ERIC Number: EJ1316301
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2191-611X
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Available Date: N/A
Translingual Transcultural Competence: Student Agency, Teacher Guidance, and Program Support
Kunschak, Claudia
Language Learning in Higher Education, v11 n2 p343-358 2021
An increasingly interconnected world requires people to become versatile communicators in a variety of different settings. Language centers have a critical role to play in this process by offering language and culture training in multiple languages to students, professionals and the wider community alike. They may do so from the perspective of developing plurilingual pluricultural competence, translingual transcultural competence or intercultural communicative competence and intercultural citizenship. This paper takes as its framework translingual transcultural competence, which not only reflects the current trend of transnationalism and diasporic communities, but also emphasizes the need to be critically aware, culturally reflective and socially sensitive. In order to better understand affordances and challenges in developing this competence, or set of competences, the author surveyed and interviewed students and teachers at one university-affiliated language center offering 30 languages besides German as the main language of study. Students at all proficiency levels as well as native and non-native teachers of the language taught were included in the study. Whereas the student survey investigated awareness and attitude, identity and community as well as the autonomy and agency of students in the program, teacher interviews provided insights into program parameters, classroom pedagogy and out-of-class projects. Findings from the study indicate a strong foundation in multicompetence thinking with some challenges in developing the transcultural component.
Descriptors: Multilingualism, Communicative Competence (Languages), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Language Laboratories, Cultural Awareness, Professional Education, Intercultural Communication, Immigrants, Metacognition, Barriers, Student Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, College Students, College Faculty, German, Language Proficiency, Language Teachers, Personal Autonomy, Self Concept, Program Descriptions, Teaching Methods, Student Projects, Teacher Characteristics, Language Variation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A