Course description
Future generations of academics and experts across different fields need to be able to collaborate cross-culturally in a globalised world. Academic and business environments are increasingly multinational and multicultural, as is the case of Venice International University, where English as medium of instruction (EMI) is adopted to cater for an international and multilingual student body. Intercultural awareness is an essential component of effective cross-cultural communication, along with proficiency in the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF). For this reason, intercultural competence has been included in the most recent version of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
The broad theme of this course is intercultural communication and awareness. The aim is to develop students’ understanding and mastery of intercultural competence when using English as a lingua franca to communicate cross-culturally in a new environment. A non-essentialist theoretical framework is chosen for this purpose, in line with research-based guidelines for intercultural education (IEREST, 2015). Non-essentialism premises that identities are plural, changing and non-fixed (Holliday, 2011). This approach allows to focus on individuals with their unique cultural aspects that might differ depending on the context, thus avoiding stereotyping and challenging current polarising views of identity and culture. To do so, the concepts of non-essentialism and multiple identities will be introduced through a series of seminar readings and lectures. To further explore the role of narrative in shaping identity, students will analyse and compare essentialising and non-essentialising narratives. In order to practice sensitivity and appreciation for cultural, generational and individual similarities and differences, students will be guided through story-sharing activities and discussions on cross-cultural issues arising from adapting to new contexts, with the goal of anticipating and offering practical solutions to handle misunderstandings. Students themselves will establish a set of agreed conventions for intercultural communication and collaborative work within the group and will be encouraged to refer to these guidelines throughout the course.
Students will also explore the concepts of multicultural identities, global English, language ownership, linguistic diversity and plurilingualism. Recent approaches to teaching ELF challenge the view that authenticity belongs to native speakers of English, shifting the focus on intelligibility and plurilingual identities as an asset to communication. Linguistic diversity within the student body of the class and the broader Venetian context will be an asset. Students will be exposed to different varieties of English and plurilingual communication first hand. By drawing on their knowledge of other languages and language-learning experience, they will be able to build a toolbox of verbal and non-verbal communicative strategies to achieve intelligibility and mutual understanding in ELF, along with practical solutions to avoid and/or overcome any potential difficulties arising from linguistic differences and contrasting cultural viewpoints.
To put the acquired knowledge and skills into practice and prepare for their final task, students will be guided through a series of activities using interviews to engage with their peers and other mobile students in the program. A reflective analysis of the interviews will follow. This will build their confidence and skills to conduct their final project, where out of class students will be tasked, in pairs, to arrange an intercultural encounter and conduct a video-recorded ethnographical interview with a “local informant”.

Teaching methods
The course will be taught through a blend of lectures, seminar discussions, workshops and small-group activities. A student-centred pedagogical approach will be adopted throughout the course to promote active, autonomous learning. The lectures will introduce the main topics with a series of jigsaw video and reading comprehension tasks. They will be made dynamic and interactive by using tools such as Wooclap and Kahoot. The seminars and workshops will include student-led activities such as small group discussions, story circles, group tasks, oral roleplays and video-recorded interviews. Most sessions will focus on one or two videos/articles per week. Students will be asked to sometimes consult the class material in advance and prepare assignments together. Videos and podcasts involving multiple speakers are chosen to raise students’ phonological awareness and have them familiarise with the interview format needed for their final project. To challenge students’ beliefs on the role of ELF, students will also do activities where they must not communicate using English and only use non-verbal communication. Students will then practice language-learning strategies such as shadowing, paraphrasing and using verbal and non-verbal techniques to achieve intelligibility and clarify meaning. The course adopts a project-based design with the aim to foster collaborative, multimodal learning, knowledge sharing and problem-solving. Students will be required to use video-editing tools in order to complete their final project.
- The course Moodle page, with a discussion forum, will allow students to ask any questions on the course and consult the course material.
Students will all contribute to two Padlets or collaborative platforms of their choice:
- An “Intercultural communication strategies” page with a set of group rules and conventions, including strategies for effective cross-cultural communication.
- A “Technology toolbox” page, where they share useful free video editing tools – some of which provided by the tutor - aimed at their final project.

Assessment
- Class engagement, including intercultural interview assignment (200-250 words): 20%
- Individual mid-term reflective essay (300-350 words) based on the themes covered. A choice of questions will be provided: 20%
- FINAL GROUP PROJECT: Filmed ethnographic intercultural interview (60%) Students will work in groups of 2/3 to film a practical example of an intercultural encounter, consisting of an interview with other students/academics or people working/studying in Venice, based on related topic of their choice. The video (5-10 minutes) must be in English, but students are encouraged to use voiceover, subtitles creatively in order to include a variety of languages. The tutor will monitor each group’s work and suggest a selection of free, online video-editing tools they can choose from, along with guidance and deadlines as to how to proceed.

