boosting intercultural competence in a teacher education course

Proceedings of the Intercultural Competence Conference http://cercll.arizona.edu

November, 2014, Vol. 3, pp. 22-45

BOOSTING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE IN A TEACHER EDUCATION COURSE Theresa Catalano University of Nebraska-Lincoln [email protected]; http://www.eslidea.com/catalano/ Abstract Research has long established that intercultural competence should be an essential part of teacher education and that teachers must have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become successful intercultural mediators themselves before they can facilitate intercultural competence in their own language classrooms (Byram & Masuhara, 2013). However, few studies focus on intercultural competence (IC) of language teachers and its development through specific class activities in teacher education classes. The present paper thus sheds light on specific ways in which IC was developed in a graduate teacher education course providing insight into the identity negotiation of inservice/preservice teachers as they progress through the course. Data includes teacher observations, lesson plans, student reflections, midterm exams, and end of course evaluations. The paper’s value lies in its ability to provide teacher educators with innovative activities they can use in their own teacher education courses, while opening a window into the minds of the teacher learners as they engage in the interactive activities and negotiate their intercultural identities to become competent global citizens and mediators.

Introduction Globalization and an increasingly diverse population in U.S. schools have made it imperative to prepare today’s educators to teach students from a wide range of backgrounds in a linguistically and culturally responsive manner. In language classrooms, teachers must not only make sure students have the intercultural competence (IC) to exchange information successfully in their target language and address their own attitudes, values, and beliefs (Deardorff, 2006), but they must be interculturally competent themselves as well. Although much research has addressed the need to develop intercultural competence in today’s teachers, focusing on the importance of relationships (Zaharna, 2009; Nwosu, 2009), identity (Kim 2009, TingToomey, 2009), and context (Moosmüller & Schönhuth, 2009; Medina-López-Portillo & Sinnegen, 2009), few studies have focused on how this is developed for teachers themselves, in a graduate teacher education course. In addition, globally, the number of international graduate students has increased, yet there is little research that attempts to adapt university instruction (and in particular, teacher education programs) to this increasingly international student body (Hsieh, 2006). Moreover, few studies have documented student responses to intercultural communication coursework that allow for a greater understanding of the identity negotiation process that occurs for these teacher learners (or future teachers) as they study how to teach their students to be interculturally competent at the same time they themselves work toward this goal. Hence, the present paper aims to shed light on specific ways, in which the IC of Copyright © 2014

22

Theresa Catalano

Boosting Intercultural Competence in Teacher Education

preservice and inservice teachers is developed in a graduate teacher education course, while at the same time providing insight into the professional identity negotiation of these learners and their reflections on the developmental process of IC throughout the course. Data consisted of lesson plans and observations/notes made by the author detailing specific activities incorporated into a graduate course in intercultural communication. Additionally, student reflection assignments, midterm exams, and end of course evaluations were drawn upon to gain an understanding of the changes in personal and professional identity students undergo during IC development, as well as their responses/reactions to the activities they experienced. Hence, the goals of this paper are twofold: 1) to bring forward the voice of preservice/inservice teachers and their experience developing IC; 2) to provide language teachers (and teacher educators) with examples of successful ways they can teach IC in classrooms while attending to an increasingly diverse student body. Conceptual Framework Intercultural competence1 has long been considered a necessary and desired quality that both language learners and language teachers must possess (Deardorff, 2009; Byram & Masuhara, 2013; Dogancay Aktuna, 2005). While there is no great consensus on a singular definition, most scholars in this field would agree that it is the “ability to interact effectively with people from cultures that we recognize as being different from our own” (Guilherme, 2000, as cited in Byram & Masuhara, 2013, p. 143) and the ability “to foster cooperative relationships with culturally (or ethnically) dissimilar others” (Kim, 2009, p. 54). According to Kramsch (2009), those participating in multilingual/multicultural exchanges need knowledge of the historical value of keywords, awareness of the symbolic power of language choice, as well as the ability to evaluate the effects of choices being made and to take their listeners’ perspectives, all of which Kramsch describes as a “savviness, i.e., a combination of knowledge, experience and judgment which cannot be directly taught but may be the result of general education” (p. 118). In addition, Byram and Masuhara explain that intercultural competence is the “ability to decenter, to ‘see ourselves as others see us’, to ‘make the strange familiar and the familiar strange’ and to ‘reflect critically on what we take for granted,’” focusing on the “Other” and “us” and the relationships between the two (p. 146). Furthermore, IC education prepares language students for meaningful interactions with people from target language cultures by addressing the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for effective intercultural communication (Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006). Attitudes towards the “Other” must continually be addressed so that learners open up to other values and beliefs in the midst of their intercultural interactions (Deardorff, 2006). When IC is incorporated into language classrooms, students who often feel disconnected with language learning—such as students of color and international students—can begin to feel connected to class activities due to the diverse voices and culturally relevant topics represented throughout the curriculum (Hawkins, 2011). Although a large body of literature acknowledges the need for IC development, it is not 1

Intercultural competence is often referred to more specifically in foreign language education as Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) (Byram, 2002). However, because this paper will address the development of intercultural competence in teacher learners from varying CERCLL ICC Proceedings

