Page 48 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 48
reea Nechifor and Cristina Dimulescu
other words, c all materials need to take into consideration the concept
of cultural literacy, as introduced above.
call and Culturacy
c a l l specialists became increasingly interested in how learners inter-
act with one another and how they negotiate meaning. This was the time
when the importance of cultural elements was acknowledged. Interac-
tions sometimes took place between learners with different cultural back-
grounds, and for this reason issues like identity construction and inter-
cultural competence had to be taken into consideration. In other words,
interactionist and sociocultural approaches became the main theoretical
foundations of c all (Chun, 2011, pp. 669–674). This development slowly
led to the emergence of the so-called integrative c a l l, which revolves
around collaborative learning based on interactions between learners who
produce authentic discourse (Gruba, 2004, p. 629).
This theoretical evolution is reflected in the increasing complexity and
variety of c all tools, ranging from simpler software like grammar drills,
pronunciation exercises, dictation (Garrett, 2009, p. 722) or digital flash-
cards (Obermeier, 2020, p. 26) to applications that make computer-medi-
ated communication possible: learners can interact with their peers, as well
as with teachers or even native speakers of their target language (Schulze,
2017, p. 303). Parmaxi and Zaphiris (2016, p. 175) explain that this kind
of online communication involves a number of specific issues if the par-
ticipants are people with different cultural backgrounds. Besides partici-
pants’ learning strategies and their linguistic competence, cultural differ-
ences also need to be taken into account in such cases. These challenges
can be overcome if intercultural engagement is encouraged. c a l l tools
that address the needs of learners from different cultures and integrate the
specificities of those cultures can improve intercultural understanding.
When it comes to cultural aspects involved in c all, Buendgens-Kosten
(2020, p. 307) highlights a phenomenon that she calls ‘the monolingual
bias’: the majority of c a l l tools treat their users as if they were mono-
linguals, ignoring the fact that people who want to learn a new language
might already speak several other languages, which may prove to be valu-
able resources in the new learning process. There are, however, c all ma-
terials that try to overcome the monolingual barrier. These are usually non-
commercial applications funded by organizations like the European Union
(p. 317). LanGuide is a case in point: it is created by specialists from vari-
ous countries for learners with different cultural backgrounds, and it can
48
other words, c all materials need to take into consideration the concept
of cultural literacy, as introduced above.
call and Culturacy
c a l l specialists became increasingly interested in how learners inter-
act with one another and how they negotiate meaning. This was the time
when the importance of cultural elements was acknowledged. Interac-
tions sometimes took place between learners with different cultural back-
grounds, and for this reason issues like identity construction and inter-
cultural competence had to be taken into consideration. In other words,
interactionist and sociocultural approaches became the main theoretical
foundations of c all (Chun, 2011, pp. 669–674). This development slowly
led to the emergence of the so-called integrative c a l l, which revolves
around collaborative learning based on interactions between learners who
produce authentic discourse (Gruba, 2004, p. 629).
This theoretical evolution is reflected in the increasing complexity and
variety of c all tools, ranging from simpler software like grammar drills,
pronunciation exercises, dictation (Garrett, 2009, p. 722) or digital flash-
cards (Obermeier, 2020, p. 26) to applications that make computer-medi-
ated communication possible: learners can interact with their peers, as well
as with teachers or even native speakers of their target language (Schulze,
2017, p. 303). Parmaxi and Zaphiris (2016, p. 175) explain that this kind
of online communication involves a number of specific issues if the par-
ticipants are people with different cultural backgrounds. Besides partici-
pants’ learning strategies and their linguistic competence, cultural differ-
ences also need to be taken into account in such cases. These challenges
can be overcome if intercultural engagement is encouraged. c a l l tools
that address the needs of learners from different cultures and integrate the
specificities of those cultures can improve intercultural understanding.
When it comes to cultural aspects involved in c all, Buendgens-Kosten
(2020, p. 307) highlights a phenomenon that she calls ‘the monolingual
bias’: the majority of c a l l tools treat their users as if they were mono-
linguals, ignoring the fact that people who want to learn a new language
might already speak several other languages, which may prove to be valu-
able resources in the new learning process. There are, however, c all ma-
terials that try to overcome the monolingual barrier. These are usually non-
commercial applications funded by organizations like the European Union
(p. 317). LanGuide is a case in point: it is created by specialists from vari-
ous countries for learners with different cultural backgrounds, and it can
48
