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20th ICC Annual Conference

Language, Identity and Culture in


Language Education


8-10 March 2013 at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski


EDITED VOLUME





ICC the international language association 2013
1

20
th
ICC Annual Conference
Sofia, 8 10 March 2013
In cooperation with:







1
Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3
CAN YOU TEACH INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE? An attempt at documenting an epe!ientia" and
inte!acti#e $o!%&'op by Prof. Debra Ali-Lawson, Bern University of Applied Sciences .......................... (
THE MEDIA LAN)UA)E IN CRI*E* CO+ERIN) by Ina Bacheva, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#y
............................................................................................................................................................... ,-
INTERCULTURAL A.ARENE** AND *OCIOLIN)UI*TIC COMPETENCE AND THEIR IMPACT ON
*TUDENT*/ *ECOND LAN)UA)E AC0UI*ITION IN A *TUDY A1ROAD CONTE2T by ristin Bro$an
%Instit&te of 'echnolo$y 'ralee(, )elen elly %'he Royal *olle$e of S&r$eons( and Prof. +&iris , Laoire
%Instit&te of 'echnolo$y 'ralee(............................................................................................................. -(
CULTURAL MI*UNDER*TANDIN)* TROU)H *3ETCHE* by Pablo B&r$os -&entes and .&b/n 0arc1a
02!e3, *onse4er1a de 5d&caci2n 5!ba4ada de 5spa6a en B&l$aria ..................................................... 33
IN+ITATION TO A 1UL)ARIAN HOME by Pablo B&r$os -&entes, .&b/n 0arc1a 02!e3 and Bla$ovesta
Stefanova Slavova, *onse4er1a de 5d&caci2n 5!ba4ada de 5spa6a en B&l$aria .................................. 34
0UE*TION*5 0UE*TION*5 0UE*TION*...A1OUT CULTURE AND AIM* IN LAN)UA)E TEACHIN) 6 A
!epo!t on P!o7e&&o! 18!am9& opening &peec' by Anthony -it3patric#, I** 7 the international lan$&a$e
association ............................................................................................................................................. :3
.HO*E *IDE ARE .E ON ANY.AY? MEDIATION AND CULTURAL A;;ILIATION IN TRAN*LATION by
Assoc. Prof. 8el!a *atalan, Sofia University 9St. li!ent "hrids#i ..................................................... (,
TRAN*LATIN) AND MEDIATIN) 1ET.EEN CULTURE*< THE 1UL)ARIAN E2PERIENCE .ITHIN THE PICT
PRO=ECT by Assoc. Prof. 8el!a *atalan, PhD, Assoc. Prof. +aria Stoicheva, PhD, Assist. Prof. :i#olina
'svet#ova, PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#i; ....................................................................... (>
1UL)ARIAN LAN)UA)E POLICY AND THE LIN)UI*TIC COMPETENCE O; 1UL)ARIAN CITI?EN* ON THE
1A*I* O; EUROPEAN *UR+EY* by +s. Pen#a )ristova, PhD *andidate at Sofia University <St. li!ent
"hrids#i< ................................................................................................................................................ @:
INTERCULTURAL LEARNIN) .ITHIN THE PE*TALO??I PRO)RAMME O; THE COUNCIL O; EUROPE 6 A
!epo!t on t'e %e8note &peec' A8 =o&e7 HuAe!5 Head o7 t'e Pe&ta"oBBi P!og!amme by Anthony
-it3patric#, I** 7 the international lan$&a$e association ..................................................................... >:
THE CRO** CULTURAL ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE< THE CA*E O; 1UL)ARIAN ;UL1RI)HT ;ELLO.*
byAssist. Prof. Desislava araasenova, PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#i; ........................... >@
AC0UIRIN) AND DE+ELOPIN) PLURILIN)UAL AND INTERCULTURAL MANA)EMENT *3ILL* ;OR
+OCATIONAL PURPO*E*< CIN*I)HT* INTO AN A.ARENE** RAI*IN) PROCE**D A presentation by
=ean-*la&de Lasnier, 5>pert a&pr?s d& *onseil de l@5&rope .................................................................. 43

ICC the international language association 2013
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20
th
ICC Annual Conference
Sofia, 8 10 March 2013
In cooperation with:







2


THE LAN)UA)E E A ;ACTOR ;OR 1UILDIN) A EUROPEAN IDENTITY IN THE *OCIAL MEDIA by
Desislava +anova-0eor$iev@, Sofia University 9St. li!ent "hrids#i; ............................................... ,F@
1U*INE** RHETORIC AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION by Dr. Ivan#a +avrodieva, Sofia
University 9St. li!ent "hrids#i; ......................................................................................................... ,,(
GA MODERN5 +I1RANT5 MULTICULTURAL 1RITAIND< THE LONDON -F,- OLYMPIC* OPENIN)
CEREMONY IN THE LAN)UA)E AND CULTURE CLA**ROOM by Assist. Prof. 5!ilia Slavova, PhD, Sofia
University 9St. li!ent "hrids#i ......................................................................................................... ,--
UNA DOCENA DE CLA+ELE* by Bla$ovesta Stefanova Slavova, *onse4er1a de 5d&caci2n 5!ba4ada de
5spa6a en B&l$aria .............................................................................................................................. ,-H
HO. INTERCULTURAL AM I ? OR5 THE EUROPEAN LAN)UA)E PORT;OLIO A* A TOOL IN THE
INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION by Assist. Prof. :i#olina 'svet#ova PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent
"hrids#i; .............................................................................................................................................. ,3@
+ALUE*< .RITTEN IN THE *TAR*I PROMOTED 1Y THE MEDIA by Desislava 8areva, :ew B&l$arian
University ............................................................................................................................................. ,:3
Appendix 1: Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint Presentation slides on Questions, questions
questions a!out "ulture and aims in lan#ua#e tea"$in#%. ....................................................... ,(-
Appendix 2: Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint Presentation slides on &$e '(lderly and t$e
')oun#: an inter"ultural "iti*ens$ip edu"ation pro+e"t% ,2-12.2-1/0 ..................................... ,(-
Appendix /: 1andout on t$e 2al3inas45al6lands 7ar pro+e"t.................................................. ,(-
Appendix 8: 1andout on t$e (lderly% and t$e )oun#% pro+e"t ................................................ ,(-

ICC the international language association 2013
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INTRODUCTION

The contributions in this volume emanate from the 20
th
ICC Annual Conference of the ICC the
international language association, held at Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski", from 8-
10.03.2013 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference was organized by the ICC in cooperation with
Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" and with ECET, the Bulgarian member organization of
the ICC.

The overall theme Language Identity and Culture in Language Education focused on one of
the fundamental debates within the world of languages and language education. Contributors to
the conference, and to this publication, were invited to address the following questions:

To what extent does the way in which we express ourselves shape our sense of who we
are?
To what extent are our values bound up in our learned responses to our environment?
To what extent do language education professionals need to take culture and identity into
account when designing materials, delivering courses, or assessing what someone can
or cant do in a target language?
Which culture and which value systems are most relevant in language learning/language
teaching contexts?

The conference offered a range of encounters, workshops and talks that covered various areas,
from how we define ourselves to how we can use materials in the teaching/learning situation.
The contributions of the keynote speakers, Prof. Michael Byram, Jean-Claude Lasnier and Josef
Huber, provided a solid, overall framework and background for the contributions which followed
in the form of short talks, sketches and interactive workshops. This conference signalled a clear
departure from the tradition of previous ICC events, in which the primary focus had been on
English language education. The Sofia event saw significant contributions in Bulgarian, English,
French and Spanish, as can be seen in the following documentation. Thanks to the cooperation
of the French and Spanish cultural institutes in Bulgaria (the Institut Franais, Sofia and the
Consejeria de Educacion in the Spanish Embassy, Sofia), it was also possible to invite, involve
and integrate Bulgarian teachers of French and Spanish in the proceedings. One workshop
highlight was the presentation of sketches by young, native speaker teachers of Spanish
teaching in educational institutions in Bulgaria. In Spanish, they acted out some of their most
amusing and embarrassing personal intercultural encounters with Bulgarian reality.

It is difficult within the context of a publication of this nature to capture the spirit of the
conference, with its lively, intercultural person-to-person exchanges (partly documented in the
video prepared for the conference, and in the post-it collages created by participants), with the
many activities and discussions in the interactive workshops offered by personalities like Ildik

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Lazar and Debra Ali Lawson, let alone the spirited and animated debate on This house believes
that national stereotypes are useful for language teaching" delivered or, rather, performed with
verve - by Michael Byram, Michael Carrier, Leah Davcheva and Maria Stoicheva.
The ICC prides itself on promoting quality in language education, wherever it may be found, and
we hope that, in this documentation, you will find inspiration and positive challenges in the rich
and varied contributions from colleagues from a very wide range of countries and backgrounds.
We hope it will help you to reflect on your own use of languages as an individual, a learner and
an educator, particularly with reference to identity and culture!





Robert Williams Ellinor Haase
Outgoing ICC Chair, March 2012 ICC co-chair from March 2013
Anthony FitzpatricK
Conference organizer and
ICC co-chair from March 2013
















DISCLAIMER: The Responsibility for the information and views set out in this publication lies
entirely with the authors.




