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Download - EnglishAgenda - British Council

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knowledge and understanding of the relationship between language and culturein intercultural communication, the role of English as the global lingua francaof intercultural communication and an understanding of the knowledge, skillsand attitudes associated with intercultural awareness and its role in interculturalcommunication through English. This was communicated to the learners throughthe course aims in the course overview (Appendix 1).The course was delivered through the Moodle VLE (Virtual learning environment).The course comprised ten topics containing interactive online learning objects(Appendix 1) based on key aspects of intercultural communication, ICA and globalEnglishes. There were also seven asynchronous discussion tasks related to thetopics and three synchronous chat sessions. The ten topics are listed below.1. Defining culture2. Intercultural communication3. Cultural stereotypes and generalisations in communication4. The individual and culture5. English as a global language6. Exploring my own culture7. Intercultural communication and the Internet8. Comparing cultures: Politeness9. Globalisation and transcultural global flows10. Intercultural AwarenessThese topics covered key areas of intercultural communication such as therelationship between culture and language, what intercultural communicationstudies have brought to our understanding of this relationship and, in particular,the hybrid and fluid nature of culture and language in intercultural communication.Students were asked to explore their own culture in more detail to gain a greaterawareness of the complexities of culture and language in a setting familiar tothem. Alongside this, students reflected on their own personal relationship totheir culture and the role this had in the way they constructed their identities.They were asked to consider the negative impact of stereotyping on interculturalcommunication but also the necessity of generalisations and how to approachthese in a manner that did not deny the complexity of others. Students were alsointroduced to the notions of global Englishes including varieties of world Englishessuch as Indian English, Nigerian English and Hong Kong English as well as Englishas a lingua franca. Other issues that were dealt with on the course included thegrowing role of online intercultural communication, the use of English to createand transmit hybrid cultural artefacts and practices in ‘transcultural flows’ and therelationship between Englishes and globalisation. Finally, the students were askedto explore the role of the types of skills, knowledge and attitudes envisaged in278 | Intercultural Awareness Thailand

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