SYLLABUS & ROADMAP

Week 1: Introductions and Getting Started
Session 1: Introductory session – Getting to know the group
Session 2 (seminar): Understanding the role of Language in an International context

Week 2: Linguistic diversity and Intercultural communication
Session 3 (Workshop): Focus on language: Achieving comfortable intelligibility
Session 4 (Seminar): Language and Intercultural Communication

Week 3: Exploring Multiple Identities
Session 5 (Workshop): Story Circles
Session 6 (seminar): Understanding Cultural Identity and Communication

Week 4: Understanding Essentializing and Stereotyping in Language
Session 7 (seminar): Understanding Culture Shock and Stereotyping
Session 8 (lecture): Understanding Essentializing and Stereotyping in Language

Week 5: Essentialist and Non-essentialist approaches to Interculturality
Session 9 (lecture): Understanding Essentialist and Non-Essentialist Views to intercultural communication
Session 10 (seminar): Understanding Essentialist and Non-Essentialist Views in Language

Week 6: Exploring and reflecting on Intercultural Narratives
Session 11 (seminar): Exploring Intercultural Narratives I
Session 12 (seminar): Reflecting on Intercultural Narratives II

Mid term break: October 28th – November 1st

Week 7: Intercultural Interviews
Session 13 (workshop): Conducting Intercultural Interviews (part of the participation mark)
Session 13 (workshop): Critical Feedback on Intercultural Interviews (part of the participation mark) + Written Assignment
• Mid-term Assignment: Individual mid-term reflective essay

Week 8: Ethnography & Local Encounters
Session 13 (Lecture): Introducing Ethnography
Session 14 (Workshop): Introducing Ethnography

Week 9: Ethnographic Fieldwork
Session 15 (Workshop): Ethnographic interviews
Session 16 (Workshop): Ethnographic interviews

Week 10: Exploring the “Terra Incognita”
Session 17 (Workshop): Preparing the interviews with local informants
Session 17 (Workshop): Preparing the interviews with local informants

Week 11
Session 18 (Workshop): Conducting the interviews with local informants
Session 18 (Workshop): Conducting the interviews with local informants

Week 12: Editing and polishing
Session 19 (Workshop): Working on the interviews
Session 20 (Workshop): Working on the interviews

Week 13: Exam week - Group viewing of interviews
Session 21 (Workshop): Presentation of student’s work.
Session 22 (Workshop): Presentation of student’s work.

Bibliography and recommended reading

Adichie, C. (2009), The danger of a single story. TEDGlobal.
http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html (Accessed March 2023)
Anderson, G., David Harrison, K,. (2007). How much do you know about the world's languages?. https://langhotspots.swarthmore.edu/quizquestions.html (Accessed March 2023)
Aveni, V. A. P. (2005). Study abroad and second language use: Constructing the self. Cambridge University Press. In Holliday, Adrian. Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book for students. Routledge, 2021.
Boroditsky, L. (2011). How Language Shapes Thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62–65. https://doi-org.docelec.u-bordeaux.fr/10.1038/scientificamerican0211-62
Canwen X., I am not your Asian stereotype, TEDxBoise https://www.ted.com/talks/canwen_xu_i_am_not_your_asian_stereotype (Accessed March 2023)
Crystal, D. (2013). Will English Always Be the Global Language? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kvs8SxN8mc (Accessed March 2023)
Crystal, D. (2020). Global English and Social Injustice: The Need to Listen. Nordic Journal of English Studies. 19(3), pp. 167-169.
Creative Multilingualism Research Programme. (2020). How languages help in your career. University of Oxford, Open World Research Initiative, 2016–2020 https://www.creativeml.ox.ac.uk/careers/ (Accessed March 2023)
Deardorff, D. K. (2020). Manual for developing intercultural competencies: Story circles (p. 116). Taylor & Francis.
Dendrinos, B. (2022) Multilingualism matters, Podcasts, Curriculum & Teaching, Mobility, EAIE
Dendrinos, B. (2018). Multilingualism language policy in the EU today: A paradigm shift in language education. Training Language and Culture. 2. 9-28.
Eat Sleep Dream English, English Accents from Around the World. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPamb8pfe30 (Accessed March 2023)
Global English with David Crystal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZI1EjxxXKw

Holliday, Adrian. Intercultural communication: An advanced resource book for students. Routledge, 2021.
Holliday, Adrian. (2020). Culture, communication, context and power. In Jackson, J. (Ed.), Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication, 2nd ed., 39-52. Routledge.
IEREST. (2015). Intercultural Education Resources for Erasmus Students and their Teachers, Koper: Annales University Press.
Ives-Keeler, K., (2014). What's the future of English? https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/whats-future-english (Accessed March 2023)
Jackson, Jane. Introducing Language and Intercultural Communication. United Kingdom, Routledge, 2023.
Nordquist, Richard. (2024, June 25). English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-lingua-franca-elf-1690578
Shafak, E. (2010). The politics of fiction, TED talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/elif_shafak_the_politics_of_fiction?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

.

Required preliminary knowledge
Though no specific preliminary knowledge is required, some basic knowledge of audio and video editing tools is required.

Last updated:September 3, 2024