Module Catalogues

Intercultural Skills and Awareness

Module Title Intercultural Skills and Awareness
Module Level Level 1
Module Credits 5.00

Aims and Fit of Module

-	The aim of this module is to address concerns raised by academic departments (both in XJTLU and UoL) that students are not sufficiently capable of functioning in culturally diverse learning environments and that students struggle with one-on-one or small group interaction with people from different cultures.
- The module’s theoretic underpinnings are based on a recent study that assessed the Cultural Intelligence (CQ), identifying specific strengths and weakness in cross-cultural capabilities, of Y2 XJTLU students.
- This module has been developed to provide an optional module in the second semester in Year 2 as part of an alternative pathway for those students who have demonstrated sufficiently high English language ability to opt out of a year-long 10 credit EAP module, or who are direct entry Year 2 students or equivalent.
- A wide range of activities will be taken from the following text: Berardo, K. & Deardorff, D.K. (2012) Building Cultural Competence: Intercultural Activities and Models Virginia: USA

Learning outcomes

A	Critically evaluate different dimensions of intercultural communication and how they relate to educational settings
B Demonstrate a critical awareness of other global cultures
C Demonstrate the skills necessary to successfully engage in an intercultural experience
D Demonstrate an understanding of the role of self-awareness and critical reflection when interacting across cultures

Method of teaching and learning

-	Students will have four hours of classroom contact time (seminars) and approximately 8 hours of self-study per week. The seminars will be conducted using various teaching approaches and methodologies that encourage students to discover meaning and knowledge independently and through working with peers. These methods will include a mixture of mini-lectures, group activities, ‘flipped-classroom’ pre-lesson readings and videos, workshops, online activities etc. 
- The module is aimed at encouraging higher-order thinking skills. This will be done through a number of activities that allow students to discover the nature of intercultural interaction and how this relates to their own learning contexts.
- The module will encourage experiential learning by requiring students to participate in a cross-cultural activity and then reflecting on this experience in an assessed presentation.
- There will be a focus on critically reflective learning that requires students to challenge cultural assumptions and understand more about the role of self-awareness in intercultural communication.
- Students will also be given guidance on, and opportunities to practice the various skills mentioned in the learning outcomes. The self-study activities will be extensions and/or consolidation of work carried out in the seminars.