23

Theresa Catalano


clear how it can be implemented as materials for intercultural language education (Byram & Masuhara, 2013) or for teacher education courses designed to teach it. For example, in reference to the IC objective of raising awareness, reflecting attitudes and developing skills, Byram and Masuhara ask, “What kinds of methods or approaches may be suitable for multicultural and multilingual learners in a globalized and/or glocalized world?” (2013, p. 150). Thus, although studies such as Cushner and Mahon (2009) discuss what intercultural competence means for teachers and students, few give examples of specific ways in which this can be done in a teacher education course. One exception is Dogancay-Aktuna (2005) in which the author provides a clear example of how to facilitate teacher learners’ reflection on their preconceived notions of target learner groups in a teacher education course, but she addresses English teachers only. On the other hand, Byram, Gribkova, and Starkey (2002) provide activities for foreign language teachers (not ESL teachers) to use with students, but not for teacher education classes. Because the present paper includes the reflections and responses of students to the implemented activities, it also provides insight into how students’ professional and personal identities change throughout the duration of the intercultural communication class. According to Deardorff (2009), identity “as well as understanding the lens through which we view the world, has become a foundational point for exploring intercultural competence” (p. 266). Hsieh (2006) defines identity as consisting of three levels: self, social, and personal: Self-identity is the way individuals perceive themselves; social identity refers to the social positions that are generally acknowledged by society or the stereotypes that are possessed by the general public; and personal identity is the way individuals represent themselves to others. (p. 4) Kim’s (2009) concept of “intercultural identity” refers to an “achieved self-other orientation that an individual develops over time,” that is part of a “continuum of adaptive changes from a monocultural to an increasingly complex and inclusive character” (p. 56). Kim’s research has shown that an inclusive identity orientation and a strong identity security (the degree to which an individual feels secure in his/her identity) are both important in “successful intercultural interactions, and can lead to greater degrees of adaptability, flexibility, and cultural empathy, all elements of intercultural competence” (Deardorff, 2009, p. 266). As teacher learners progress in their teacher education classes, their identities are "constantly being shaped through experiences and interactions" (Cummins, 1996 as cited in Hsieh, 2006, p. 11), and much recent research on teacher education has highlighted the importance of identity development as future teachers undergo this process (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009). Thus, scholars in the field agree that “transcending boundaries in regard to one’s identity is crucial in developing intercultural competence” (Deardorff, 2009, p. 267) and therefore necessary to attend to in a teacher education program targeting intercultural competence. In regards to addressing identity issues in teacher education classes, Hsieh argues that “educators should integrate into their competency goals and language-learning curricula

24

CERCLL ICC Proceedings

Theresa Catalano


both the construction of agency of identity and strategies for claiming the right to speak” (p. 13). In addition, Hsieh suggests that educators should “provide opportunities for teacher learners to think critically about how their identities are constructed and constrained” and help students—in the case of this study, female international students from East Asian countries—“to remove the constraints on their identity development in a second-language environment and develop a more positive identity” (Hsieh, 2006, p.13). Beauchamp and Thomas (2009) also highlight the important role that reflection has in teacher education and point to its effectiveness in providing students and practicing teachers a way to “delve deeply into their teaching identities” (p. 183). This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing specific examples of activities designed to develop language teachers’ intercultural competence (and inclusive identity and identity security) in a teacher education course. Additionally, by providing examples of actual student reflections and responses to the activities, the paper will inform readers of what the process of personal and professional identity transformation looks like. Method Participants/Setting The participants for this study were inservice or preservice teachers enrolled in a graduate teacher education course in intercultural communication in Spring 2013 at a medium-sized Midwestern university. Student reasons for being in the course varied from fulfilling a human resources requirement for teacher certification (for students pursuing teacher certification in addition to a Master’s degree), to doctoral students already teaching multicultural education courses at the undergraduate level (and thus interested in learning how to improve their own instruction of IC). Student areas of specializations in the course ranged from K-12 ESL/ELL and foreign language preservice teachers, to practicing teachers of various levels such as elementary school or high school (returning for added endorsements such as ELL or a different language), to doctoral students in education with emphases ranging from language policy to multicultural education to foreign languages. In terms of individual profiles of the 21 students enrolled in the course, there were 3 male students and 18 female. Nine out of 21 total students (43%) were international students, while the other twelve were of European ancestry. The international students were, with the exception of one male student from China, female (mostly from East Asian countries) including four from China, one from Vietnam, and one from Japan as well as a visiting scholar from Peru (female), and a female student from Chile. Data Collection Because data collected was part of regular course requirements, IRB approval occurred at my institution before the course began and consent was required only of students whose work was used as part of the data for the actual paper. Thus, once data was selected (based on its usefulness in demonstrating development of IC and identity) students were notified and requested to sign a consent form agreeing to allow their work


25

Theresa Catalano


(anonymously) to be included in this paper. Data collection consisted of my lesson plans, observations, and notes taken throughout the course as well as student reflection assignments, midterm exams, and end of course evaluations. Reflection assignments consisted of a 1 to 3 page paper students wrote at the end of each course “track” that explained their understanding of the most important concepts from class readings and their relation to their own life and teaching. Midterm exam responses included the written portion of the exam in which students had to define major concepts and provide a real life example for each. Data Analysis Data analysis of student data consisted of a thematic analysis (Reissman, 2008) of student reflection assignments, midterm exams, or end of course evaluations in which identity negotiation became the major theme developed. In addition, student reactions to activities highlighted in the paper were also examined in the data. Data was collated into a large file in MAXQDA, and open-coding occurred in order to identify identity issues and relate them back to the activities implemented in class. All students were given pseudonyms in order to protect their identities. Findings Before describing the activities implemented in this graduate course in intercultural communication, it is necessary to explain the overall design of the course. In order to tackle a diverse range of issues relevant to future teachers, the course was divided into four tracks: basic terms and concepts of IC, teaching, planning and policy, language and identity, and racism and the media. After each of these tracks, the students were required to write a personal reflection about the readings and activities and relate it back to their own professional and personal lives (with the exception of the second track in which students wrote about on their Midterm exam). This section introduces the activities implemented in class, and shares the reflections and reactions of students to these activities as seen through teacher observations/notes, reflection assignments, written midterm exams, and final course evaluations as well as some of the thoughts and planning behind the process of creating the curriculum. Collectivist classroom At the beginning of my planning process for this course, I decided that it would be essential to create a creative learning community in which students feel safe and comfortable sharing their personal feelings about the readings and topics related to intercultural communication. Because many of the students in the class were from Asian countries (and what Hofstede (1983) refers to as traditionally “collectivist societies”), I decided to try a more collectivist and collaborative approach to the class, in order to encourage more participation from these students and expose other students in the class to different worldviews. I began with the metaphor of being a “team.” From the first day of class, students were told that they would work together to help each other be successful in the class, and that group success was more important than

