it give me a chance to
practice cooperating with somebody; cooperation will act a very
important part in my studying or working life. In fact, I argued with
my partner on last Wednesday, and I was a little angry. Because of
my anger, I have apologized to him: although, it was not all my fault.
Not only cooperation is an interesting thing but also searching is
another one.
• Thank you for asking our thoughts about this programme.
At first, the WIKI program is a wonderful project. I enjoy it very
much so far, because I believe when we get into university,
sometimes we need to study like this…
Toronto-Dubai Case Study:
Teacher Observations
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Students distracted by computer-based task; not
reading instructions/listening
Chaotic facilitation at times
Students sometimes lacked interest in making
accommodations for partners
Students susceptible to cultural generalizations
based on quick judgments
Some resistance to collaboration
Timing/curricular constraints
Toronto-Dubai Case Study:
Some outcomes
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Some students produced longer writing containing
good idea development
Students became more confident in their own
abilities as writers
Students realized they lacked sufficient vocabulary,
motivating vocabulary learning strategies
Little intercultural awareness developed due to
inattention to this potential
The Intercultural Potential seems
to depend on…
 Recognizing that online collaborative writing is bound
with a ‘culturally & contextually framed’ :
• communicative purpose
• expectation of social relations and
• expression of individual identity
 Building investment in the online learning community
(where communication becomes a discourse of
“trust”/engagement)
 Actively facilitating/debriefing intercultural reflection
A proposed intercultural ESOL
3-step strategy
1.
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3.
Use strategic intercultural inoculations
Explicitly highlight implicit aspects of cultural
behaviour
Adopt an experiential, exploratory (ethnographic),
critically reflective culture learning approach
1. An inoculation-based approach is
key...
• Discuss culture’s complexity, its contextual, dynamic
nature
• Discuss our cultural filters (i.e., how cultural experience
shapes assumptions/expectations)
• Highlight the potential “weirdness” of ME, my cultural
experiences/assumptions (the powerful teacher)
• Start with the “ME” in culture (i.e., cultural self-awareness
before otherness)
• Model excitement about exploring “otherness”
• Negotiate guidelines for intercultural awareness/respect
• Link difference and commonality in activities
• Elicit cultural experiences from students to present a
collage of voices from similar cultures (to demonstrate
cultural diversity, deconstructing stereotypes)
Sample Inoculations…
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Discussions on: what is culture? My cultural
influences?
How do my cultural backgrounds shape my:
– communication style, values, expectations, identities?
i.e., how does culture influence language use/behaviour?
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Exploring cultural differences, their impact and
intercultural understanding
– Proverbs and cultural values
– Low context vs. high context communication styles
– Emirati vs. other cultures? - What would you like to learn?
(building curiosity and openness)
– Ice breaker activities with partners (building community)
Sample Activities Infusing the Intercultural….
The “Who Am I” Identity Dialogue...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In reviewing the figure, which three identities are the most
important to you?
Which one identity is shaped by the values of your ethnic/cultural
membership? What are yours ethnic/cultural membership values?
Do they differ from your personal values?
Looking at the figure again, which one identity are you most
comfortable with? Why?
Which one identity are you least comfortable with? Why?
If someone wanted to find out more about who you are, how
should they approach you? How should they begin? What are the
best ways to get to know you? (work into online introductions?)
2. Highlighting implicit aspects of culture
using culture-general frameworks
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Language use
Non-verbal behaviour
Communication styles
Value orientations
Communication style differences: the
way a message is constructed AND
interpreted
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Low vs. high context
– Speaker vs. listener-focused
Direct vs. indirect
Restrained vs. expressive
Intellectual vs. relational confrontation
– Idea (relating through thoughts, separate from
me) vs. experience-focused (relating through my
experiences/feelings)
Differences in communication styles can result
in mismatches in perception/interpretation
For example:
A direct communication style can be perceived as:
logical, intelligent OR
condescending, treating me like a child
An indirect communication style can be perceived as:
evasive, disorganized OR
eloquent as meaning is implied &
individually constructed
Value orientation differences
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Individualism - collectivism
Egalitarianism - hierarchy
Competition - cooperation
Limited time - plentiful time
Action - being focus
Ambiguity tolerance (vs. intolerance)
3. An exploratory, reflective teaching
approach embedded in student
experience…
3
Debriefing/
Application
1
Experiential/
exploratory
2
Critical
Reflection
…using innoculations & exploiting “rich points” (teachable moments)
The D.I.E. & K. activity & approach (to
build intercultural awareness)…
Learning to separate evaluation (what I feel – judgment)
from interpretation (what I think)
from description (what I see)
1.
2.
3.
Describe a situation/encounter
Work to see multiple interpretations from varying
perspectives
See what evaluation/action seems most suitable BUT also
see what knowledge can better inform interpretation &
action
See www.intercultural.org for complete activity/details
Some Guidelines to develop an
Intercultural Online ESOL Practice
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Build community, connections and investment
among students
Develop curiosity towards cultural difference
Develop culture-and-language observation skills
Develop interpreting/relating skills
Develop critical cultural awareness
Have fun working with your students in this
challenging but exciting exploration!
The rationale for intercultural
communication...
There is, perhaps, no more important topic in the social
sciences than the study of intercultural communication.
Understanding between members of different cultures was
always important, but it has never been as important as it is
now. …it is a matter of survival of our species. …
While more people from more cultures are communicating
and co-operating across differences, as many, it seems, are
killing and maiming each other in the name of cultural and
religious identity. … The dilemma of the global age is that … we
are profoundly divided by race, culture and belief and we have
yet to find a tongue in which we can speak our humanity to
each other.
…G.M. Willems, European Union Policy on Language Education, 2002
Questions?
[email protected]
References
Kramsch, C. & Thorne, S. (2002). Foreign language learning as global
communicative practice. In D. Block & D. Cameron (Eds.) Globalization and
Language Teaching (pp.83-100). New York: Routledge.
DeCapua, A., & Wintergerst, A. C. (2004). Crossing cultures in the language
classroom. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Lawrence, G., Young, C., Owen, H., & Compton, C. (2009). Using wikis for
collaborative writing and intercultural learning. In M. Dantas-Whitney & S. Rilling
(Eds.), Authenticity in the adult language classroom (pp.199 - 212).
Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Levy, M. (2007). Culture, culture learning and new technologies: Towards a
pedagogical framework. Language Learning & Technology, 11(2), 104 - 127.
Available at: http://llt.msu.edu/vol11num2/pdf/levy.pdf
Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. New York: Guildford
Press.
Wintergerst, A.C., & McVeigh, J. (2011). Tips for teaching culture: Practical
approaches to intercultural communication. White Plains, NY: Pearson.