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Concrete Experiences: two examples
Debra Ali-Lawson - ICC Conference, Sofia (BG)
March 2013

CP!e&ent 8ou!&e"#e&G T'i& image $a& "ega""8
oAtained on 'ttp<JJ$$$.&tunningme&'.com.
CAN YOU TEACH INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE?
An attempt at docment!n" an e#pe$!ent!al and !nte$act!%e &o$'s(op
by Prof. Debra Ali-Lawson, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Any attempt to describe what actually happened during the workshop and within the individual
participants is doomed to fall short of what actually occurred, considering the experiential,
interactive and reflective nature of this particular workshop. The attempt has, nonetheless, been
undertaken as the author promised to provide the participants with some form of written
documentation other than the handouts distributed during the workshop.
The premises and approach to the workshop Can you teach intercultural competence? as set
out in the conference booklet was the following: Fifty percent of any intercultural encounter
starts with oneself. This means that before one can understand where the other is coming from,
one ideally has to have insights as to what governs ones own thoughts and behaviours. How
can language teachers, mother-tongue teacher or not, help learners develop an understanding
of the culture or cultures of the language they are teaching, if they themselves have not
dedicated time to finding out what values, norms and beliefs govern them? And can one teach
intercultural competence? .... The 90-minute workshop aims to provide ideas on how learners
can be encouraged to reflect on their own intercultural competence, as well as their own culture,
in order to be better prepared for dealing with intercultural encounters with members of the
second or foreign language culture/cultures they are learning. It takes a practical approach to the
topic, and participants are encouraged to take on the role of the learner before moving on to a
discussion of what they experienced and the practicality of such an approach within the
language classroom.
For this reason, workshop participants were challenged,
from the very start of the workshop, to leave their comfort
zones and to participate in rather unusual activities (to put
it mildly). Activities in which one would not usually expect
to participate during a conference for language teachers.
Participants may very well have intense memories of very
different emotions, ranging from amusement to annoyance
when they were greeted in an unfamiliar, non-European
language (Zulu), given an African handshake and asked
to take off their shoes before sitting down on chairs in a
semi-circle. Also, when experiencing how it felt to eat a
Swiss chocolate opposite a stranger, while standing
extremely close to him/her (toes touching!).
The rationale for this experiential approach is to be found in
the results of research which show that learning is most
effective and has long-lasting effects when the learner

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experiences phenomena rather than simply acquiring knowledge, i.e. by being told or by reading
what is right and wrong, important or unimportant, or how things work. This principle is
propagated by Kolb in his cycle of learning shown in the illustration on the left (Kolb 1984,).
This is the approach taken by the author when designing and implementing courses dedicated to
intercultural competence development with students enrolled for a Bachelor in Business
Administration degree at Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. The main goal of this
conference workshop was to present this approach and discuss
whether it could be applied in a language learning environment
and what the language teacher would need to know and do for it
to be effective.
The first intended workshop message was that, in order to be able to assist learners to develop
their intercultural competence, whether they are learners of a second or foreign language or
students of business, the teachers themselves need to become
aware of their own cultural conditioning and level of
interculturality (as described, for example, in Autobiography of
Intercultural Encounters, Context, Concepts and Theories, 2/28,
Council of Europe, Language Policy Division). This means that,
after engaging in new experiences through experiential classroom
activities, learners need to be encouraged to reflect on their emotions, thoughts and behaviours
arising from the experiential activity. This leads them to the next stage of the learning cycle
depicted above: reflective observation.
Respecting the 50% argument mentioned above (Fifty percent of any intercultural encounter
starts with oneself), it is also necessary to reflect on what one knows about ones own culture!
This is often perceived as unnecessary. The argument runs that, as one has always lived in
ones own culture, one implicitly knows all about it. However, a simple experiment, such as
holding ones breath for a rather long period of time, while trying to focus on what the workshop
animator has to say, brought home the message that ones own culture is very much like the air
one breathes. We are not consciously aware of it and, as a result, often have difficulties
describing our own culture, similar to the difficulties we may experience when trying to explain
the grammar of our mother-tongue if we havent studied
it. Very often, we only notice how important something
like culture is to us when it is missing, for example,
when we settle down in another part of the world.
Focusing on the knowledge aspect of intercultural
competence, the workshop participants were provided
with a handout summarizing the concepts provided by
the most influential thinkers in the field of culture (such
as Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars or Kluckhohn, to
mention but a few). The illustration on the left highlights

1
Kolb, David (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-295261-0
Who am I and why
do I function the way
I do?
We do not learn
from experiencewe
learn from reflecting
on experience. John
Dewey

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the various aspects these theories cover. Models of this nature assist in the abstract
conceptualization of an intercultural experience as advocated by Kolb.
Workshop participants were asked to study one of the aspects of time (monochronic vs
polychronic-) provided in the workshop handout on cultural dimensions, (c.f. the excerpt
below). They were then asked to indicate what descriptors best fit themselves and their home
culture.

Monochronic vs. Polychronic
3

Monochronic people perceive time as linear. It can be divided into tangible sections in order to assist one in organizing ones
life. Only one action/activity takes place per time unit. Time is a resource and can be used, wasted or saved. Priorities are
made and one e.g. may not have time to meet someone. This perception of time is often found in western societies.
Polychronic people, on the other hand, fragment time so are in a position to do a number of things at the same time, deal with
parallel actions. Time is experienced as occurrence time and often many different activities can often be perceived as occurring
in an area, often by a number of people. Relationships are more important than dates/deadlines and keeping on schedule.
Monochronic People:
Do one thing at a time
Concentrate on the job
Take time commitments (deadlines, schedules seriously
Are low-context and need information
Adhere religiously to plans
Are concerned about not disturbing others; follow rules of
privacy
Show great respect for private property; seldom borrow or lend
Emphasize promptness
Are accustomed to short-term relationships
Polychronic People:
Do many things at once
Are highly distracted and subject to interruptions
Consider time commitments and objective to be achieved,
if possible
Are high context and already have information
Are more concerned with those who are closely related
(family, friends, close business associates)
Borrow and lend things often and easily
Base promptness on relationship
Have strong tendency to build life-time relationships

Ensuing discussions showed that this was perceived to be a rather demanding task, and many
were unsure as to how they should position themselves on this scale between monochronic
and polychronic. This highlights difficulties learners encounter and how important it is for the
teacher to accompany students when they are trying to come to grips with these more abstract
concepts of culture. However, reflections of this nature are vital, if one wishes to better
understand why one behaves in certain ways in certain contexts. Therefore, discussion amongst
learners or students (or workshop participants) and attempts to understand such abstract
concepts of intercultural experiences should not be avoided but rather encouraged by the
teacher.
Attention also needs to be paid to attributes located within the
individual self such as attitudes (e.g. curiosity, openness,
empathy, respect for others) and skills (e.g. the ability to
interpret and relate practices from another culture with and to
ones own; the ability to look for and acquire new knowledge,
or the ability to critically evaluate practices in both ones own

2
Hall, E. T., Hall, M. R., (1984), Les diffrences caches, Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg, 1984; also Hall, E. T, (1966), The
Hidden Dimension, Anchor Books, New York, NY
3
Provided on http://www.transkulturelles-portal.com/ (last accessed on 24 April 2013)

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Handout: Assessing ones own cultural intelligence and obtaining external
feedback.
Below is an example of an activity used to encourage students of business
administration and lecturers engaged in an English as a Medium of Instruction
degree programme to reflect on their own characteristics.
The Culturally Intelligent Professional*Some part of cultural intelligence involves
a certain degree of willingness (and intention) to do well in intercultural situations.
Characteristics such as open-mindedness or the wish to try out new things are
important aspects of cultural intelligence. How would you rank yourself? Get two or
more people you know well (and who ideally come from different cultural
backgrounds) to give you feedback using the table below.
Needs
improvement
Strength Significant
Strength
Open-mindedness
Flexibility with attitudes and
behaviour

Ability to adapt your behaviour
Appreciation of differences
Comfort with uncertainty
Ability to trust when dealing with the
unfamiliar

Win-win attitude
Humility
Extroversion
Creativity
Tactfulness
Willingness to have your own views
challenged

Ability to make independent
decisions when you are far from
your usual resources

Being invigorated by differences
Ability to see a familiar situation
from unfamiliar vantage points

Patience when you are not in
control

Ability to deal with the stress of new
situations

Sensitive to nuances of differences
Respect for others
Willingness to change yourself to
learn and grow (versus changing
others to fit you)

Empathy
Sense of humour
K *ou!ce< Pete!&on. 1.5 L-FF:M *&lt&ral Intelli$enceA A 0&ide to Bor#in$ with People fro! "ther *&lt&res,
Nic'o"a& 1!ea"e8 PuA"i&'ing
culture and those in another, foreign
culture). These are at the core of the
concept of the Autobiography of
Intercultural Encounters mentioned
earlier.
To underscore this point, par-
ticipants were provided with a
handout entitled Assessing ones
own cultural intelligence and
obtaining external feedback which
can, on the one hand, be used to
raise awareness of ones own level
of cultural competence, but which
can, on the other hand, also be
incorporated into a language
learning environment. Workshop
participants could take the two
situations they were involved in at
the beginning of the workshop, i.e.
the strange and unaccustomed
welcome and the eating chocolates
activity, described above and judge
to what extent they are flexible when
it comes to new and surprising
behaviours or to what extent they
are comfortable with uncertainty or
how well-developed their sense of
humour is (all of which are found in
the list of characteristics which
research has found to be present in
culturally intelligent professionals) .
The last stage of Kolbs cycle of
learning is called active ex-
perimentation.One example of such
active experimentation, after an
activity such as eating chocolates
mentioned earlier, would be to

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challenge students (or language learners) to conduct a number of experiments in the area of
proxemics (Hall, E. T. (1966) The Silent Language, Garden City, New York). An example might
ICC Conference 2013: Workshop: Can you teach intercultural competence?
Handout: Assessment forms which encourage reflective observation*
Below is an example of how assessment can be used to encourage students of business administration to engage in reflecting
about their own and others behaviours, attitudes values etc.
Assessment