26


Theresa Catalano


individual success. The instructor then notified students that they needed to check that at each table (4 to 5 students sat at each) there were at least three nationalities and/or languages represented by the students. In addition, students were told that regardless of what their backgrounds were, every one of them brings something unique and special to the class – every one of them possesses “funds of knowledge” that we can utilize throughout our learning process (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992). Moreover, before class began (by accessing the class list) and after doing an interest survey during the first class, I selected required or optional readings that reflected the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students as well as their varied experiences and interests. For example, one student was an English teacher from Vietnam, so I selected an article by Nguyen (2008) that discussed the development of intercultural competence in English teachers in Vietnam. Surprisingly, when I asked the student if she would mind talking to the class about the article and answering questions, she revealed to me that this author had been her teacher in Vietnam. She ended up contacting her former professor and telling her about how our class was reading her article, and we gained access to both the student and professor and a personal account of the article’s topics. In addition, at the time this paper was written, I now have a new group of students in the class, and this student has agreed to come back to my class and provide her insight on the same article since students greatly benefited from her discussion and the reading last year. Another example was a visiting scholar to the class (who was an English professor in Peru). Once I found out she was in the class, I found an article that talked about issues related to language and education in Peru. The visiting scholar then presented the article to the class and moderated a lively discussion with her own personal viewpoints on what is happening linguistically in Peru. Another way that I encouraged a creative community and democratic environment was through incorporating numerous creative and/or collaborative activities. I will describe some of these activities in detail below but before doing so, it is worth mentioning two ways in which I encouraged equal participation among students. According to Cabrera et al. (2002), group learning methods encourage students to take greater responsibility for their own learning and to learn from one another, as well as from the instructor. Because group work would be a large part of the class, I knew that I would need to take steps to ensure that students were able to participate equally. Hsieh’s (2006) study on East Asian international students in U.S. universities found that East Asian international students (in particular, female students) are often those that have the most difficulty participating in group discussions. Because there were five female East Asian students in my class, (and several other students that had a tendency of talking more than their share), I knew that I had to come up with a systematic way to help students be more comfortable participating in small group and large group discussions, and to help them get more opportunities to do so. The first way I did this is with the numbered-headstogether collaborative learning strategy (Numbered Heads Together, 2014). In this strategy, students in each group number off. During discussions, the teacher projects three to four questions on the large screen and students discuss these questions in groups. When it comes time for plenary discussion, the teacher poses one of the discussion questions and students “put their heads together” to summarize the best way to answer the question based on their groups’ collective responses. Then the teacher


27

Theresa Catalano


calls out a number (choosing from one to the number of students in each group, normally four to five) and the person with that number answers according to what their group discussed together. This activity helps students that are nervous about what to say, or how to say it, to become more confident. It is particularly useful for language learners that need more time and repetition and often feel nervous about volunteering or being called on the spot. After doing this activity in my graduate course, I make a point to have students reflect on how they might use this same strategy for their own language learners (whether they are foreign language students answering in the target language, or English language learners). Another way to ensure that all students participate in both small group and large group discussions is to give them poker chips, sticks, or any kind of manipulative that they could keep in their hands and easily move. During the first class I explained to students that there would always be a pile of chips on each of their tables. They needed to distribute the chips equally among students, and use those chips to mark their participation. Thus, each time a student speaks, they must put their chip in the center of the table. When a student has no more chips, he/she must wait until the other students run out of chips in order to talk again. At the end of the course, we reflected as a class on how it felt to be limited in their responses or encouraged to speak more, and why some people never had chips and some people never used their chips, and what they learned about themselves, others and their own teaching through this type of activity. I will now give some examples of some different collaborative activities implemented in the class, and then provide the students’ reactions/responses to these activities. Creative collaborative activities Multingual/multilingual inquiry projects. After reading Theresa Ann McGinnis’s (2007) article that describes how inquiry-based projects can support students’ literacy and language practices, students prepared their own multilingual/multimodal inquiry projects (in groups) and presented them to the class. The directions to the mini multimodal inquiry project were to “Research a topic of your group’s choice related to intercultural communication, use more than two languages to discuss, research, or present, and vary the modes in which you present it” (Lesson plans, February 12, 2013). Because students were already sitting in groups with varied linguistic and cultural backgrounds represented (and most were language teachers), the multilingual aspect was not problematic. While some of the groups presented their activities in several languages, other groups did the research in their language of choice, and still others discussed what they would do in several languages; this choice was left up to students. The ease and freedom students felt by being encouraged to utilize all their language knowledge on a topic that interested them was palpable, and while this type of multilingual freedom is not often practiced (particularly in U.S. Englishcentered classrooms of any level), it proved highly valuable and demonstrated to teacher learners the ease in which it can be accomplished in their diverse classrooms. For the multimodal aspect, activities presented ranged from the combination of music, role-play and images, to video and dance. One group asked students to listen to songs in four different languages and gauge the emotion of the music (based on a study by Scherer, Banse & Wallbott, 2001), while another group demonstrated how they would

