Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Globalisation has impacted higher education to an unprecedented extent: according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2017), universities took on 4.6 million international students worldwide in 2017, and numbers are expected to rise. As a result, students and teachers need to be prepared for interaction in culturally and linguistically diverse environments, both at home and abroad, both at university and in the workplace. The two Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) volumes (2001, 2018) point out the importance of a plurilingual and pluricultural education, producing professionals who are able to act effectively as mediators between cultures. This fact has led the presenters to carry out a case study at Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain, as part of an ongoing research project at a series of international universities. Data was collected from first and second-year students of the BA in International Relations with Global Communication and/or Translation with Global Communication, by means of a survey, individual interviews and focus groups. The paper aims to (1) ascertain students’ level of awareness of intercultural differences, (2) gauge their attitude towards these, (3) report on students’ intercultural experiences inside and outside the classroom, (4) analyse the results and then (5) extrapolate recommendations for future actions educators might consider in order to improve the student experience in this respect. Reference will be made to affective aspects, intrinsic and extrinsic values, as well as the theory – practice divide.

Presenters

Birgit Strotmann
Senior Lecturer, Departamento de Traducción e Interpretación y Comunicación Multilingüe, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, Spain

Claudia Kunschak
Professor, Ritsumeikan University