Transfer and Learning Report
(group grade comprising 70% of the overall module grade)
Students are required to work in pairs and submit a joint reflective transfer and learning report. This entails together interviewing
a non-Swiss on his/her perceptions of Swiss culture. The interviewee should ideally be someone from a more exotic country and
not from one of your more closely related neighbours in Germany or Austria. S/he has ideally lived (and worked) in Switzerland
for a few years but did not do her/his primary or secondary schooling in Switzerland. The insight gained about Swiss culture from
this interview should flow into a transfer/learning report.
The report should also contain comparative reflections on what both students learnt and experienced during the module through
the class activities.
A further component of the report is the student pairs comparison of the insights they have gained about other cultures through
the interview of a 'non-Swiss' and the case studies addressed during the semester.
Finally, they present and reflect on an intercultural encounter they have had outside the classroom. This can also be an
encounter they had prior to this module.
It is necessary to integrate/apply the theoretical frameworks presented during the semester with all the elements above i.e. when
explaining the comments made by their interview partner on Swiss culture (and their home culture) as well as observations of
their experiences and behaviours during class activities, intercultural encounters outside the classroom, as well as the
cultural behaviours evidenced in the case study they choose to address.
Presentation - Intercultural Encounter
(individual grade comprising 30% of the overall module grade)
Each student is required to identify one critical intercultural encounter they had in the past. This encounter could have occurred
prior to the commencement of their studies at the FBW. They should have been directly involved i.e. this cannot be an encounter
which they observed.
They then inform their student partner of what happened in the encounter. This includes not only information of who they had the
encounter with (this person can be kept anonymous) but also how the encounter progressed and how they felt and reacted, as
well as how the think the other party/parties felt and how they reacted. Students are encouraged to make use of the
Autobiography of an Intercultural Encounter.
In a discussion (or discussions) that follow, their student partner takes on the role of a cross-cultural consultant and attempts to
interpret what occurred and why. The theoretical frameworks which students were introduced to during the semester play an
important role in this analysis. Together, both students attempt to work out what could have been done in the encounter studied
for it to have had a more beneficial outcome for both the student and the others involved in the encounter i.e. lessons learnt
which could guide future behaviour in similar encounters.
Each student pair presents the results of their consultation sessions i.e. they report on the encounter of the other student. The
presentations should include three main elements :

The neutral description of their student partners encounter
A description of their partners emotions as well as an interpretation of the emotions of the other party/parties involved
in the encounter
A meta-level explanation of why this encounter occurred and developed the way it did. This requires the application of
appropriate aspects of the theoretical frameworks they were introduced to
Lessons learnt and what could be done should such an encounter or a similar encounter happen in the future

* Debra Ali-Lawson, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland, 2013

ICC the international language association 2013
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How the Greeks see Europe, image by Yanko Tsvetkov,
(www.alphadesigner.com).
be to invade someones private space by sitting down next to them, although there are plenty of
free seats on the train.
After years of experience in tertiary level education in both language teaching and in other
subject areas such as international management, the author is convinced that how students are
assessed during and/or at the end of a course has a direct impact on the students level of
interest in the course and their active engagement with the contents of the course, as well as
their learning process. The question arises as to how one can construct the assessment of
something as subjective as individuals reflections on their own culture and the development of
their cultural intelligence or intercultural competence. What forms of assessment encourage
students to engage in reflective observation? This was exemplified by sharing with the workshop
participants the mode of assessment used in a module dedicated to culture and intercultural
competence development (exhibited above).
By chance, a few days prior to the ICC
conference, the authors attention was drawn
to a recent publication by a young Bulgarian
designer, Yanko Tsvetkov (Alphadesigner),
entitled Atlas of Prejudice
4
. This was
immediately integrated into the workshop
contents as an example of publications or
material which allow, or even oblige one, to
realize how important it is to obtain an
outsiders perception of ones own culture
and also that phenomena such as prejudice
and stereotypes (a topic taken up in the
closing conference debate) need to be dealt
with in the classroom environment. This is also one of the reasons why students enrolled in the
module on intercultural competence development are required to engage with a foreigner (as
described in the assessment
outline in the handout above) in order to have the opportunity to obtain an outside view of their
own culture (including stereotypes), compare this view with their own view of their home culture
and at the same time obtain a new view of a culture of which, beforehand, they perhaps only had
a very stereotypical impression.
The participants attention was also drawn to
examples of well-developed material such as the
Diverse Europe at Work video sequences, with
special reference being made to the one dedicated to
different perceptions of time (c.f. monochronic versus
polychronic orientations above), or the use of case
studies which can be found in a variety of books

4
http://www.atlasofprejudice.com/

Debra Ali-Lawson - ICC Conference, Sofia (BG)
March 2013
http://www.dew-net.eu/


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dedicated specifically to intercultural
encounters in professional life.

The final stage of the workshop was a group
discussion addressing the tasks as specified
in the illustration below. The results of the
discussion were presented in a poster session
and included the following:
Many were of the opinion that a lot of what
they had experienced and heard about could
be included or adapted for use in the lan-
guage classroom
Some believed that intercultural competence
could be taught. However, the plenary
discussion indicated that one needs to
differentiate between teaching and facilitation, i.e. that teachers need to develop activities and
environments which allow students to experience, experiment and reflect. The author is of the
opinion that one cannot teach intercultural competence, but that one can do a lot to encourage
and support its development.

Reference was also made to an RSAnimate animated talk by Sir Ken Robinson
5
about the need
for a shift of paradigm in education. It touches on a number of ideas which the author strongly
supports and, therefore, provides guidelines when developing courses on intercultural
competence development. A further RSAnimate talk, delivered by Professor Philip Zimbardo on
The Secret Power of Time
6
also picks up on certain aspects, but also deals with the aspect of
time, which participants were asked to reflect on in one the workshop activities.

Readers of this contribution are encouraged to view both of these talks, discuss them with
colleagues and then start experimenting with new ways of encouraging and supporting
intercultural learning for themselves and their learners. Those interested in sharing their
thoughts or experiments are welcome to contact the author at debra.ali-lawson@bfh.ch.

The workshop was, hopefully, just the beginning of a long and exciting journey to ones self and
others.

5
http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-changing-paradigms (last accessed on 20 April, 2013)
6
http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa-animate-the-secret-powers-of-time ((last accessed on 20 April,
2013)
What is possibly applicable to the context
you are working in?
In groups of 5 6:
Discuss whether what you have heard/experienced
today can be included or adapted for use in your working
context
Answer the workshop question: Can you teach
intercultural competence?
Summarize, on the sheet of paper provided, what the
key ideas of your group were
Present your ideas in plenum
Debra Ali-Lawson - ICC Conference, Sofia (BG)
March 2013


ICC the international language association 2013
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THE MEDIA LAN)UA)E IN CRI*E* CO+ERIN)
by Ina Bacheva, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#y

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Abstract:
The following report will attempt to describe the language used in media to describe crises. It will
define the term crisis, try to outline the stages of crises and the characteristics of media
coverage. The article aims to show the influence of internet, social and new media in a crisis and
to define the language used by internet users and journalists. The report will try to show the role
which media (new and traditional) plays in setting the agenda of society and how good news
becomes bad news. The main hypothesis is that the search for sensationalism is getting
stronger in media coverage. On the other hand, internet users and journalists use attention-
attracting phrases and expressions to describe and analyze the crisis. The main hypothesis is
that PR-specialists are those whose task it is engage in the online environment and to use its
resources in order to control and manage the crisis successfully to avoid rumors, wrong
statements and black PR. One of the main challenges faced by PR-experts is the speed with
which bad news appears on the internet. In order to support this hypothesis, a short analysis of
some current examples of media crisis coverage will be performed (the attempted attack against
the leader of the Bulgarians Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF), Ahmed Dogan on
19.01.2013; the shooting of the underground boss Zlatomir Ivanov on 29.01.2013.). The report
will focus on the new environment in which the fast developing internet and communication
technologies frame the crisis for PR.

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[1] Moore, S., and M., Seymour. Global Technology and Corporate Crisis. New York, 2005, p.
31.
[2] Pk, P. Y . Rr . , 2007, . 4.
[3] Seeger, M. W. Communication and organizational crisis. Handbook of Public relations.
London, 1998, p. 156.
[4] Fearn-Banks, Kathleen. Crisis Communications: A casebook approach. Handbook of Public
relations. London, 1996, p. 480.
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ICC the international language association 2013
29
INTERCULTURAL A<ARENE** AND *OCIOLIN)UI*TIC COMPETENCE AND
THEIR IMPACT ON *TUDENT*= *ECOND LAN)UA)E AC>UI*ITION IN A
*TUDY A?ROAD CONTE@T
by ristin BroCan DInstitEte of FechnoloCy FraleeG, Helen elly DFhe Ioyal
JolleCe of SErCeonsG and Prof. KEiris L Laoire DInstitEte of FechnoloCy FraleeG


Abstract:
This paper will discuss two related research projects. It will present preliminary data on the
influences of the Study Abroad period on developments in learners self-knowledge and in their
linguistic and intercultural development.
The first part of the paper will discuss a possible combination/inter-relationship of factors
(linguistic, inter-cultural, personal and socio-cultural) following a quantitative and qualitative
study carried out with Irish students from six universities in Ireland who undertook study or work
placement (Erasmus programme) in Germany/Austria in 2007/2008 as part of their
undergraduate studies in German.
The second part of the paper will focus on a group of students following a foundation program
specifically designed for international students wishing to take their undergraduate degree
through English in Ireland. The variables used in both empirical investigations draw from a
conceptual theoretical framework that includes language acquisition in immersion contexts,
adaptation, intercultural learning and identity.
_________________________________

1. Introduction
This paper comprises two studies that provide insights into how Irish and Middle Eastern
students experience the stay abroad (SA) programme in Germany and Ireland respectively. Both
studies underpin the importance of cultural sensitivity and language proficiency in an
increasingly globalised world. Study A looks at how a cohort of Irish university students fared
with regard to linguistic proficiency development and intercultural learning during a stay abroad
programme (SA) in Germany. Study B presents preliminary data from a group of Middle-Eastern
students enrolled in a foundation programme in Ireland, looking at the potential relationship
between their cultural experiences and developing language proficiency in an immersion
context.
The paper is divided into four main sections. The first section presents a very brief summary of
the main directions of research into linguistic gain and intercultural learning during the SA
programme. The next two sections present preliminary data from these empirical studies which
are then discussed in the concluding section.