28


Theresa Catalano


greet their instructor in five different cultures presenting a culturally-appropriate gift and non-verbal communication for each culture and language represented. After all group presentations were finished, students were asked to reflect on the benefit of multilingual/multimodal inquiry projects and their use in classrooms with diverse students. Many students agreed with McGinnis (2007) that, Students’ voices and feelings are often silenced because they are asked to work in English-only or their expression of knowledge is limited by the focus on one mode or language only. . . . When we open up the curriculum and allow students to bring in the literacy practices they engage in naturally in their social worlds, we are given broader perspectives of our students. We will see them as talented and capable learners, and we will want to create more learning opportunities that tap into these abilities and talents. (p. 578) Students also agreed that the experience of creating and participating in these projects themselves helped them to understand why these types of activities are so valuable for their students. In addition, it forced them to reflect on their own teaching practices and how they could incorporate the multilingualism of their students into daily classroom life through multimodal inquiry projects. Dance and Painting. According to Dewey (1934), the “aesthetic” experiences which are explored within creative learning communities become “educative” experiences by creatively constructing individual/collective experiences in the arts. When participants engage in these activities, they are “singing the world” (MerleauPonty, 1968, p. 193) through the act of expression. Such singing as expressive creation opens up myriads of opportunities for students to learn together (Hwang, In press). In this graduate teacher education course in intercultural communication, many different types of aesthetic experiences were incorporated giving students varied ways in which to engage and interact with the curriculum. One example of this type of aesthetic experience was the use of dance. Dance provides a shared space for students and newcomers to “join together, bond in their celebrations and seek action for their struggles” (Homonoff Woodley, 2013, p. 223). Dance promotes inner self-cultivation and responsiveness to others (Nussbaum, 2010) and draws attention to the meaningmaking process (Macintyre Latta, 2013). In the case of this class, dance was used to help students understand complex semiotic concepts related to Gal and Irvine’s (1995) study on language differentiation. Through a dance demonstration given by myself (admittedly, I have dabbled in the dance world) and two student dancers (also participants in the class), students had the opportunity to experience the embodied enactment of iconicity, recursivity, and erasure as shown through a combination of teacher talk and movement. Below are some photographs of the instructor/author and students re-enacting these main concepts from Gal and Irvine in the classroom: Photo 1. Erasure of multilingual practices


29

Theresa Catalano


Photo 2. Iconicity of multilingual practices occurring in tandem

Another example of the incorporation of the arts into an intercultural communication curriculum included the use of painting. After reading Elorza and Muñoa (2008) and Greenfield (2010), students were directed to re-create the most important elements of the articles in the form of a collaborative watercolor painting (Lesson Plans, February 5, 2013). Here students made abstract concepts such as multilingual policy and planning in Basque medium schools in Spain and the privileging of colonial languages in South Africa concrete. Using a technique from Catalano’s (2006) book on art activities in the classroom, students were told to talk to each other about the topics as they painted abstractly and let their painting flow with the direction of the conversation. Students

30


Theresa Catalano


then showed their paintings to the other groups and class participants observed the paintings and voiced their interpretation of what the student artists might have meant. Then the groups who did the paintings were allowed to share their own thoughts behind the painting and how they related to a deeper understanding of the concepts in the articles. Finally, students were asked to reflect on the use of painting in developing intercultural competence, and the collaborative nature in which it was conducted describing how they thought intercultural competence was developed through this activity. In the discussion, students commented in particular about how surprised they were by the different ways in which each of the students represented (or symbolized) certain ideas/concepts visually (Lesson plans, February 5, 2013). Two final types of activities used in the class included weekly food brought by students representing their culture (and explained by the students to the class) and the incorporation of my own research on Romanies (Catalano, 2013) and teaching in South Africa through presentations and discussion. Below are more specific responses/reactions to the activities described in this section, including the collectivist aspects of the class. Reactions/responses In evaluations and midterm exams, many students expressed their feelings regarding the community spirit of the class, and in particular, many international students were pleased with the way in which their resources were capitalized on and their voices were brought forward in the class. Josh2 noted the sense of community established: “I really felt like each Tuesday I was coming to see my friends/family. The sense of community built within this course was the stepping stone from which all of our dialogue was built,” (Evaluations, May 2013). In the following comments, students noted how the class activities were models for what was being taught. When asked on their midterm exams “What is culturally responsive education?” they replied in the following ways: Education that responds to the diverse cultural capital that each student brings with them to class. For example, in our intercultural communication class, the professor makes use of all the resources that students from different cultures bring to class. (Ji, Midterm, February 26, 2013) Our intercultural communication class is a perfect example. In this class, our instructor attends to the different cultures students bring with them and uses them as class resources. (Josh, Midterm, February 26, 2013) It refers to recognizing, fostering, respecting and using students’ identities and cultural backgrounds as meaningful sources of learning and education. Example: In this class, the professor fosters students work in groups more than individually. Through group conversations and discussions we (the 2

All names of students are pseudonyms.


31

Theresa Catalano


students) use our cultural backgrounds to teach others and learn from others. (Jenny, Midterm, February 26, 2013) Several students also commented about how the readings that focused on issues in countries other than the U.S. helped them to reflect on their own culture and teaching. The following was written by the student from Vietnam (mentioned earlier) in regards to the article written by her professor in Vietnam. I became a strong advocate of teaching cultural awareness to students, yet I had no idea how we could go about doing it and how I could convince other teachers of the benefits of doing it. Nguyen's article was like my savior. All my questions, doubt, and confusion about teaching cultural awareness in the context of Vietnam were well-responded to in her article. I like the fact that she pointed out the importance of teaching cultural awareness, emphasizing how promoting it will benefit language teaching and learning in Vietnam in general and in my university in particular. Perhaps what is most valuable about her article is the argument to include intercultural communicative competence in communicative competence (p. 128). The establishment of this understanding about communicative competence is a significant step to introduce cultural teaching into language classrooms. . . . The readings from our class somehow enabled me to reflect on my international student experience and my personal life in meaningful and sometimes interesting and unexpected ways. I especially like the concept of glocalization in Baraldi's (2006). Does my incorporating Thai, Chinese, American, and Korean dishes, ingredients, and flavors into my cooking now mean I have gone glocalized? And does my going organic, my negotiating between Western and Asian values when teaching my daughter mean I have been globalized/glocalized? (Anh, Reflection #1, February 5, 2013) Another student noted how reading Gal and Irvine’s (1995) article regarding iconicity, recursivity, and erasure in language differentiation helped her to see issues in China differently: These ideas land me a new lens to look at language practices in China and help me to see things I didn’t see before. (Reflection #2, March, 27, 2013) Finally, some of the students noted on their end of course evaluations their appreciation for the multimodal creative aspect of the course. One student noted that even graduate students need to be motivated: “I love the diverse activities the teacher practiced with students in the class.” “Dr. Catalano does a great job incorporating multiple modalities into the class.”

