C O N T E N T S Anna Fresco Cecilia Perillo Joanna Carter

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Multiculturalism in danger Since 9/11, the peaceful co-existence of different racial groups has become more difficult to achieve. The terrorist attacks caused a wave of islamophobia in America and in Europe, even though US Muslim organizations publicly condemned the attacks and offered support for the victims and their families. The negative perception of Islam in the UK was reinforced by the act of terrorism which occurred in London on 7 th July 2007. At 8.50 a.m. bombs exploded on three underground trains, and one hour later, at 9.47, a fourth bomb exploded on a bus. The bombings killed 56 people, injured 700 and caused severe disruption of the city’s transport system. 7/7 was the deadliest bombing of the city since the Second World War. Al-Qaeda officially claimed responsibility for the bombings as a response to the British involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan. On 11 th March 2004, Madrid’s transport system was hit by a series of bombings, which caused the death of 191 people. The official investigation determined that the attacks were directed by an Al-Qaeda inspired terrorist group. In 2005, 11 th March was established as the European Day for the Victims of Terrorism. The US and international military response to 9/11 has not stopped acts of terrorism. This problem has been on the agenda of the United Nations for decades, and in the last few years countries around the world have been trying to find a common strategy to fight it. Plans include strengthening the role of the United Nations in combating terrorism, finding diplomatic solutions to the problems which have caused conflicts and ensuring respect for human rights. Efforts are being made to promote peaceful co-existence in multicultural societies. PRE-READING 1. What do you remember about the ethnic composition of the USA and the UK? 2. What do you remember about their different models of racial integration? READING Read the passage and answer the questions. 1. What are the challenges for multicultural societies? 2. Which terrorist event took place in the UK some years ago? 3. Who claimed responsibility for this event? 4. Why have 9/11 and 7/7 weakened multiculturalism? 5. What is the United Nations Organization trying to do? WHAT ABOUT YOU? Answer the questions. 1. Could your country be defined a multiracial society? 2. How does your country encourage racial integration (information in different languages, free access to schools and hospitals, respect for religious beliefs, etc.)? 3. Are there prejudices against people from other countries? 4. Is the fear of terrorism widespread? Donata Banzato is a teacher of English at scuola secondaria di primo grado in Padova. Her work experience also includes teacher training. Fiona Dalziel is a university English researcher at the University of Padova, where she co-ordinates the piloting of the European Language Portfolio for the Language Centre. Donata Banzato and Fiona Dalziel have collaborated for many years in the field of language teaching and on the design of civiltà materials. They are authors of Culture Lab (2005), a course for scuola secondaria di primo grado, and Around the Globe (2008), a course for scuola secondaria di secondo grado. Both textbooks are published by LANG. donatabanzato@virgilio.it; fdalziel@libero.it LANG matters 5
SCUOLA SECONDARIA DI I GRADO E SCUOLA SUPERIORE MARCH 2008 YEAR SEVEN – ISSUE SIXTEEN Consape Consapevvolezza olezza interculturale: interculturale: una chiave per l’incontro e il dialogo fra culture diverse “Today, travelling has become necessary and accessible to more and more people. This increased mobility exposes millions of travellers every day to new cultures, customs and languages. Without education, dialogue can be difficult and misunderstandings can arise. You can get yourself in all sorts of trouble in other countries by not having an understanding of their cultural language. Much of our behaviour can mean other things in other countries, some of it amusing, some of it extremely offensive. One gesture, or movement, or expression, may have many different meanings, just as our verbal language has words which may have different meanings. […] Some people, when travelling to new countries, may forget to consider the different behavioural norms they are likely to encounter and behave exactly as they do at home. In such circumstances, even minor cultural differences can become major barriers to communication and cooperation. This project aims to demystify these cultural differences and encourage visitors to embrace them.” La citazione non è tratta da un ponderoso volume per addetti ai lavori sugli aspetti socioculturali e interculturali della competenza comunicativa, ma dalla presentazione del progetto Fasten your Seatbelts to the World, ideato e realizzato dalla European Commission’s Socrates-Lingua department in collaborazione con Fortis Bank & Insurance. Le clips che spiegano Do’s & Don’ts in diversi paesi europei e quelle che presentano 20 lingue europee sono accessibili ai viaggiatori all’aeroporto di Bruxelles e sugli aerei di alcune compagnie. “The beauty of Europe lies in the fact that even though there is a firm movement towards standardisation for the sake of efficiency, there is a strong will to cultivate and to promote the diversity of languages and cultures of the different states. With our project we would like to contribute to this important philosophy. More generally, and perhaps a little less pretentiously, we would simply like to put the idea in the minds of the passengers that it is useful and fun to learn about cultural differences.” 6 LANG matters di Angela Vanni Abbiamo tradotto questi concetti in proposte didattiche nella recente esperienza di scrittura di un corso di lingua tedesca per la scuola superiore, Deutsch Sprint, per sviluppare la consapevolezza interculturale in senso alto, ma anche, più semplicemente, “to put the idea in the minds of the [students] that it is useful and fun to learn about cultural differences.” Che la consapevolezza interculturale costituisca una chiave per l’incontro e il dialogo fra culture diverse e uno dei pilastri dell’apprendimento linguistico è affermato chiaramente anche nel Quadro europeo di riferimento per le lingue in cui si legge che, apprendendo una lingua, i discenti non acquisiscono semplicemente due modi diversi, non collegati fra loro di agire e comunicare, ma diventano plurilingui e sviluppano interculturalità. Le competenze linguistiche e culturali in una lingua modificano quelle nell’altra, sviluppando così consapevolezza interculturale, strategie di comunicazione e sapere procedurale costituito da abilità pratiche e interculturali. La consapevolezza interculturale è, in senso lato, alla base dell’incontro e del dialogo fra persone con culture di riferimento diverse perché la comunicazione si orienta alla situazione in cui si realizza, o meglio alla sua interpretazione, e alle regole di comunicazione condivise dalle persone che comunicano all’interno di tale situazione. La capacità di interpretare una situazione e la conoscenza delle regole di comunicazione in culture diverse da quella di origine sono aspetti interculturali che è opportuno inserire nel processo di apprendimento-insegnamento non perché costituiscano un tema della comunicazione, ma perché ne costituiscono la condizione. In questo senso l’apprendimento linguistico può contribuire all’apprendimento interculturale che significa non solo imparare con gli altri e dagli altri in classi con bambini e ragazzi di origine, lingua, cultura, religione e abitudini diverse, ma anche imparare a praticare l’apertura di fronte all’uguale e al diverso da sé, sia all’interno della propria cultura di riferimento, sia all’esterno, come ospite in terra straniera. In questa seconda accezione l’apprendimento interculturale rappresenta un ampliamento del proprio orizzonte necessario per includere e riconoscere il diverso da sé, apprezzandolo così com’è, come si vorrebbe che fosse apprezzata la
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C O N T E N T S Anna Fresco Cecilia Perillo Joanna Carter

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