BrazTESOL ILE SIG PCI -Culture and Creativity: Connecting

ClassroomsJohn Corbett, University of Macau

Today’s presentation should…

• Reflect on the nature of intercultural learning

• Consider how to build online intercultural exchanges– Creative topics for cultural explorations

• Challenges when managing online communities

Checking understanding

• What do you understand by intercultural language learning?

• How do you help your learners develop intercultural communicative competence?

• Do you connect with other classrooms online? If so, how?

Defining intercultural goals: Michael Byram’s 5 ‘savoirs’

1. Knowledge of self and other; of how interaction occurs; of the relationship of the individual to society;

2. Knowing how to interpret and relate information;

3. Knowing how to engage with the political consequences of education; being critically aware of cultural behaviours...

... Five ‘savoirs’

4. Knowing how to discover cultural information;

5. Knowing how to be: how to relativise oneself and value the attitudes and beliefs of the other.

These ‘savoirs’ inform the CEFR guidelines on intercultural language educations

Connecting via Facebook

Connecting learning communities

• Gives learners an audience• Gives learners reasons to communicate• Encourages exploration of

– The home culture– The partners’ culture

But this doesn’t happen automatically!

Prose …

Think of a local place that means a lot to you. Take a photograph of it.•Describe it.•Post it online.

Prose

• Nice photo, fair description

• Occasional errors• Idiomatic usage:

‘piece of cake’• Engaging style• 113 views…• …no comments

Encouraging interaction

• Encourage learners to ask questions. And follow-up questions.

• Rehearse and draft posts/responses in class…on paper!

• Teach emotional lan;guage (kkkk, jajaja, hahaha) and emojis

• Teach discussion starters (‘I was just wondering…’; ‘I know it’s a silly question but…’)

Macau-Scotland-Argentina…

Thinking poetically

What is the here and now? •The five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, hearing... •Memories of sensations just gone... •Feelings (of happiness, longing, restlessness, boredom, frustration)

Poems and placesTake a photograph of a place you know well. Imagine being there. Then write down answers to the following questions:

–What can you see? –What can you hear?

–What do you feel? –What can you smell?

–What can you taste? –Is there something you notice or suspect?Look at the answers to your questions. Organise and edit them.Now write a poem about your photograph.Post it.

Poetry

Poetry

Other activitiesFound language

•Send your learners to a public place where people are coming and going, and write down the first 100 words or phrases you hear said. •Translate them into English.•Look around you and note down any signs or notices in English.•Bring the list to class, and, in groups, select some words and phrases, and turn them into a poem, song, or story. •Post it online. •Read two poems, songs or stories by other learners. Tell them if you like their work. Ask a question about each one.

Utopian dreams• First step• In groups, write down 4 statements about the world that

are not to your liking, e.g.– ‘In my apartment, the rooms are too small and the walls are

made of paper.’

• Then cross them out and replace them with positive statements you wish were true, e.g.– ‘I wish I lived in a country house with a long blue swimming

pool.’

Utopian dreams• Second step• Think of a beautiful name for an ideal country, e.g.

‘Utopia’ or ‘Lamorna,’• Arrange your dislikes and wishes into a poem with the

following form:

In my apartment the rooms are too small and the walls are made of paper,But, in Lamorna, everyone lives in a country house with a long blue swimming pool.

Utopian Dreams

• Third step• Perform your poem on video and upload it to the

website.• Watch videos by two other learners and

comment on them.

More ideas for intercultural activities

Online collaboration websites

• http://epals.com• http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/connecting

classrooms-learning/• http://www.flatstanley.com/

Summing up: creativity and culture in online communities

• Build online communities to share experiences and become cultural explorers

• Become literate in online communication• Teachers can:

– Encourage learners to write creatively & perform passionately

– Be an audience for first drafts– Help develop online skills, encourage curiosity

about others’ posts

jcorbett@umac.mo