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2. A brief overview of research on the SA: gains in proficiency and cultural learning
In a discussion on SA contexts, Kinginger (2009 : 27) explains that the SA environment does not
automatically lead to proficiency gains: Ethnographic and other qualitative studies, often without
an explicit focus on language, demonstrated that it is [] unrealistic to assume a direct
relationship between SA and linguistic immersion. This observation by Kinginger is in direct
contrast to much of the early studies on language proficiency development in study abroad
contexts which looked primarily at linguistic gains in isolation from cultural ones. Much of these
studies used standardised language tests to measure gains from the study abroad experience
and largely found that language proficiency development was not a given outcome of a
sustained period of time spent studying abroad in the target language. Language is the carrier of
culture. Kinginger (2009: 115) mentions that language learning is much more about socialisation
rather than about acquisition. Sociolinguistic competence is vital for successful language
acquisition, but it is not easily attained. As Ferguson remarks: the place of culture in
language learning and language teaching is a problem or better, a set of problems for
anyone seriously interested in understanding how human beings acquire language competence
(Ferguson 1991 : 416). Murphy-Lejeune (2002) emphasises that the language dimension of the
SA, which is crucial, is combined with another dimension, i.e., the capacity to adapt to a foreign
context, which brings interaction with host members into the central focus. Language learning is
dependent on interactions; it is not a product of language acquisition, but an active process of
socialisation. The quality of the interactions during the SA will depend on the degree of
interaction with, and integration into the host society/culture, which, in turn, is linked to the
cultural learning of the student.

3. Research questions
Considering that studies on the SA to date have not included a sustained focus on the role that
cultural interaction may play in proficiency development; the studies presented here, therefore,
seek to examine and analyse proficiency development and intercultural learning during the SA.
Specifically, the studies aim to answer the following questions:
1. Which factors influence and advance language proficiency?
2. To what extent can one establish a prima facie link between language acquisition and
cultural learning?
3. How does intercultural learning manifest itself in the students reflection?

4. Methodology
Study A (n=146) focused on the Erasmus programme and Irish undergraduate students of
German who agreed to undertake study in Germany/Austria in 2007. The participants undertook
a series of aural and oral language tests to gauge their general language proficiency in German
before and after their SA programme. Qualitative and quantitative instruments were used to
measure the extent intercultural learning contributed or otherwise to advancement in language
proficiency. The quantitative instrument consisted of a questionnaire based on Ward et al
(2003), Pellegrino Aveni (2005), Byram et al (2001) and Coleman (1996) elicited general profile

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data as well as data on language learning, intercultural competence and identity. The qualitative
part of the study comprised individual, semi-structured interviews that facilitated participants
reflection on, and exploration of their SA experience.
Study B (n=50) deals with international students taking part in a preparatory foundation program
in Ireland as part of an undergraduate degree. The foundation program concept is conceived as
an opportunity for students to adjust to a new culture in advance of traditional undergraduates
studies.

5. Findings
5.1. Attitudes to language
There were positive findings when investigating attitudes to language. SA participants in general
reported advancements in proficiency when asked to rate their language skills comparatively
prior and post their residence abroad. Students rated their language skills in speaking from
being neither better nor worse to well, with an increase from 45.5% to 66%. They also rated their
listening skills from neither better nor worse to well, with an increase from 45% to 78%. Their
reading skills were rated as well and increase from 50% to 59%. Also their writing skills were
rated as well and increase from 41% to 51% as is indicated in the following table:

Table 1 Students self- report on their language skills

Marks Percentage Skills
From neither nor to well 45.5% 66% Speaking
From neither nor to well 45.5 % 78% Listening
From well to well 50% 59% Reading
From well to well 41% 51% Writing


But the self-rating of the SA participants has been compared with the results of the aural and
oral tests, which show, however, that not all students improved, e.g. only 63% of students made
gains in the aural test; with a greater number, (but still surprisingly low percentage) 77%
improving their oral skills.

In Study B, in relation to students attitudes to language, the questionnaire revealed that 58.7%
strongly agreed and 32.8% agreed that progress was important to them as part of their language
learning and over 66% of students reported feeling confident about speaking English. A majority
of 62% saw themselves as good language learners and 77% felt they have improved their ability
to express their personality in English. 93% cited career as their main reason for wanting to learn
English. In answer to a question relating to self-image 65% of students reported a positive
attitude to their self-imagine when speaking English.

5.2. Language and culture

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The predominance of English in study A was found to have had an influence not only on
students linguistic development during the SA, but also on their intercultural learning. The
replies to the question What countries would you like to visit? for example, emphasises the
important role that English plays when 71% of students showed preference for English speaking
countries such as UK, US, Australia and with 50% choosing German speaking countries. One
might have expected German-speaking countries to be more popular among undergraduates in
German. One also has to take into account that a quarter of students were not previously in
Germany.
There is also a very clear answer regarding the most important language one should
learn; over half of the students opted for English. This percentage increased from 52% to 57%
after the SA. One students reflections here typify the general positive attitude to what we term
as the English habitus:

Most of the Erasmus students did speak English, I felt it was the main language being used
because there was a lot of British and American Erasmus students and obviously we all spoke
English together, it just seemed to be the common language between us all, but saying that with
my German friends, I spoke a lot of German with them

Language fatigue is another aspect of language learning abroad: having to express oneself
consistently in another language can be stressful. Murphy-Lejeune (2002 : 119) classifies the
opportunity to speak ones own language while abroad as an enormous relief. Study B also
sought to elicit responses in relation to language and culture. In response to the question, for
example, I have had difficulty expressing myself in English at times, 50% reported having
difficulty at the beginning of their stay, with that percentage reducing to 22% during their time
spent abroad. Additionally when asked about possible barriers to speaking English in Ireland,
many cited lack of opportunities to speak to native speakers and lack of time for socialising as
key issues. When asked Do you feel you have enough social time for leisure while studying?
61% answered negatively. A similar question on whether or not they felt their timetable allowed
enough time to socialise, 85% replied no. The motivation for including these questions on time to
socialise, and on speaking English outside of the classroom came from our focus group
sessions, when the topic of time, and the intensive nature of studying at third level were
recorded as issues. Many students felt the pressure to study and the structure of the timetable
did not allow sufficient time for making new friends and getting involved in after class activities.
Accommodation plays also an important factor when looking at the students networks.
Here again the influence of the Erasmus fence becomes apparent. Only 32% of students share
accommodation with other German people, while 19% share with Erasmus students and 5%
have Irish flatmates. 41% communicated that they were in mixed accommodation situation. As
expected, German-related contacts increased during the SA, i.e. friends, pen-friends, visitors
and all formal/informal contacts with Germans. Results from a McNemar test measuring showed
a significant difference with p<0.002 in the result for German friends. Study B shows that 62% of
students share their accommodation with people from their own cultural background. This is to

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be expected since they are all Middle-Eastern and share a common linguistic background
(Arabic). Only 23% of students shared accommodation with Irish people, with 7% equally
sharing their accommodation with Erasmus students (of European origin predominantly) and
mixed internationals students. With regard to the type of accommodation choices by the
students in study B, 66% chose rented accommodation, 19% reside with an Irish host family and
15% stay in student residences. An overwhelming 100% of study Bs students stated they had
made good friends while in Ireland, However, 92% of these friendships are with fellow Middle-
Eastern students, with 19% of friendships with Erasmus students and only 12% have made Irish
friends.

5.3. Intercultural learning
Participants in study A seem to show an increase of knowledge and awareness regarding
aspects of German culture. Familiarity with certain aspects of German culture increased
significantly. However, students were less familiar with some areas of culture such as family life,
work, art, literature, architecture, history, politics, industries and theatre. But this can be
explained by the fact that the specific examples that were mentioned are not central to the SA
experience. The SPSS test result shows a significant difference with p<0.002 in the result with
36 students in comparison to 4 students stating that they feel familiar with German culture, while
14 remain unchanged in their opinion.
These findings are confirmed when 28% more students strongly agreed with the statement that
they felt familiar with German culture after the SA. The median also changed from the value 2
[agree] to the value 1 [strongly agree].
75% of students strongly agree and 19% agree that their knowledge about the host culture and
its people has improved is a strong indication of cultural learning during the SA. Likewise 98%
are now more familiar with German culture and 79% got on great with members of the host
society. Cultural taboos in the host society are often overlooked due to the lack of cultural
awareness; it is another indicator of cultural learning when 77% of students actually noticed
taboos in their host society.
In Study B, 70% agreed and 26% strongly agreed that their knowledge of Irish culture had
increased. By knowledge here we understand that the students are more familiar with Irish
cultural conventions, e.g. noticing visible and invisible aspects of culture. Additionally 94%
claimed to be more familiar with Irish culture when questioned in comparison to the start of their
stay.

6. Discussion
Despite some very positive results in both Study A and Study B about the benefits of the SA,
one also has to look at the challenges that accompany it.
Cultural learning does not happen automatically; most students are not aware about the invisible
nature of culture. An example of underlying culture for the SA experience could be that the
students would need to understand that the visible culture they perceived at their host institution
was being informed by the culturally invisible beliefs, attitudes, and values of the host members.

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Murphy-Lejeune (2002: 173) emphasises that social integration with the host members will
depend on the SA students initiative as trying to gain admission to a group cemented by a
common language and a common cultural system requires strong determination []. The SA
participant will struggle with the status of the stranger. These circumstances make it a challenge
to interact with host members in a successful way and the danger is that if interactions go wrong
then stereotypes are reinforced.Coleman (1996) mentions that a study abroad experience can
enforce a more negative view of the host society. This is partly reflected in the following findings
of study A. The fact that 64% clearly state that they personally did not experience discrimination
is a positive observation, but one cannot ignore that 19% of students record that personally
discrimination has happened to them and a further 36% think that the contact with another
culture is inherently stressful. Even while two thirds of students state that their residence abroad
met their expectations, one third does not share this opinion. It is noteworthy that the feeling of
stress is still very high at the end of the residence abroad.
On the contrary in Study B, 65% of students replied positively to the statement I have personally
experienced discrimination away from home, As Middle-Eastern students, they do appear to
struggle with recent negative perceptions of religion and culture from this area of the world which
could act as an additional barrier to integration. In addition similar to the Erasmus students, 65%
of students in study B have experienced high levels of stress during their stay.