32


Theresa Catalano


“I learn from what Dr. Catalano teaches me everyday and also from what she not teaches [sic] us like the use of food, dance, art, drawing, technology in her class, by being a teacher with great creativity and teaching skills. She made me reflect on everything I do and constantly inquire about my field of study. She and her class is the most convincing example that even at graduate level, good teaching skills are still relevant and matter, and that graduate students still need to be motivated and inspired and will learn much better if they're motivated.” (Evaluations, May 10, 2013) Student panels, guest speakers, and films Within the field of education, many studies recognize the power of perception, especially as it relates to student behavior (McCarthy & Benally, 2003; Sheets, 1996 as cited in Cushner & Mahon, 2009, p. 313). These false perceptions often lead to stereotyping of students which many times leads to negative consequences such as unnecessary punishment (Cushner & Mahon 2009, p. 313). In this teacher education course, student panels, guest speakers, and films were used 1) to help teacher learners know more about different cultures represented in the class and to provide them with an understanding of the non-monolithic nature of culture, thus dispelling stereotypes and 2) to illustrate to teachers how they can do these type of activities with their own students in order to learn more about them, and help their students interact peacefully in school. Because there were five students from China in the course, after reading Li’s (2003) article on U.S. and Chinese beliefs about learning, I invited these students to answer questions about the article and about Chinese education in general. This “Chinese panel” then led to very intense discussions about similarities and differences between conceptions of learning as well as teacher and student behaviors in the U.S. and China. Surprisingly, on most of the questions, the panel members varied greatly in their responses. For other students in the class who admitted to having particular pre-formed ideas about Chinese students before the panel, this was an eye-opening experience to see such differences in opinion on every subject, and most of all, this helped students see their classmates as individuals. In terms of other activities designed to give students first hand knowledge and experiences with other cultures (thus learning more about their own), I invited a colleague from Spain (in charge of cultural ambassadorship programs) to talk about non-verbal behavior differences (after reading Nuliep, 2011), and we watched “The Fourth Nail” that details the experience of a Romani-American and his personal struggles with his identity. Students also watched “American Tongues” that details the different language varieties in the U.S. and perceptions associated with them. In addition, after presenting on an optional article related to discursive racism in Chile, a student from Chile invited her friend and colleague (a woman of Mapuche descent from Chile) to answer questions the class had via Skype. This technology allowed the students to not only ask questions about the complex situation for Mapuche people in Chile (without having to pay for the guest to fly from Chile to the U.S.) and how they are represented in the media, but they could also put a human face on what they were reading. Seeing and speaking with a person with personal experiences related to the article made the issue come alive, and highlighted its complexities and dynamic nature. For example, the woman was a student, and her


33

Theresa Catalano


mother was Mapuche but she did not speak Mapuche or tell other people she was Mapuche. She shared with the students her own issues of identity and made them recognize the difference between ascribed, performed, global, dominating, and hyphenating identities (Vandeyar, 2012) and the dynamic nature of identity construction and negotiation. Reactions/Responses Students seemed to gain enormous benefits from having guest speakers and panels, and I wrote the following in my notes after the Chinese panel activity: Students on the panel had very different answers to the various questions about the education system in China. Several of the other students in the class approached me afterwards and said how surprised they were that all of the students from China could have such different responses. It occurred to me at this point that students were beginning to understand that “culture” is not monolithic and that by presenting a panel of students together, the other students in the class could benefit greatly from hearing the variety of different answers and understanding more about Chinese culture, but also they learned that they shouldn’t assume that there is one answer to all of their cultural questions – they began to see their Chinese classmates more as individuals. (Instructor Notes, February 12, 2013) On her midterm exam, Chris answered in response to the question “What is culturally responsive education: Education which fosters multicultural awareness. Example: Inviting someone from another country and listening to his/her experiences (like we did in your class), having discussion about different cultures. (Midterm, February 2013) One student commented on how after watching “American Tongues” she now had a greater appreciation for the linguistic varieties in English, and a desire to expose her English learners to more varieties of English so that they would feel comfortable with them and also understand the diversity of the English language. She noted in her Reflection assignment on language and identity: The student-led discussion board about these videos and our articles gave me great insight into how to incorporate the linguistic diversity of our country into the ELL classroom. By inviting students who speak multiple dialects into the classroom, students have an opportunity to receive first-hand knowledge about how that dialects sounds, looks and is communicated. (Clare, Reflection #2, March 26, 2013) Role-play midterm

34


Theresa Catalano


In terms of assessment of intercultural competence, Byram, Gribkova, and Starkey (2002) argue that because knowledge and understanding (which are generally easy to assess) are only part of what is involved in assessing intercultural competence, often times intercultural competency assessment does not reach the heart of the issue and is not effective in assessing the “ability to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange . . . to act on a new basis of perspectives . . . or whether learners have changed their attitudes, become more tolerant of difference and the unfamiliar” (p. 14). Having this knowledge before I designed the curriculum for the course, I decided that I would need to come up with a multi-layered approach to the assessment of intercultural competence in the course. Thus, besides the three reflections that illustrated student thinking processes and attitudes, I designed a midterm that would test the knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts (written portion) as well as an oral component that would give them a chance to apply the concepts and demonstrate attitude and perspective changes. In addition, I wanted to empower students by letting them coconstruct with me, the actual exams. Thus, in teams, students took their key terms lists (that had been co-created in groups each week for the first 15 minutes of class) and decided which ones were essential to understanding what intercultural communication is. I then used these terms on the written exam and students were asked to provide a definition and example from real life. For the oral exam, I asked student groups to come up with a role-play activity where there would be a “town hall” type meeting in which two sides would argue for or against an issue related to our “teaching, planning and policy” track. I gave them some examples, then each group came up with their own example and added it into a Google document projected onto the screen. Students then voted on which role-play scenario would be most feasible for re-creating and came up with the following: Nlocnil is a medium-sized city in a Midwestern state of the United States and an officially designated refugee resettlement area. Despite the city’s international population, the major school district administration only allows English in school settings (even in non-academic situations like lunch.) However, many community members feel that this policy contributes to English learners frequently doing poorly in school. Therefore, a community meeting has been organized to involve the community in a proposed state-wide policy change. This policy change would grant students the right to learn in their first language along with English in dual language schools. The opposing side of this policy change proposes to enforce stricter rules about speaking English-only in schools, particularly until students have reached English proficiency, and to not allow dual language schools. Mayor X (instructor’s name) will introduce the two sides and they will be given a chance to present their arguments to the community. Then the class was divided into two groups that would present the scenario separately, and within each group, each student would take one of the following roles: For an English-only policy, against dual language schools administrator


