Abstract
An ever-faster developing globalization of our world brings many changes with it and poses a variety of challenges for human society. Accordingly, living and working in today's times also bring new demands for institutionalized education all around the world. This chapter will give a detailed insight into the undeniable significance of intercultural competence and its place within foreign language education due to these developments. Following this, the discordant state of defining intercultural competence and agreeing on a common model will be explained, while also providing viable solutions to these challenges. Finally, ways of assessing this complex construct are discussed, aiming for a pragmatic approach usable especially in the foreign language classroom.
TopThe Significance Of Intercultural Competence
The globalization of the world constantly advances the potential of humanity. It has never been easier nor faster for information, goods or people to circle the globe (Matveev, 2017; Vogt, 2018). The world wide web can be a great indicator as well as amplifier for this global interconnectedness. However, most recently the global Covid pandemic has given an impressive glance at the many levels on which the world is (and sometimes is relying to be) interconnected: The virus spread in the matter of weeks due to easy worldwide travelling, global supply-chains were disrupted and caused shortages of essential goods, temporary travel bans prohibited people from moving and affected families, organizations, and companies all over the world. The list of impacts of the pandemic is obviously much longer and still growing, still these are three authentic examples for the steadily increasing globalization.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Intercultural Competence: Over the last decades, intercultural competence has proven to be unsuitable for a single all-purpose definition. Instead, scholars agree to conceptualize intercultural competence as a capacity to interact effectively and appropriately with culturally different others. Furthermore, many agree that this capacity consists of certain attitudes, knowledge, and skills.
Assessment for Learning: It is “any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting students’ learning. It thus differs from assessment designed primarily to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence.” ( Black & Wiliam, 2004 , p. 10).
Culture: It is a very complex and traditionally hard to define construct. It defies a single all-purpose definition; it can be described best by taking consensus of the previous decades’ findings. According to an extensive analysis done in 2009 by Helen Spencer-Oatey and Peter Franklin, Culture is manifested through different types of regularities, some of which are more explicit than others, Culture is associated with social groups, but no two individuals within a group share exactly the same cultural characteristics, culture affects people’s behaviour and interpretations of behaviour, and culture is acquired and/or constructed through interaction with others. ( Spencer-Oatey, & Franklin, 2009 ).
Globalization: It refers to the growing interconnectedness of the world. This interconnectedness can be observed in many different dimensions, though popular discussions on the topic often seem to focus on economic chances and challenges. Amongst many others though, globalization very much also concerns political or social issues for example.