In study A there is clear evidence when 80% of students see themselves as intercultural
speakers, aware of their own and other cultures with 72% stating that their way of living has
changed by the experience of seeing others. The characteristic of a true intercultural mediator is
the ability to be bicultural (see Kim 2005a).
In Study B, 76% agreed that they now see themselves as intercultural speakers. When asked to
respond to the statement My way of living has changed by the experience of seeing others,
67% responded positively. Self-discovery is a predominant finding in study A and it is not
surprising that 89% of students acquired new knowledge about themselves: 87% see
themselves from a different viewpoint after their stay abroad. Similarly 85% state that their stay
abroad modified their perceptions. The learning aspects of the SA have been confirmed when
83% of students learnt how much they did not know and 58% confirm that their behaviour has
changed.

We would highly recommend to any SA educator/trainee/administrator that she/he ought to
provide active guidance before, during and after the residence abroad and acknowledge that
preparation and constant mentoring is vital (as already discussed in section 2 of this article). As
culture and all that it implies is explicit and implicit to intercultural competence (Trimble : 2007), it
is important to support the autonomous cultural learning of students and assist them in reflecting
on their intercultural experiences
The language dimension during the SA, which is crucial, is combined with another dimension,
the capacity to adapt to a foreign context (Murphy-Lejeune 2002: 215); which brings interaction

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with host members into central focus. Students who might have opted for the SA solely based on
language acquisition reasons, might come back with so much more.


References:

- Byram, M. et al 2001. Developing intercultural competence in practice. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters Ltd.

- Coleman, J. A. 1996. Studying languages: A survey of British and European students.
London: CILT.

- Ferguson, C. 1991. Comments on a Conference. In : Freed, B. Foreign Language
Acquisition Research and the Classroom. Lexington, Mass. : D.C. Heath, 415 422.

- Kim, Y.Y. 2005. Adapting to a new culture: An integrative communication theory. In : W.
Gudykunst (ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication, 375-400. Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing.

- Kinginger, C. 2009. Language Learning and Study Abroad; A critical reading of
Research, London, Palgrave & Macmillan.

- Pellegrino Aveni, V. 2005. Study abroad and second language us: Constructing the self.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

- Trimble, J. 2007. Prolegomena for the connotation of construct use in the measurement
of ethnic & racial identity. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 54, 247-258.


Biographical details
Kristin Brogan is a lecturer in German since 1994 at ITT (Department of Humanities in the
School of Business) and now teaches also in ICC. She was responsible for LdV mobility from
1996 until 2005 as a placement coordinator. Since 2003 she has been involved with EU funded
projects in the area of on-line language modules. Since 2005 she is registered as a PhD student.

Helen Kelly is Lecturer in Communications at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
since 2007, with responsibility for Language & Communications modules run across its
undergraduate and postgraduate schools and related activities internationally. A graduate of
Trinity College Dublin,Helens research interests include: L2 (Second Language) curricula
planning and design, learner autonomy in L2 pedagogy, CALL, intercultural communication &
communication in clinical contexts.

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Muiris Laoire worked in 2011-2012 as full Professor at the International Centre for Language
Revitalisation at AUT University, Auckland New Zealand before resuming his position, now as
Professor at the ITT Tralee Ireland in 2013. His areas of specialisation include language
acquisition, language policy and language and identity

ICC the international language association 2013
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CULTURAL MI*UNDER*TANDIN)* TROU)H *AETCHE*
by Pablo BErCos MEentes and IEbNn OarcPa OQ!eR, JonseSerPa de TdEcaciQn
T!baSada de TspaUa en BElCaria

Abstract:
The main purpose of a trip tends to be to visit and contemplate specific features: monuments,
avenues, landscapes But why do we keep travelling? We cant deny that sightseeing can be
even more comfortable on a film screen, sitting in a cozy chair, with detailed explanations
Finally, we will only spend twenty, forty, maybe sixty minutes observing that special place, we
will take some photos, a guide (luckily, human) will repeat an automated list of details while he or
she may be thinking of other things, such as the shopping list. Gee, the shopping list! This is
possibly the true journey, the social human being who communicates needs, searches, shares,
dialogues and all of the daily and innate activities which include linguistic, corporal, olfactory or
gustatory codes In brief, the essence of interculturality.
When a trip finishes and we look at the photos we do not only see the specific building that
impressed us, but also the friendly taxi driver, the smell of that restaurant where we discovered
tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and strange cheese. These ingredients form part of the national
pride of that place.
_______________________________


El objetivo del viaje suele ser la visita y contemplacin pasiva de unos determinados elementos
que se repiten, monumentos, avenidas, paisajes pintorescos... Pero por qu seguimos
viajando? No me negarn que la contemplacin de un determinado lugar puede ser ms
cmoda en una pantalla de cine, recostados en una cmoda butaca, con unas explicaciones
que pueden llegar al ms minucioso detalle... Al fin y al cabo tan solo estaremos veinte,
cuarenta, quizs sesenta minutos observando ese lugar que se nos antojaba tan especial,
tomaremos unas fotos, un gua (con suerte humano) nos repetir la retahla de detalles
automatizados en su mente o almacenados en algn chip electrnico, mientras que por ejemplo
puede estar pensando en la lista de la compra... Ahhh la lista de la compra! ste es el
verdadero viaje, el del ser social, que se comunica, que necesita, que busca, que comparte, que
dialoga, y todas estas actividades tan rutinarias e innatas requieren de cdigos lingsticos,
corporales, olfativos, gustativos... En resumen la esencia de lo intercultural.
Cuando el viaje termina y miramos las fotos no slo vemos ese edificio que nos dej
boquiabiertos, sino que por sus ventanas asoma la cara de aquel taxista tan simptico, o el olor
de aquel restaurante donde descubriste que unos tomates, unos pepinos, una cebolla, y un
queso extrao conformaban uno de los orgullos nacionales de aquel lugar...

Al aterrizar en Bulgaria, nos sacar una sonrisa, la costumbre de aplaudir dentro del avin para
celebrar el aterrizaje y la llegada a casa

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Una vez fuera, y para continuar nuestro viaje tendremos que optar por alguno de los medios de
transportes que se nos ofrecen:

- Autobs: Funcionan con una frecuencia bastante alta y unos precios econmicos, a
diferencia de nuestro pas, podremos subir o bajar por cualquiera de las puertas, y
frecuentemente tan slo esperar a que un empleado venga a vendernos el billete.

- Taxi: En los aeropuertos, estaciones de tren o de autobs, nos llamar la atencin la
inmensa flota que encontraremos esperando al viajero, as como la gran cantidad de compaas
diferentes. Resulta un medio de transporte relativamente frecuente entre los blgaros, ya que
sus precios son econmicos, si los comparamos con nuestro pas, donde una carrera en taxi
se ha convertido en algo casi lujoso, o al menos no de uso frecuente.

- Coche particular o de alquiler: Nos daremos cuenta enseguida de que por las
carreteras blgaras circulan coches normales y algunos cochazos que, habitualmente, tienen
matrculas capica, o con algn dgito especial. Sera recomendable no tener ningn tipo de
percance con esos conductores (aunque sus dueos puedan ser algo temerarios en ocasiones)
por lo que pudiere suceder.
- Una vez ya instalados en nuestro destino, una primera exploracin de las calles de la
ciudad nos revelar una serie de elementos desconocidos para nuestras costumbres:

- Porteras: Cmo les gusta el ftbol! En realidad estas porteras, distribuidas
concienzudamente entre cada cuatro o cinco bloques de pisos son para sacudir las alfombras.
Alejados de la capital, (ms heterognea) observamos curiosos la homogeneidad en cuanto a la
forma de vestir de la gente joven, chicos con cazadoras de cuero y deportivas y normalmente
rapados. Y las chicas que suelen ir muy arregladas a cualquier hora y en cualquier lugar (uas
muy pintadas, peinados elaborados, grandes bolsos de las firmas ms conocidas).

Encontramos tambin que existen dos temas tab: por un lado las muestras de amor en
pblico, entendidas como el contacto fsico entre las parejas y por otro hablar abiertamente
sobre homosexualidad.

Llegada la noche, cualquier ciudad en el pas est repleta de tiendas, supermercados,
restaurantes y hasta casas de cambio non stop, es decir abiertos las 24 horas. As que a
cualquier hora puedes conseguir cualquier cosa que necesites, Un caf a las tres de la
maana? Tambin es posible porque en Bulgaria en casi todas las tiendas o kioskos tienen caf
para llevar, pero no slo eso, sino que por las calles puedes encontrar muchas mquinas de
caf.


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Algo que nos llamar la atencin, sin duda ser la costumbre existente de realizar la
compra del da, (un slo sobre de caf, un slo yogur, una pieza de fruta), olvidemos por tanto
la rutina de compra semanal de los sbados y carro lleno para toda la semana.
En alguna tienda de ropa podremos buscar prendas de la ltima moda, aunque a veces pueda
parecernos que el encargado nos ponga mala cara porque entramos en su negocio y miramos
algo, o le pedimos una talla ms o menos, como si les molestramos por hacerle trabajar de
ms.

En lugares muy concurridos, en plazas, muros o en las puertas de los edificios es muy
normal encontrar esquelas con fotografas de los difuntos, adems stas se mantienen ah
bastante tiempo, como la mejor forma de recordarlos.

Como buenos turistas no podamos dejar de comer en alguno de los miles de
restaurantes que existen en el pas (sin duda la proporcin restaurante-habitante es muchsimo
ms alta en Bulgaria que en Espaa). En Bulgaria, desde hace algunos aos, el men del da
es algo muy frecuente, aunque existen diferencias: en Espaa damos por hecho que cualquier
men del da consiste en un primero + segundo con un precio cerrado que incluye una bebida,
pan y un postre o caf. Pero en Bulgaria esta lgica no existe y los mens diarios estn
divididos entre sopa, plato principal y un postre, todo ello a libre eleccin del consumidor. Y con
bebida opcional, es decir que pagamos aparte. Un sistema sin duda mucho ms flexible y
cmodo para el cliente.
Para la eleccin de la mesa es costumbre pedir al servicio que nos acomode, aunque el
restaurante est vaco. Si por el contrario el local est lleno, nos podrn acomodar en un
espacio libre en la mesa de otros clientes como algo totalmente natural.