35

Theresa Catalano


superintendent general education teachers parents of native English speakers or ELL students state legislator Against English-only policy, for dual language schools ELL teachers/ general education teacher school counselor administrator parents of English learners students Students were allowed one week to prepare with their groups and 45 minutes to discuss and debate the issue in class, followed by 15 minutes to break down the activity and their feelings about the debate. Students demonstrated their enthusiasm for this type of exam by really engaging in the role-playing incorporating accents, costumes and theatrics, but being careful to respect other classmates while acting out their roles3. In the discussions after the debates, I was able to assess students’ grasp of the concepts as well as changes in attitudes and perceptions of the “Other,” in particular in regards to second language learners. Reactions/Responses The overall responses to the midterm were overwhelmingly positive. Below I have included my own notes/observations about the role-play exam, followed by student comments from their evaluations of the course. Students appear to be nervous about “performing” their roles and about how to go about showing their intercultural competence in this non-traditional way. However, team work seemed to release tensions and I noticed when groups were talking and planning there was a lot of laughter. (Observation notes, February 19, 2013) Students were delighted in their role in constructing the exam in both the written and oral sections. The fact that they had control over the questions seemed to empower them and release tension. (Observation notes, February 19, 2013) Playing the roles made the situation come alive, they were able to see both sides and incorporate what they learned to articulate themselves better and to advocate for the rights of their students. (Observation notes, Feb. 26, 2013) As noted in the first two comments, students thoroughly enjoyed the performativity of the exam and their own learner autonomy in constructing it. In addition, the last observation illustrates another benefit of this type of educational practice: educating 3

Before the debates the instructor went over “rules of engagement” in turn-taking and discussed that we were all playing roles, but we must still be careful to respect other classmates at all times. 36


Theresa Catalano


teacher learners (and their future students) about the importance of citizenship practices and how to argue and advocate for the rights of their students. According to Oxfam International (an international confederation designed to eliminate poverty), “mediation skills such as the ability to argue, debate, persuade, negotiate consensus or agree to differ are also important elements of global citizenship education” (Oxfam GB, 2006). Because “crucial links have been articulated among literacy, democracy, empowerment and social participation in politics and everyday life,” the above type of activity is increasingly important and can provide teacher learners with practice in how to respond to differing perspectives on students' rights (Catalano, 2013, p. 277). The following student comments on the course evaluations support the engaging nature of this type of democratic practice as a form of assessment : “The midterm was probably the most engaging ‘exam’ I have ever taken part in! I loved the role-play component of the midterm.” (Evaluations, May 10, 2013) “How great to have an opportunity to practice being in a situation where you are asked to defend your position related to intercultural communication! I'm sure this skill will be useful in the future!” (Evaluations, May 10, 2013) Professional Identity Changes/ Reflections on teaching Throughout the course, students were asked to reflect orally and in writing on their experiences in the class and their relation to their own lives as teachers and students. Looking back at the reflections of the students allows us to see the process of transformation that the teacher learners went through during the course and the profound ways in which their attitudes and beliefs about their professional and personal identities and teaching practices changed within this five month period of the course. The following comments illustrate these changes in their personal identities as teachers, students, and multilingual citizens: This track was particularly interesting, informative, and useful for me as not only a teacher, but as a citizen as well. As a teacher, it helped me to understand better how to communicate with my students while also supporting their cultural self-image. As a teacher of such a diverse sample of students, it is important to teach them the curriculum the school district has given me to pass along, while also valuing and supporting their cultural ties to language. (Clare, Reflection #2, March 26, 2013) The above comment reflects the student’s application of course readings such as Nieto (1999) in which the author underscores the importance of the connection between language and identity and valuing linguistic and cultural backgrounds of students. Furthermore, the student’s comment about “being a citizen as well” conveys the nexus between culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and democratic education in which classroom goals and practices are aligned with the aim of “enlightened political engagement” (Parker, 2003, p. 34).


37

Theresa Catalano


The next comment expresses another student’s joy in being able to apply what was learned in class to all aspects of life: For the first time, I am able to connect what I learn with my personal and professional life, and see the value in what I’m learning. (Evaluations, May 10, 2013). This application of classwork to real life, as expressed in the above comment, is reiterated in the next few comments and illustrates identity transformations that international students such as Akari and Dongmei underwent as they were forced to reflect on issues of intercultural communication in their home countries which made them recognize gaps in their own training and language learning programs: The absence of intercultural communicative training in the Japanese education system brought me struggles and confusions during my first semester in the United States. . . . Articles and class discussions made me aware of my lack of cultural sensitivity and brought an opportunity to examine my role as a language instructor. (Akari, Reflection #1, February 5, 2013) According to a 2009 survey of 30 universities in China, only five of them offer intercultural communication courses as required courses for their English majors, the rest provide such courses as electives. . . . To teach intercultural competence in China, there is another gap we need to close – the discrepancy between objectives and assessments in language teaching. Although the importance of cultural competence is now acknowledged in the objectives of English programs, when it comes to assessment, students’ competence is simplified into several multiple choice questions asking about some factual knowledge of the major English speaking countries. With a test-oriented educational tradition and oftentimes tests scores being the only indicator of teacher efficacy, student performance, and school reputation, it is neither easy nor necessary to make the teaching of culture “go beyond the mere transmission of facts about a culture” (Nguyen, 2007). Why bother? I can almost see my students’ reluctance or even resistance to get involved in activities designed to help them develop cultural competence. They’d rather memorize a collection of “key cultural knowledge” about English speaking countries from a dictionary-like test preparation book. Whenever I see them doing that, I can’t help asking myself a question: What does our English test test? To narrow the gap between objectives and assessments, more research on test reliability and validity needs to be conducted, which I believe is also largely neglected in China. (Dongmei, Reflection #1 Feb. 5, 2013) In the next comment, Dongmei demonstrates her awareness of how linguistic discrimination and differentiation occur in China, and their connection to her own identity, weaving in what she has learned from in-class readings (and the dance workshop described earlier) related to Gal and Irvine’s (1995) article as she undergoes identity re-construction:

