The Symbolic Dimension of Intercultural Competence

Claire Kramsch, University of California, Berkeley

While communicative competence is characterized by the negotiation of intended meanings in authentic contexts of language use, intercultural competence has to do with far less negotiable discourse worlds, the "circulation of values and identities across cultures,  the inversions, even inventions of meaning, often hidden behind a common illusion of effective communication" (Kramsch et al 2008:15). The self that is engaged in intercultural communication is a symbolic self that is constituted by symbolic systems like language as well as by systems of thought and their symbolic power. This symbolic self is the most sacred part of our personal and social identity; it requires careful positioning, delicate facework, and the ability to frame and re-frame events. The symbolic dimension of intercultural competence calls for a post-structuralist research and teaching approach that is discourse based, historically grounded, aesthetically sensitive, and that takes into account the actual, the imagined and the virtual worlds in which we live. With the help of concrete examples from foreign language classrooms, the paper will attempt to redefine the notion of third place (Kramsch 1993) as symbolic competence.

References:
Kramsch, Claire, Levy, Danielle & Zarate, “Genevieve.Introduction generale.” In Zarate, G., Levy, D., & Zarate, G. (Eds.) Precis du plurilinguisme et du pluriculturalisme. Paris: Editions des archives contemporaines, 2008.
Kramsch, Claire. Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press, 1993.

What is in Common: English Fever in China and Chinese Heat in America?
     Intercultural Communicative Incompetence

Jun Liu, University of Arizona

There are signs that the global prominence of English may fade within the foreseeable future, and the leading position of English as the language of the world market is diminishing as the demand for educational resources in languages such as Chinese grows.  Indeed, Mandarin has emerged as the new must-have language in many Asian countries, as well as in Europe and the United States.  An estimated 30 million people are learning Chinese worldwide and the number will triple in the next few years.  There is a critical need for highly qualified Chinese teachers to fill the void.  However, the linguistically competent teachers, or native speakers, have encountered numerous challenges in teaching their own languages in foreign language contexts. Largely responsible for such challenges is the intercultural communicative incompetence that has been identified as the No. 1 factor affecting the effectiveness of teaching.  As the key designer of the Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL), Liu will argue why the theoretical framework of communicative competence should be expanded to include intercultural competence, and why and how intercultural competence should be the key component in educating global language teachers.

An Associative Perspective of Communication in the Arab World:
Implications for Identity, Teaching and Public Diplomacy

R. S. Zaharna, American University

Dr. Zaharna explores the diversity that characterizes the people and societies across the Arab world as well as the shared perspective of communication that puts a premium on relations and social context. While diversity magnifies the difficulty of achieving intercultural competence, understanding the importance of relations and social context is a pivotal key for gaining communication competence and navigating the cultural terrain. To capture the significance of relations and social context, Dr. Zaharna presents an associative perspective of communication. She highlights associative features found in the Arabic language, Islam and dominant social norms. She discusses how the associative perspective helps define intra-cultural communication competence, and by extension, corresponding attributes and attainable goals for individuals seeking intercultural communication competence. Her plenary presentation concludes with implications for identity, teaching and public diplomacy.