EMI and Intercultural Competence at University of Alcalá: The case of the Master's Degree in Teacher Training
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Abstract
The use of English as a Medium of Instruction to teach subjects other than English is widely spread across European higher education institutions. The University of Alcalá has been working on the implementation of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) for decades now. The internationalisation process accounts for the increasing number of studies both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels taught in English. The response of international students has been positive considering the University of Alcalá one of their favourite Spanish destinations. The interaction of local and foreign students evidences the need to raise awareness towards the intercultural competence as part of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training, so that learners will feel comfortable in a different language and culture and contribute significantly not only to the labour market but also to dialogue and living together. In this article, the authors report on how this is done in one of the compulsory courses of this specific Master’s Degree: Complementary Training in English Studies.
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De la Cruz Cabanillas, I., & Tejedor-Martínez, C. (2021). EMI and Intercultural Competence at University of Alcalá: The case of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training. Language Value, 14(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.6035/languagev.6118
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References
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Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture. Boston.
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Reid, E. (2015). Techniques developing intercultural communicative competences in English language lessons. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 939-943.
Schmidt-Unterberger, B. (2018). The English-medium paradigm: a conceptualisation of English-medium teaching in higher education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(5), 527-539.
Shohamy, E. (2013). A critical perspective on the use of English as a Medium of Instruction at Universities. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster & J. M. Sierra (Eds.). English-Medium Instruction at Universities. Global Challenges (pp.196-210). Multilingual Matters.
Tamtam, A. G., Gallagher, F., Olabi, A. G. & Naher, S. (2012). A comparative study of the implementation of EMI in Europe, Asia and Africa. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1417 – 1425.
Vu, N. & Burns, A. (2014). English as a Medium of Instruction: Challenges for Vietnamese Tertiary Lecturers. The Journal of ASIA TEFL, 11(3), 1-31.
Weng, Q. (2016). Teaching culture(s) in English as a lingua franca in Asia: Dilemma and solution, Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 5(1), 155-177. DOI:10.1515/jelf-2016-0008.
Ammon, U. & McConnell, G. (2002). English as an academic language in Europe: A survey of its use in teaching. (DuisburgerArbeiten zur Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft 48). Peter Lang.
Bocanegra-Valle, A. (2015). La competencia intercultural en los manuales de texto con fines específicos a través de la evaluación de sus indicadores y niveles de dominio. Cuadernos de Filología Francesa, 26, 29-43.
Byram, M., B. Gribkova & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching. A Practical Introduction for Teachers. Council of Europe.
Cenoz, J. & Valencia, J. F. (1996). Las peticiones: una comparación entre hablantes europeos y americanos. In J. Cenoz, J. & J. F. Valencia. (Eds.). La competencia pragmática: elementos lingüísticos y psicosociales (pp.225-238). Servicio Editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco.
Coleman, J. (2006). English–medium teaching in European higher education. Language Teaching, 39, 1-14.
Coleman, H. (2011). Developing countries and the English language: Rhetoric, risks, roles and recommendations. In H. Coleman (Ed.). Dreams and realities: Developing countries and the English language (pp.9-22). British Council.
Coperías-Aguilar, M. J. (2010). Intercultural communicative competence as a tool for autonomous learning. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses, 61, 87-98.
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press. http://www.coe.int or http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/CADRE_EN.asp
Council of Europe (2014). Developing intercultural competence through education. Council of Europe Pestalozzi Series, No. 3. Council of Europe Publishing.
De Bartolo, A. M. (2019). A Preliminary Exploration of Teachers’ Attitudes towards Intercultural Communication through ELF. EL.LE, 8(3), 611-634. DOI 10.30687/ELLE/2280-6792/2019/03/006.
Doiz, A., Lasagabaster, D. & Sierra, J. M. (Eds.). (2013). English-Medium Instruction at Universities. Global Challenges. Multilingual Matters.
European Commission (2012). Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and languages – a report. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf
Ferguson, C. A. (1981). Foreword to the First Edition, in Kachru, B. (Ed.) (1996). The Other Tongue. English across Cultures (pp.xiii-xvii). Oxford University Press, 2nd edn.
Fernández-Agüero, M. & Garrote, M. (2019). ‘It’s not my intercultural competence, it’s me.’ The intercultural identity of prospective foreign language teachers. Educar, 55(1), 159-182.
Franco-Aixelá, J. (1996). Culture-specific items in translation. In R. Álvarez & M. C-A. Vidal (Eds.). Translation, power, subversion (pp.52-78). Multilingual Matters.
Gómez-Rodríguez, L. F. (2015). The cultural content in EFL textbooks and what teachers need to do about it. Profile: Issues in teachers’ professional development, 17(2), 167-187. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v17n2.44272
Kling, J. (2019). TIRF language education in review: English as a medium of instruction. TIRF & Laureate International Universities.
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: the English Language in the Outer Circle. In R. Quirk & H. G. Widdowson (Eds.). English in the World: Teaching and Learning the Language and Literatures (pp.11-30). Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (Ed.). (1996). The Other Tongue. English across Cultures. Oxford University Press. 2nd edn.
Kramsch, C. (2014). Language and Culture in Second Language Learning. In F. Sharifian (Ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture (pp.403-416). Routledge.
Lasagabaster, D. & Doiz, A. (2021). Introduction: Foregrounding language Issues in English-Medium Instructions Courses. In D. Lasagabaster & A. Doiz (Eds.). Language Use in English-Medium Instruction at University. International Perspectives on Teacher Practice (pp.1-8). Routledge.
Lussier, D. (2007). Theoretical bases of a conceptual framework with reference to intercultural communicative competence, Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(3), 309 –332.
Macaro, E. (2018). English Medium Instruction. Oxford University Press.
Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture. Boston.
Pavón-Vázquez, V. & Ellison, M. (2021). Implementing EMI in higher education: language use, language research and professional development. In D. Lasagabaster & A. Doiz (Eds.). Language Use in English-Medium Instruction at University. International Perspectives on Teacher Practice (pp.193-207). Routledge.
Reid, E. (2015). Techniques developing intercultural communicative competences in English language lessons. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186, 939-943.
Schmidt-Unterberger, B. (2018). The English-medium paradigm: a conceptualisation of English-medium teaching in higher education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(5), 527-539.
Shohamy, E. (2013). A critical perspective on the use of English as a Medium of Instruction at Universities. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster & J. M. Sierra (Eds.). English-Medium Instruction at Universities. Global Challenges (pp.196-210). Multilingual Matters.
Tamtam, A. G., Gallagher, F., Olabi, A. G. & Naher, S. (2012). A comparative study of the implementation of EMI in Europe, Asia and Africa. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1417 – 1425.
Vu, N. & Burns, A. (2014). English as a Medium of Instruction: Challenges for Vietnamese Tertiary Lecturers. The Journal of ASIA TEFL, 11(3), 1-31.
Weng, Q. (2016). Teaching culture(s) in English as a lingua franca in Asia: Dilemma and solution, Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 5(1), 155-177. DOI:10.1515/jelf-2016-0008.