38


Theresa Catalano


While an obsession with being standard is forming, the value of dialects and ethnic languages is played down. I’m a speaker of Sichuan dialect, but whenever I’m asked what languages I speak, I always respond that I speak Chinese and English, by Chinese I mean Mandarin. I didn’t even recognize my dialect; being able to speak the dialect never meant anything special to me. My response horrifies me, because I not only ignored the linguistic differences between my dialect and Mandarin, I also erased the fact that I speak a dialect other than Mandarin. I erased my identity. (Dongmei, Reflection #2, March 26, 2013) Below, Akari echoes Dongmei’s recognition of the value of non-standard varieties of her first language and the acknowledgment of her own “linguistic imperialism” that she believes to have exhibited in her past teaching: After reflecting on class materials and the related discussions, I realized that my past ideas and teaching strategies have displayed characteristics of linguistic imperialism. . . . As a language instructor, I should strike a balance and attempt to incorporate regional dialects into my teaching in order to help students to become more versatile learners of Japanese. (Akari, Reflection #2, March 26, 2013) In addition to reflecting on their own teaching and use of dialects in their home countries, students such as Anh (below) displayed meta-cognitive awareness of identity work that occurred inside and outside of class and explained how the class itself helped her to be aware of this: As an international student, who is undergoing identity negotiation in an international context, the class and its readings have helped raise my awareness of intercultural communication, and at the same time, enlightened and guided me through both my sojourn and professional lives. (Anh, Reflection #1, February 5, 2013). In this final comment, Josh illustrates an increased awareness of his bodily connections to democratic ideals and the idea that not only what he says but how he moves can be “the medium through which power manifests itself and is inscribed, and an object and subject of power and…resistance” (Foucault, 1995, as cited in Leonard, 2014, p. 6). He also conveys the emotional effects of the new knowledge he has gained in the class ranging from hope to anger, and how this has transformed what he knows about himself as a teacher: All of these ideas make me critical of my actions, my speech, my body language, my preparation as an English-speaking teacher who is trying to educate both native and non-native English speakers all the while working under both local and national models for teaching, learning and assessment. . . . As I become more hopeful and informed, I also become more


39

Theresa Catalano


disappointed and angered when I identify more and more gatekeepers. That is why Nieto’s implications at the end of chapter 3 [regarding the myth that knowledge of English guarantees success] help to steer me back in a productive direction. I must see the power and necessity of English acquisition while acknowledging the negotiations individuals, families and groups must consider when striving to do so. This, then, changes and redefines my teaching. To be continued . . . (Josh, Reflection #1, Feb. 5, 2013) Conclusion This paper has demonstrated multiple ways in which multilingual/multimodal creative activities can provide unique opportunities for development of intercultural competence in teachers and future teachers in a graduate teacher education course. Some of the activities illustrated included multimodal/multilingual inquiry projects, dance, painting, student panels, guest speakers, films, and role-play assessments. Additionally, an inclusive collaborative community environment was created by placing students in diverse groups, tailoring readings to student backgrounds and using collaborative strategies designed to help bring forward the voice of all students in the class. Data revealed that during the class, students underwent the complex and dynamic process of identity negotiation, which was encouraged and attended to by the instructor through the reflection assignments and discussions, an oral role-play exam and the incorporation of collaborative multimodal group projects. Examination of this data showed how international students in particular began to look not only at issues of teaching, planning and policy, language and identity, and racism and the media in the U.S., but also in their own countries in both personal and teaching contexts. On the other hand, other students in the class were able to recognize their own cultural uniqueness and gained opportunities for interaction with international students that changed their own pre-conceived notions of their classmates as well as how they might approach culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classes. By engaging in conversations with people with different perspectives and experiences than their own, students in the course were able to see “the negotiations individuals, families and groups must consider” (Josh, Reflection #1, Feb. 5, 2013) when striving to acquire English. Students also demonstrated that they were able to continue to work toward a more inclusive identity orientation and develop a stronger identity security, which will lead them to greater degrees of adaptability, flexibility, and cultural empathy (Kim, 2009; Deardorff, 2009). In light of the above findings, I would like to highlight some of the most important implications of this study. Namely, attending to identity development can and should happen in class (as well as out of class) regardless of the level of instruction. Students need to be helped and supported through this process (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009), and teachers must encourage students to apply what they learn to their own culture/country as well as those of their (future) students and develop their intercultural identities through reflective assignments and discussions. Furthermore, teachers and teacher educators should take advantage of the diverse perspectives and experiences

40


Theresa Catalano


that students bring to the classroom and provide opportunities for their voices to be encouraged and heard. If teachers don’t work to develop their own intercultural competence, they will not be able to help their students to do so. Finally, while there is much research on what intercultural competence is and why students and teachers need to have it, more studies such as this need to explore how it is actually developed and how teachers experience this process in relation to their class readings and activities. About the author Theresa Catalano holds a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Second Language Education and Applied Linguistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she teaches courses in intercultural communication, linguistics, language planning and policy, multimodal textual analysis, and language teaching methods. References Alsup, J. (2006). Teacher identity discourses: Negotiating personal and professional spaces. London: Routledge. Beauchamp, C., & Thomas L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education. 39, 175-189. Byram, M., & Masuhara, H. (2013). Intercultural competence. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development (pp. 143-159). London: Bloomsbury. Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching. A practical introduction for teachers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Cabrera, A. F., Crissman, J. L., Bernal, E. M., Nora, A., Terenzini, P. T., & Pascarella, E. T. (2002). Collaborative learning: Its impact on college students' development and diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 20-34. Catalano, T. (2006). Art Activities for the English Language Classroom. New York: Cambria Press. Catalano, T. (2013). Occupy: A case illustration of social movements in global citizenship education. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice. 8(3), 276-288. DOI: 10.1177/1746197913497661


