Helen Spencer-Oatey
University of Warwick/GlobalPeople Consulting Ltd.
Helen Spencer-Oatey is Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Communication/Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, UK, and Managing Director of GlobalPeople Consulting Ltd. Her academic background is in both psychology and pragmatics. Having lived and worked abroad for many years (mainly in China), her main research interests are in intercultural communication and interaction, especially as it affects interpersonal relations. She has published widely in this area, including the books Culturally Speaking, Intercultural Interaction (with Franklin), Handbook of Intercultural Communication (with Kotthoff) and the recently published Intercultural Politeness: Managing Relations across Cultures (with Kádár). In these books she had developed various analytic models, including that of rapport management. Helen is particularly interested in the applied relevance of her research and, with colleagues, has developed extensive intercultural resources for practitioners.
Sessions
Developing an Intercultural Understanding as Teachers
Language teaching involves a commitment to, and interest in, intercultural communication. In providing language learning instruction, practitioners are not merely sharing linguistic knowledge and skills in a one-directional manner, but are continuously negotiating and learning from their students’ dynamic experiences, repertoires, and identities. As English is a lingua franca, which facilitates communication across cultures, a sensitivity to the intricacies of interaction between groups from different speech backgrounds is essential. In an era characterised by division and remoteness, language educators’ roles have become even more paramount in upholding and promoting intercultural mindsets. However, these skills may be overlooked or complicated to build and hone. This forum is a collaboration between the Teacher Development (TD) and Intercultural Communication in Language Education (ICLE) SIGs. Featuring a panel of invited speakers from the SIGs, each presenter will explore a different element of what developing intercultural practice, understanding, and principles as a foreign language educator entails. Following the presentations, the panellists will interact about points of interest and resonance, and there will be an opportunity for audience participants to share their reflections and contribute to the dialogue. It is hoped that this session will provide guidance for developing intercultural teaching approaches and language learning environments.