Un consejo: si deseamos nuestra comida en un orden concreto es mejor no pedir todo a
la vez, ya que la tradicin blgara es traer toda la comida a la vez (es decir, ensalada sopa,
plato principal)... No se le da tanta importancia al orden de los platos, y en cuanto a la
temperatura de la comida, bueno en Bulgaria es algo que no es muy importante, si la sopa est
templada, o casi fra, nadie protestar ni dir nada. Simplemente ya se enfri y as est tambin
deliciosa.

Pedir la comida depender mucho de nuestros gustos, ya que es sorprendente que
hasta los restaurantes ms pequeitos tienen cartas muy extensas. Adems cada plato tiene
detallado su peso en gramos (incluso el pan o las salsas). La guarnicin para cada plato es
opcional y con cargo al consumidor.

Mucho cuidado si pide pescado (sublime en muchos lugares) no cometa el error de pedir
mayonesa para acompaarlo ya que aqu se considera algo totalmente fuera de lugar.... Eso s,
si va a una pizzera o quiere una porcin callejera, no se extrae si le ofrecen ktchup,
mayonesa o mostaza...

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Cada vez que hacemos un pedido el personal nos traer un pequeo ticket con el precio
del producto, y as durante nuestra comida iremos acumulando tickets, donde se ir sumando el
subtotal para al final recibir un ticket donde vienen detalladas todas las consumiciones con el
precio final. Adems cada comensal paga exactamente lo que ha tomado, pero el dinero se
entrega conjunto (contrario a esa costumbre espaola de que el camarero cobra cliente por
cliente o se pone un bote pagando todos el mismo importe).

Una vez vengan a recoger nuestro dinero (nunca se va a la barra del bar a pagar) no se
le ocurra decir gracias porque eso significar que acepta dejar toda la vuelta como propina.
Normalmente la propina se deja al final, una vez que nos marchamos del lugar, y al igual que en
Espaa, slo si hemos quedado satisfechos con el servicio, aunque habitualmente se deje
siempre algo.

Si le ha sobrado algo, o el peso de su plato era mayor de lo que usted necesitaba, no se
apure y pida que se lo pongan para llevar. En Bulgaria no es muy comn compartir el plato,
pero esta otra costumbre s que lo es. Otra cosa que no le debe sorprender es que, a medida
que los comensales vayan terminando sus platos, los camareros se los retiren, hasta quedar,
para la sobremesa, la mesa casi limpia por completo, y no repleta de platos sucios, copas y
cubiertos. Y, en cuanto a la suciedad y a los suelos llenos de servilletas de papel y palillos de
los bares espaoles, en Bulgaria no encontrar nada parecido. Lo que s puede encontrar son
restaurantes en los que se sirve comida tradicional blgara y en los que se canta (y baila)
msica en directo.
Cuando quedemos con un blgaro, tendremos, lo primero, que intentar ser algo ms
puntuales, ya que, a partir de los 10 minutos, el retraso empieza a ser injustificable. Y si nos
encontramos con algn conocido por la calle y va acompaado, no nos deberamos extraar si
no nos lo presenta. No es que no se acuerde de su nombre (ni del nuestro) sino que, salvo que
sea un amigo ntimo, no es frecuente presentarlo a los dems.

Y para intimar en una discoteca o en un bar, una buena tcnica es la de invitar a beber
lo mismo que est bebiendo a la chica en cuestin. Aunque, si quiere tomar algn tipo de
mezcla de varias bebidas que no est en la lista de ccteles, deber tener en cuenta que el
camarero le ir sirviendo cada parte de su bebida en vasos distintos (incluso el hielo estar en
un vaso aparte) por lo que al final se encontrar con 3 4 vasos con los que montar ese ron
con cola (por ejemplo) que pidi en un principio. Y, si le gusta la cafena, est de enhorabuena,
ya que en distintos bares y cafeteras podr encontrar ofertas de caf + cola con precios
promocionales. Eso s, la cola sin hielo ni limn (son extras que hay que pedir aparte)
Otra pequea diferencia que puede resultarnos muy cmoda es el hecho de que en las
discotecas no slo se baile y se beba, sino que tambin se sirva comida, por lo que no
tendremos que salir del local para reponer fuerzas. Podremos hacerlo en una de las mltiples
mesas del local, as como en la barra, salvo una zona, reservada habitualmente para gente
importante Por cierto, si queremos pedir una cancin al pinchadiscos, habremos de darle algo

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de dinero si no queremos pasarnos el resto de la noche esperando a que suene. Hay que tener
en cuenta tambin que, como en Espaa, en Bulgaria tampoco se puede fumar en locales
cerrados y que tendremos que salir de los mismos para hacerlo. Aunque ltimamente se estn
poniendo de moda los cigarrillos electrnicos, a las puertas de los locales podremos ver que la
mayora de las fumadoras consumen cigarrillos finitos, mientras que los ms habituales en
Espaa, en Bulgaria son menos conocidos.
Y ya para ir terminando, tambin impresiona la rapidez y eficacia con que los blgaros se
despiden. Los saludos no se estiran ni prolongan en el tiempo ms de lo estrictamente
necesario, siendo a veces algo seco para un espaol, acostumbrado a decir un adis y
formular justo a continuacin una pregunta que dar pie a otra frase y sta a otra, y Adis



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IN+ITATION TO A ?UL)ARIAN HOME
by Pablo BErCos MEentes, IEbNn OarcPa OQ!eR and BlaCovesta Stefanova
Slavova, JonseSerPa de TdEcaciQn T!baSada de TspaUa en BElCaria

Abstract:
Interculturality is an aspect which we may not overlook when learning a new language. In fact it
concerns all aspects of life, whether they are public or private.
Being the sphere which is most accessible to language learners, we will focus on what happens
indoors: in the intimacy of a home where being invited to a dinner with a family can imply many
more complications and misunderstandings than we could have previously imagined.
___________________________

Cada vez que dos culturas distintas se encuentran pueden surgir malentendidos y situaciones
disparatadas.

Qu le puede ocurrir a un espaol que va a cenar a casa de una familia blgara?
Cmo son las cenas en Bulgaria?
Qu nos dicta el protocolo que debemos hacer cuando saludamos a alguien? Qu palabras
pueden crear cierta confusin?...
stas y otras dudas se irn resolviendo a lo largo de este taller.

En apariencia algo tan sencillo y tan tpicamente humano como compartir una cena, y
ser invitados a la intimidad de un hogar puede derivar en un choque cultural de proporciones
cmicas e hilarantes, y por momentos desesperantes... Se tratan los malentendidos que
pueden darse en el mbito personal o ms bien, en un espacio tan privado como lo es el hogar
de una familia blgara, que acoge la visita de dos amigos espaoles que poco o nada saben de
las costumbres de ese pas.

Veamos primero un pequeo cuadro-resumen de las situaciones a tratar, para proceder
a su posterior desarrollo y explicacin...


Situacin Espaa Bulgaria
Regalar flores Nmero par (una
docena, media
docena)
Nmero impar
Al entrar en una
casa
No se quitan los
zapatos
Se quitan
Saludar a alguien Dos besos y casi un
abrazo
Dar la mano

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Situacin Espaa Bulgaria
Trato De t en muchas
ocasiones
De usted /si es un desconocido, el padre/la madre
de tu amigo, profesor, mdico, abogado.../
Regalos Se abren en el
momento
NO se abren en el momento, se dejan aparte y se
abren ms tarde, a solas. Es como dar ms
importancia a la persona y no al regalo.
Palabras Chiquilla, curva, amigo ntimo, cura
est loco/a -
gesto

Con la mano movindola de derecha a
izquierda como si estuvieras cambiando una
bombilla.
La mano levantada, cerca de la sien.
Invitar unas
galletas
Aceptar a la primera Esperar que el otro insista 2 3 veces
La cena
El orujo despus de la
cena
La rakia con ensalada, de aperitivo antes
de cenar
Brindar solo en
situaciones especiales
Cada dos por tres. Para empezar a beber y
luego tambin si quieres sentirte
acompaado.
El que bebe solo bebe dos veces
Enseguida empezar a
comer rpido

Esperar a los dems. Esperar a que el/la
anfitrin/a te anime. Se come muy despacio,
con pausas grandes.
Despus de la cena un
caf
Una infusin
Dormir La ropa de cama cubre
toda la cama y el edredn/la
manta llega hasta poner una
pequea parte por debajo
del colchn
La manta cubre solo la cama (por encima) no
alcanza para cubrir el colchn, las mantas
son de una sola persona, los pies se te
quedan al aire y si te das la vuelta la espalda
tambin
El cuarto de bao Cabinas de duchas, un
pequeo peldao para
separar los dos espacios.
Espacio nico. La ducha al suelo, como
mucho con una cortina. Se empapa todo.
El desayuno Tostada, bollos (dulces),
Leche
Caf con leche caliente
Banitsa (salada),
Airn (yogur)
Caf con leche fra


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Nuestro sketch, cuenta de la participacin de los autores que harn las veces de actores,
desempeando los siguientes papeles:

Blagovesta: Chica espaola.
Pablo: Chico espaol.
Rubn: Anfitriona blgara, seora mayor.

La primera sorpresa aparece ya en el portal del edificio, cuando nuestros protagonistas
toman el ascensor con algn vecino y, en lugar de hablar del tiempo, mantienen un cortante
silencio durante todo el trayecto en lugar de responder al saludo corts de los espaoles (un
chico y una chica).

En el momento de las presentaciones, las cosas no van a mejorar, cuando la chica
presenta a su acompaante a la anfitriona, ste movido por la costumbre espaola que
considera tan natural, se acerca a la seora con la firme intencin de besarla y casi, casi
abrazarla.

La anfitriona se queda helada y no sabe cmo reaccionar; superados unos segundos de
nerviosismo, va a llegar la reaccin de la seora que al ver que la chica se ha cortado el pelo, la
felicita efusivamente por el nuevo corte de pelo.

