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Language Teachers on Study Abroad Programmes: The Characteristics and Strategies of Those Most Likely to Increase Their Intercultural Communicative Competence

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Second Language Study Abroad

Abstract

Intercultural communicative language learning and teaching requires teachers to be reasonably interculturally competent. Research indicates the potential of study/residence abroad programmes for the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). However, the research focusses largely on students rather than on teachers. This chapter analyses data from a New Zealand (NZ) Ministry of Education–commissioned study into language teachers’ gains from language and culture immersion programmes and the characteristics and strategies likely to increase ICC. Case studies of three NZ teachers’ sojourns between 2008 and 2011 in China, France, and Germany for three weeks, one year, and one month, respectively, are used for in-depth interpretative exploration. Findings indicate a complex interplay of personal and professional identities, worldviews, life experience, psychological and emotional factors, and their implications for professional development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Language and Culture, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Deborah Corder, Annelies Roskvist, Sharon Harvey & Karen Stacey

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  1. Deborah Corder
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  2. Annelies Roskvist
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Correspondence to Deborah Corder .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Modern Languages & Classics, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    John L. Plews

  2. Fine Arts and Humanities, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta, Camrose, AB, Canada

    Kim Misfeldt

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Corder, D., Roskvist, A., Harvey, S., Stacey, K. (2018). Language Teachers on Study Abroad Programmes: The Characteristics and Strategies of Those Most Likely to Increase Their Intercultural Communicative Competence. In: Plews, J., Misfeldt, K. (eds) Second Language Study Abroad. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77134-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77134-2_9

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