All individuals are fitted with filters which act on the way they experience the world, and these filters depend on various factors, including personal traits and cultural influences. If it is true that language is a reflection of both the self, and the culture and people it belongs to, then it might be assumed that when learning a new language each individual is approaching a different identity and a different culture with personal filters which affect the learning process. Any learning process involves approaching something new and is inevitably going to lead to some kind of change, much of which occurs without conscious awareness, yet is affected by the individual’s attitude towards novelty and diversity. In this dual-purpose joint project between the University of Parma (Italy) and the University of Salzburg (Austria) we devised practical in-class activities based on Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and principles of Neuro-Linguistic Programming in order to indirectly ‘test’ these filters whilst revising and consolidating language structures and lexis. The students involved were learners of English (in Parma) and of Italian (in Salzburg) as foreign languages. Our aims were, on the one hand, to verify if our learners’ filters are subtly expressed in their way of seeing themselves, their own language and culture, and the foreign language and culture; on the other, to raise the students’ sensitivity to these personal filters so that they may become aware of their opinions and feelings towards what they learn in relation to another language and culture. This hopefully would be a stepping stone towards discovering new aspects of themselves, developing sensitivity to differences and recognising factors acting in their own learning process which can be exploited to become more efficient learners.

Raising self-awareness and developing intercultural competence by activating personal filters / SCOTT-MONKHOUSE, Anila Ruth; Rigamonti, Enrica. - STAMPA. - 1:(2015), pp. 67-68. (Intervento presentato al convegno Language Centres in Higher Education tenutosi a Brno nel 15-17 gennaio 2015).

Raising self-awareness and developing intercultural competence by activating personal filters

Scott-Monkhouse Anila Ruth
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2015-01-01

Abstract

All individuals are fitted with filters which act on the way they experience the world, and these filters depend on various factors, including personal traits and cultural influences. If it is true that language is a reflection of both the self, and the culture and people it belongs to, then it might be assumed that when learning a new language each individual is approaching a different identity and a different culture with personal filters which affect the learning process. Any learning process involves approaching something new and is inevitably going to lead to some kind of change, much of which occurs without conscious awareness, yet is affected by the individual’s attitude towards novelty and diversity. In this dual-purpose joint project between the University of Parma (Italy) and the University of Salzburg (Austria) we devised practical in-class activities based on Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences and principles of Neuro-Linguistic Programming in order to indirectly ‘test’ these filters whilst revising and consolidating language structures and lexis. The students involved were learners of English (in Parma) and of Italian (in Salzburg) as foreign languages. Our aims were, on the one hand, to verify if our learners’ filters are subtly expressed in their way of seeing themselves, their own language and culture, and the foreign language and culture; on the other, to raise the students’ sensitivity to these personal filters so that they may become aware of their opinions and feelings towards what they learn in relation to another language and culture. This hopefully would be a stepping stone towards discovering new aspects of themselves, developing sensitivity to differences and recognising factors acting in their own learning process which can be exploited to become more efficient learners.
2015
Alle Menschen verfügen über Wahrnehmungsfilter, die ihre Art, die Welt zu erfahren, beeinflussen. Diese Filter hängen von mehreren Faktoren ab, zu denen auch persönliche Charakterzüge und kulterelle Einflüsse zählen. Wenn es stimmt, dass die Sprache ein Ausdruck sowohl des eigenen Selbst ist, wie auch der Kultur und der Menschen, deren Gut sie ist, dann kann angenommen werden, dass jedes Individuum sich beim Erlernen einer neuen Sprache einer anderen Identität und einer anderen Kultur mit persönlichen Filtern nähert, die den Lernprozess beeinflussen. Jeder Lernprozess bedeutet, Neuem zu begegnen, und das führt unausweichlich zu einer Veränderung, die in der Regel den Menschen nicht bewusst ist, die jedoch von der persönlichen Einstellung des Einzelnen gegenüber Neuem und Andersartigem beeinflusst wird. Die Studierenden, die an diesem Projekt teilnahmen, studierten Englisch (in Parma) sowie Italienisch (in Salzburg) als L2/Ln. Unser Ziel war einerseits, zu überprüfen, ob ihre Filter in ihrer Selbstwahrnehmung, in der Wahrnehmung ihrer eigenen Sprache und Kultur, sowie auch der fremden Sprache und Kultur subtil zum Ausdruck kommen. Andererseits wollten wir die Studierenden auf ihre individuellen Filter aufmerksam machen, damit sie sich ihrer Meinungen und Gefühle über das, was sie im Zusammenhang mit einer anderen Sprache und Kultur lernen, bewusst werden. Das könnte ein wesentlicher Schritt sein, um sich selbst besser kennen zu lernen, die eigene Sensibilität gegenüber Unterschiedlichkeit zu entwickeln, sowie Faktoren wahrzunehmen, die sich auf den eigenen Lernprozesses auswirken, um sie effizienter auszunutzen.
Raising self-awareness and developing intercultural competence by activating personal filters / SCOTT-MONKHOUSE, Anila Ruth; Rigamonti, Enrica. - STAMPA. - 1:(2015), pp. 67-68. (Intervento presentato al convegno Language Centres in Higher Education tenutosi a Brno nel 15-17 gennaio 2015).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11381/2885728
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