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TEACHING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH

A workshop with Judith Mader and Rudi Cramer

There is no doubt that language and culture are inextricably connected, but how many language teachers really feel qualified to teach intercultural communicative competence and use knowledge of intercultural theory in language classes? Does knowing about the findings of Hofstede and Trompenaars, being able to define low-context cultures, collectivist societies etc. make language classes more meaningful?

Most business today is conducted in English, which means that English language trainers may have a head start over intercultural trainers. The Train-the-Trainer course, which we are introducing, uses language trainers' skills and experience, combining these with the relevant intercultural components to show how language training can best meet the demands of intercultural communication. We will explore these issues and provide teaching material to deal with the role of English in international business. ICE- Intercultural Competence in English is a "Zertifikatslehrgang" developed for and offered by the German Chamber of Commerce.

Judith Mader is a founding member of ELTAF and has given workshops at several ELTA's as well as at many international conferences. She is an experienced teacher and teacher-trainer and worked for many years as a test developer. She is Head of Languages at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a senior language consultant for elc-European Language Competence in Frankfurt.

Rudi Camerer worked at a European level for over 10 years, directing the examination board of telc- the European Language Certificates, before establishing his own consultancy based in Frankfurt am Main. He is a member of ELTAF and has given workshops and presentations both at ELTAF and international conferences.