Las situaciones en el recibidor de la casa no van a terminar ah, la seora en un lento y
rutinario ademn, espera los bombones de rigor, de casi obligado cumplimiento cuando uno es
invitado a una casa blgara. Ante esta situacin de desconcierto el chico decide entregarle el
ramo de flores que con tanto cario haba preparado. El problema es que, nuestra seora
decide dedicarle su atencin a las flores, con la intencin quiz de superar un poco las
tensiones creadas al principio, les habla con orgullo de la rosa de Bulgaria y con la mirada
distrada y concentrada en la belleza y olor de las flores, las cuenta mentalmente, hasta llegar
casi al borde del colapso, cuando comprueba que se trata de un nmero par de flores,
concretamente doce, que como hemos visto en nuestro resumen son las que en Bulgaria es
tradicin entregar a los difuntos.

Los espaoles no entienden lo que pasa y para solucionar la situacin quitan una flor del
ramo y la colocan en otro jarrn. Para ello el chico ha entrado con sus botas llenas de barro a la
casa, manchando la alfombra persa del saln. La pobre mujer se empieza a poner nerviosa y
les ruega que se quiten el calzado. Ellos lo hacen y ya descalzos en el saln el joven le dice a la
mujer mientras le entrega un paquete: toma, esto es para ti. La mujer, anonadada por el trato
tan familiar del chico joven y desconocido, acepta el regalo y lo pone aparte. Lo que
evidentemente genera la extraeza de los invitados que esperan rebajar un poco las tensiones
ocasionadas hablndole un poco del regalo tan bonito y tpico que le haban trado de su pas.


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Al poco los chicos empiezan a impacientarse porque la mujer no abre el paquete. Les
conduce al saln y les invita a sentarse mientras ella prepara la mesa para cenar. Los jvenes
espaoles se asombran por la hora tan temprana a la que van a cenar, pero deciden ayudar con
los preparativos. La mujer, agradecida, se lo permite a la chica pero insiste en que el chico
vuelva al saln a sentarse y en que ayude slo la chica. Adems se va a asegurar varias veces
de que el chico est bien, e incluso sin que l lo pida, le va a llevar un gran vaso de cerveza y
un cenicero.

Una vez sentados a la mesa empiezan la cena no con un primer plato sino con una rakia
casera (aguardiente blgaro de unos 40) acompaando a la ensalada. Los espaoles, a punto
de beber, son interrumpidos por la anciana que les corta con un largo brindis. Adems una vez
que brindan, los espaoles llevan sus vasos al centro, chocan y beben, sin respetar el ritual de
mirar a los ojos que esperaba la anfitriona.

Por fin pueden probar la bebida, pero se atragantan por lo fuerte que es y, al escuchar
por primera vez que pueden empezar a comer lo hacen sin esperar a que insista un par de
veces. Durante la cena la mujer come lentamente, pensando boquiabierta que los espaoles no
han debido de haber comido durante los ltimos das, ya que, aunque algo hablan, no se
detienen casi a charlar entre bocado y bocado. El chico espaol, animado por la comida, que le
recuerda sin duda a la espaola, coge por su propia cuenta la rakia, y se echa un nuevo vaso,
sin preguntar a sus acompaantes si quieren y sin llevar a cabo un nuevo brindis de rigor. Una
vez saciados los jvenes, tras el postre, esperan el caf y una sobremesa agradable en la que
contar sus aventuras. Sin embargo, la mujer se levanta y empieza a recoger y les ofrece una
infusin.

Durante la cena se han hablado de distintos asuntos, entre ellos se mencion al difunto
marido de la mujer blgara. sta, en ese momento, arroj parte del contenido de su copa al
suelo. Distintos trminos espaoles dieron lugar a caras de asombro y perplejidad de la mujer,
que, atnita, de chiquillas (masturbacin), de amigos ntimos (amigos que mantienen relaciones
sexuales) y de un cura (rgano sexual masculino) con sotana; falsos amigos que crearon
situaciones tensas.

Una vez concluida la velada los jvenes espaoles se disponen a dormir descubriendo
para su desolacin que las ventanas no cuentan con persianas y que la manta no llega a cubrir
completamente la superficie de la cama, por lo que, una vez metidos en ella, tienen los pies al
aire y al menos uno de sus costados desprotegido. Al final pedirn otra manta para as poder
cubrirse cada uno con una.

Tras una noche en la que a duras penas pudieron pegar ojo, se levantan y al ducharse
en el bao de la casa descubren para su asombro que no hay un plato de ducha, ni mamparas
sino tan solo un agujero en medio del bao por donde sale toda el agua y unas cortinas

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enmohecidas que no impiden que todo el suelo del cuarto termine encharcado. Despus de
empapar todo el bao y parte del pasillo, van a la cocina donde les espera su anfitriona con el
desayuno ya preparado: una jarra de airn (yogur con agua y sal) una banitsa recin horneada
(pasta filo con queso blanco salado) y caf slo. Ellos, que esperaban un desayuno algo ms
dulce (con tostadas, bollos, etc.) piden leche para el caf. La mujer les alcanza una jarrita con
leche fra.

Una vez que ya han de marcharse de la casa, y para no parecer descorteses agradecen
de forma muy efusiva la visita a la anfitriona, el chico que considera que ya existe cierta
confianza, se acerca a la seora mayor con la intencin de darle un beso carioso, sta se
vuelve a extraar mucho por el repentino arranque de pasin. Pensando una excusa para salir
de la casa, el chico pregunta a su compaera que si quiere acompaarla a ese monasterio que
han visto en las guas tursticas, cuya carretera est llena de curvas peligrosas. La anfitriona
intenta explicarles cmo llegar, ya es consciente de los movimientos corporales en cuanto a la
afirmacin-negacin por lo que adapta sus movimientos a sus invitados, lo que genera una
ltima confusin, ya que los chicos interpretan precisamente lo contrario....


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>UE*TION*B >UE*TION*B >UE*TION*CCCA?OUT CULTURE AND AIM* IN
LAN)UA)E TEACHIN) D A $epo$t on P$ofesso$ ?E$amFs open!n" speec(
by Anthony MitRpatric#, IJJ V the international lanCEaCe association

In his talk, which opened the conference, Prof Byram asked two questions related to the
overarching topic by asking: "But what culture?" and "What should a language teachers aims
be?" In his lecture, he gave some personal answers to provide some matter for debate,
referring to the fact that the conference would finish with a formal debate on the subject.
He addressed the following questions:
"Are there relationships between language, identity and culture? If so of what kind?", "Should
language education influence those relationships?", and "Which languages does language
education include: Foreign and second? Heritage? Mother tongue? National language?", and
combined them with his initial questions above.
His main focus was on teachers aims, from both a functional and educational point of view and
he expressed his belief that language teaching of all kinds should develop competence for
communication and interaction whilst stimulating critical thinking and action in the world. He
illustrated this point by highlighting some of his recent work in two different projects which
combine the aims of language education with education for citizenship.
He maintained that education was, in the past, often seen as preparation for something else, as
a gateway to, for example, the next stage in education, or the entry into the world of work, to
university or to a job. Similarly, language teaching is now seen as preparation, shifting its focus
from the teaching of language, and the study of language as system, to the facilitating of
learning to communicate, towards the notion of communicative language teaching. Languages in
this view are learnt for later, when you go to X country, or when you meet a speaker of
language X.

He pointed out that the emphasis on learning a language for communication and use in the
world outside education, particularly the world of work, is not a new phenomenon, quoting
several historical examples which illustrated the relationship of education to the development of
the economy of a country.

As a possible response to the question of "What should a language teachers aims be?" he
indicated that, in the light of the above, the answer appears to be relatively simple: the language
teacher should be preparing their learners to use the language in the future, either a future in
further education, leading to the world of work, or for the world of work itself, enabling learners to
take their place in "the economy" -- the world portrayed in the video which opened the
conference. He emphasised that the concept of the economy is always national, often
reinforcing the "banal nationalism" (Billig, 1995) which is all around us, and where education
plays a national role.


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What is common to all education systems is that they are expected to serve "our" economy and,
second, that they are expected to create and maintain "our" national identity. Examples of policy
statements which embody the national role of education are easy to find whenever new
countries emerge and make explicit statements about how education should form "good
citizens". He quoted two examples:

The Norwegian modern language curriculum:
By learning (foreign) languages, pupils have opportunity to become familiar with
other cultures. Such insight provides the basis for respect and increased tolerance, and
contributes to other ways of thinking and broadens pupils understanding of their own
cultural belonging. In this way, pupils own identity is strengthened.
(Taken from: http://www.utdanningsdirektoratet.no/dav/78FB8D6918.PDF in January,
2005)

Argentina: The 2008 curricular innovation in ELT in the Province of Buenos Aires stated
as one aim the strengthening of their [the childrens] own cultural identity by enabling the
processes of social integration
(Diseo Curricular de Educacin Primaria, 2008: 321).
(Porto and Barbioni in Byram and Parmenter 2012: 121)

In older countries, such aims more often remain implicit but it is now expected, for example, that
French children should learn the national anthem at school, and children in the USA continue to
make their daily pledge to the flag.

In the midst of such displays of nationalism, the role of the foreign language teaching curriculum
is paradoxical. On the one hand, it is part of national education and the national curriculum; on
the other hand, it has the potential to turn learners attention to other countries and other
understandings of what "our" means. "Our" cannot be simply translated as "notre" or "unser" or
nshata. Furthermore, since the early days of research on motivation in language learning
(Gardner and Lambert, 1972), it has been argued that learners who identify with the speakers of
the language they are learning "integrative motivation") will be more successful. -- Even more
recent theories of learning suggest that learners will be successful if they embrace the idea of
themselves as speakers of the foreign language -- "the ideal L2 self" (Dornyei, 2009). And yet,
as can be seen in the Norwegian and Argentinean examples, the role of foreign language
teaching in strengthening national identity is not in doubt.

He quoted from the findings of a British Royal Commission report from 1858, related to the
demands for languages for commerce, which hinted at another dimension of language teaching
the notion of a liberal education.