41

Theresa Catalano


Catalano, T. (2013). The Roma and Wall Street/CEOs: Linguistic construction of identity in U.S. and Canadian Crime Reports. Special issue on justice and the Roma for the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating identities: Education for empowerment in a diverse society. Ontario, CA: California Association for Bilingual Education. Cushner, K., & Mahon, J. (2009). Intercultural competence in teacher education: Developing the intercultural competence of educators and their students. Creating the blueprints. In D.K. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 304-320). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal Studies in International Education, 10, 241-266. Deardorff, D. (2009). Synthesizing conceptualizations of intercultural competence: Summary and emerging themes. In D. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 264-269). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Dogancay Aktuna, S. (2005). Intercultural communication in English language teacher education. ELT Journal 59, 99-107. Elorza, I., & Muñoa, I. (2008). Promoting the minority language through integrated plurilingual language planning: The case of the Ikastolas. Language, Culture and Curriculum. 21, 85-101. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Vintage Books. Gal, S., & Irvine, J. (1995). The boundaries of languages and disciplines: How ideologies construct difference. Social Research. 62(4), 967-1001. Greenfield, D. (2010). ‘When I hear Afrikaans in the classroom and never my language, I get rebellious’: linguistic apartheid in South African higher education. Language and Education. 24, 517–534. Guilherme, M. (2000). Intercultural competence. In M. Byram (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 297-300). London: Routledge. Hofstede, G. (1983). National cultures in four dimensions: A research-based theory of cultural differences among nations. International Studies of Management & Organization, 13, 46-74.

42


Theresa Catalano


Hawkins, M. (2011). Introduction. In M. Hawkins (Ed.), Social justice language teacher education (pp. 7-22). Ontario, Canada: Multilingual Matters. Homonoff Woodley, H. (2013). Embody the dance, embrace the body. In M. Stone Hanley, G.W. Noblit, G.L. Sheppard & T. Barone (Eds.), Culturally relevant arts education for social justice (pp. 216-223). New York and London: Routledge. Hsieh, M. H. (2006). Identity development of East Asian female international students with implications for second language higher education. Education, 127, 3-15. Hwang, S. Y. (In press). Classrooms as Creative Learning Communities: Teaching and Learning through Creative Expression and Expressive Creation. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska. Kim, Y. Y. (2009) The identity factor in intercultural competence. In D. Deardorff, (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 53-65). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kramsch, C. (2009). Discourse, the symbolic dimension of intercultural competence. In A. Hu & M. Byram (Eds.), Interkulterelle Kompetenz und fremdsprachliches Lernen. Modelle, Empirie, Evaluation (pp. 107-22). Tübingen: Gunter Narr. Leonard, A. (2014). Democratic bodies: Exemplary practice and democratic education in a K–5 dance residency. Journal of Dance Education, 14(1), 1-7. doi: 10.1080/15290824.2013.810342 Li, J. (2003). US and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 258-267. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.95.2.258 Macintyre Latta, M. (2013). Curricular conversations: Play is the thing. New York: Routledge. McAllister, G., & Jordan Irvine, J. (2000). Cross-cultural competency and multicultural teacher education. Review of educational research. 70, 3-24. McCarthy, J., & Benally, J. (2003). Classroom management in a Navajo middle school. Theory into practice, 42, 296-304. McGinnis, T. A. (2007). Khmer rap boys, x-men, Asia's fruits, and Dragonball Z: Creating multilingual and multimodal classroom contexts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50, 570-579. Medina-López-Portillo, A., & Sinnegen, J. H. (2009). Interculturality versus intercultural competences in Latin America. In D. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 249-263). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


43

Theresa Catalano


Merino, M. E., Pilleux, M., Quilaqueo, D., & San Martin, B. (2009). Discursive racism in Chile: The Mapuche Case. In T.A. van Dijk, (Ed.), Racism and Discourse in Latin America. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1968). The visible and the invisible. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice. 31(2), 132-141. Moosmüller, A., & Schönhuth, M. (2009). Intercultural competence in German discourse. In D. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 209-232). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Neuliep, J. (2011). The nonverbal code. In Intercultural communication: A contextual approach, pp. 285-332. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Nguyen, T. M. H. (2008). Developing EFL learners’ intercultural communicative competence: A gap to be filled? Asian EFL Journal, 21, 122-139. Nieto, S. (1999). Culture and learning. In The light in their eyes, (pp. 47-71). New York: Teachers College Press. Numbered Heads Together Cooperative Learning Strategy (2014). Retrieved January 8, 2014 from: https://www.teachervision.com/group-work/cooperativelearning/48538.html?page=2 Nussbaum, M. (2006). Education and democratic citizenship: Capabilities and quality education. Journal of Human Development, 7, 385-395. Nwosu, P. O. (2009). Understanding Africans’ conceptualizations of intercultural competence. In D.K. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 158-178). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Oxfam GB (2006). Education for global citizenship: a guide for schools. Oxfam GB. Available at: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/global-citizenship/key-elementsof-global-citizenship (accessed March 19, 2013). Parker, W. (2003). Teaching democracy: Unity and diversity in public life. New York: Teachers College Press. Reissman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

44


Theresa Catalano


Scherer, K. R., Banse, R., & Wallbott, H. G. (2001). Emotion inferences from vocal expression correlate across languages and cultures. Journal of Cross-cultural psychology, 32, 76-92. Sheets, R. A. (1996). Urban classroom conflict. Student-teacher perception: Ethnic integrity, solidarity and resistance. The Urban Review, 28, 165-183. Ting-Toomey, S. (2009). Intercultural conflict competence as a facet of intercultural competence development: Multiple conceptual approaches. In D. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 100-120). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Vandeyar, S. (2012). Immigrant students’ shifting identifications in South African schools. Internaional Journal of Educational Development, 32(2), 232-240. Zaharna, R. S. (2009). An associative approach to intercultural communication competence in the Arab world. In D. K. Deardorff (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp. 179-195). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


45