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He then identified the language teachers' aims and what they have become in the context of
education as economic policy and in the creation of national identity. For those who teach in
schools and vocational education, the aims of the 19th-century businessmen, as laid out in the
Royal Commission report referred to above, have not changed, and communicative language
teaching has now given them the means of reaching their ends. For those who teach in higher
education, the aims have changed from being focused exclusively on liberal education or
Bildung to now include the economic or instrumental aims, and the combination of older
methods in the study of language, or philology, together with communicative language teaching.
This is the Ist-Zustand, the actual state.

But what should be the case, the Soll-Zustand, what should language teachers aims be? You
cannot get an ought from an is (David Hume) a gap in the logic, long ignored by those
maintaining that education ought to or should serve the economy, or that education ought to or
should create a national identity. In proposing an ought for language teachers, he was fully
aware of the need to ground his proposal in values, rather than in a description of what is the
case.

He returned to another aspect of the conference title - "But what culture?" - which introduced a
new social factor, in addition to the concerns of nation-states which determine national curricula.
He reminded the participants that this factor was introduced under the above question with the
following, complementary, question:

In a world where we are all encouraged to become plurilingual, where communicating
with friends, family and acquaintances in far flung corners of the earth on a regular basis
is now commonplace, does the phenomenon of learning a range of languages and
experiencing a range of communities impact on our sense of identity? If so, how should
language education professionals respond?

He suggested that there are a number of important concepts implicit in the question:
plurilingualism, a range of languages, a range of communities, and a sense of identity. Given the
time constraints, he concentrated on the concepts of community and identity, but questioned the
assumption that communication in far-flung corners of the earth is "commonplace".

From an informal survey he had conducted among people who teach languages and intercultural
communication, asking them to talk to their students, he quoted from one response from Korea:

() the feedback of the majority (though not all) of my students who participated in the
'citizenship education' exchange with Manuela Wagner's class in the US last semester.
The students' comments and written responses suggested this was often their first
opportunity to communicate with non-Koreans using the internet (most of them use SMS

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and the internet constantly, from their phones - but in Korean and with other Koreans).
(Cathy Peck)

He revealed that others had agreed that, unless their students had had some previous
experience of study abroad or being involved in a class-to-class exchange, they did not have
contacts outside their close circle of friends, and quoted from a response from a colleague in
Italy:

Regarding your question about whether 15-20 year olds are connected to people all over
the world, in our experience this is not so - most teenagers we are familiar with use social
networks to talk to their local friends. In Ana's doctoral research, the informants had
practically no foreign friends before they did their Erasmus programme. It is true that,
during study abroad, they all had to start writing and speaking in other languages with
their new contacts (mostly other Erasmus). But we also need to remember that only
about 2% of students in Europe study abroad, and this reflects the percentage of
Europeans who move to another European country to work - leaving the other 98% at
home... food for thought!

He emphasised that, if far-flung communication is not "commonplace" for students of language
and communication, then it is probably less so among their peers who work in shops and offices,
in garages and factories.

... communication in foreign languages in Ukraine with other parts of the world is an
experience limited to an educated elite ()

Considering the Ist-Zustand, he warned, we should not take anything for granted. Students may
not, in fact, know a range of communities.

Returning to the Soll-Zustand, he argued that the concept of community is important, and that it
ought to be the case that all teachers should encourage learners to engage with a range of
communities, based upon his/her own values and belief that nationalism and identification with a
national community should be tempered and complemented, if not replaced, by identification
with internationalism and international communities. He believes that language teachers have a
major role to play in this process because of their paradoxical position of being in a national
education system, but turned outwards to other ways of thinking, to other cultures. Of the many
reasons he holds for this view, he emphasised the damage that nationalism has done from the
19th century onwards throughout the world, not least in Europe, and not least in the part of
Europe where the conference was taking place.

He reminded colleagues that nationalism had managed to take control of education, and quoted
an extreme but telling statement by Kedourie:

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... in nationalist theory () the purpose of education is not to transmit knowledge,
traditional wisdom () its purpose rather is wholly political, to bend the will of the
young to the will of the nation. Schools are instruments of state policy, like the army,
the police, and the exchequer.
(Kedourie, 1966: 84 emphasis added by the speaker)

The alternative to this, he contended, is internationalism and gave a simple definition of the kind
of internationalism he was referring to, a "liberal internationalism":

... a generally optimistic approach based upon the belief that independent societies and
autonomous individuals can, through greater interaction and co-operation, evolve
towards common purposes, chief among these would be peace and prosperity.
(Halliday 1988: 192 emphasis added by the speaker)

He emphasised that evolution towards common purposes, as described above, is not inevitable
and that educationists - especially language teachers - have a key role to play in encouraging
young people to engage in the process.

By way of example, Professor Byram then spoke to a PowerPoint presentation (c.f. Appendix 1
in the attachment to this publication), illustrating a project he had initiated related to the
Malvinas/Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina in 1982. A summary of the aims
and objectives of the project is available in the handout distributed to the audience, and which is
appended to this report (c.f. Appendix 3 in the attachment to this publication).

The Malvinas/Falklands War: an opportunity for citizenship education in the foreign
language classroom in Argentina and the UK
He proceeded to speculate about the processes involved in this work-in-progress, as research
results from an evaluation had not yet been completed, in order to return to some of his earlier
questions and concepts.

He expressed the hope that the project reflected the creation of an international community, i.e.
a group of people with citizenship in two countries and, probably, identification with two nations,
who come together as one community to carry out a common task - a "community" in Tonnies'
sense:

Die menschlichen Willen stehen in vielfachen Beziehungen zu einander; jede solche
Beziehung ist eine gegenseitige Wirkung (...) Jedes solches Verhltnis stellt Einheit in
der Mehrheit oder Mehrheit in der Einheit dar. Es besteht aus Frderungen,
Erleichterungen, Leistungen, welche hinber und herber gehen, und als Ausdrcke der
Willen und ihrer Krfte betrachtet werden. (...) Das Verhltnis selber, und also die

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Verbindung wird entweder als reales und organisches Leben begriffen dies ist das
Wesen der Gemeinschaft,

The wills of human beings interact in many different ways. Every such relationship is
reciprocal (.) Every relationship of this kind involves some kind of balance between
unity and diversity. This consists of mutual encouragement and the sharing of burdens
and achievements, which can be seen as expressions of peoples energies and wills. ()
The relationship itself, and the social bond that stems from it, may be conceived either as
having real organic life, and that is the essence of Community.

What he hoped was happening in this project was an identification with this community, perhaps
only a temporary identification, but an experience which could be compared and contrasted with
identification with the national community.

He referred to the theory behind this practice, pointing out that all practice is theory driven, but
warned that much of it is not systematic theory; people often start with practice in which the
theory is implicit. However, the practice in this particular project started from theory, a theory of
intercultural citizenship (Byram, 2008), which combines the aims of language teaching with the
aims of citizenship education, but modifies and improves both. By using the expression
improves he merely intended to imply a specific direction, a specific ought or should.

In brief, he believes that the aims of teaching languages for intercultural competence include:
linguistic, sociolinguistic and discourse competence in language, combined with intercultural
competences in the discovery, analysis, comparison and critique of cultures. What is important is
the comparative analysis and critique of cultures, both the cultures (in the plural) of the learners
and the cultures (in the plural) of speakers of the language being learnt. (He did not use the
concept of native speakers here, but commented on it later in the talk).

This aspect of cultures (in the plural) is well illustrated in the second project he referred to The
Elderly and the Young: an intercultural citizenship education project (2012-2013).
A copy of the PowerPoint Presentation slides used to illustrate this project is to be found in
Appendix 2 in the attachment to this publication.

He then turned to citizenship education, whose aims include moral or ethical education,
education in political literacy, and, most importantly in this context, education leading to action in
the world, and action which takes place now, not in the future.

He believes that the strengths of education for intercultural competence in a foreign language lie
in the critical comparative analysis of other cultures and ones own. The weakness lies in the
lack of focus on action in the world. The weaknesses of citizenship education are its lack of
criticality of our cultures and the limitation to a national perspective, because citizenship

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education attempts to educate "good citizens" and good citizens do not rock the boat - they
conform. On the other hand, the strengths of citizenship education lie in its focus on action in the
world, and on action which takes place now. The purpose of the projects I have showed is to
combine the strengths of each and to overcome their weaknesses.

The examples shown illustrate a combination of criticality with action, criticality which focuses on
our cultures and theirs, and action which takes place now.

Professor Byram believes that this theory and the examples shown are relevant not only in
action in the social world of the community, but also in the world of work, where international
community and co-operation are alternative views to competition among national companies.
The students in Argentina and England will, he hopes, be able to transfer their experience to
other situations.

Finally, he expressed the hope that the examples might help to offer an answer to the other
major question in the description of the conference: "what culture?" He did not know if the
students in the examples were among those who, before the project, had had frequent contact
with people in "far-flung corners of the earth", but he believed that they had now had that
experience in an ordered, systematic educational environment. In experiencing this, they had
created a community and also the culture of that community, i.e. the shared values of the group
and the shared actions they undertook. At the same time, they had discovered something about
the values and perspectives of some speakers of the language they are learning. In one case,
they happened to be native speakers, but, in the other, students were using English as a lingua
franca to discover the cultures of non-Anglophone countries. It did not really matter. It does not
matter which cultures they discover because the main point is to have experience, and to
acquire skills and attitudes for exploring the culture of any social group they meet, whether in the
world of work or leisure or of education or of common political action. Furthermore, what they
have learned through comparison is as much about their own cultures and identities, and how
these can be challenged and questioned, and not only strengthened. It is not a matter of what
culture to learn or to learn about, but which cultures to explore in addition to our own -- and the
answer is: any culture of any social group with which learners can be encouraged to interact.

Professor Byram decided not to conclude with a summary but rather hoped that his reflections,
ideas and suggestions would be taken up in the course of the conference which was certainly
the case.

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References:

- Billig, M. 1995 Banal nationalism. London: Sage.

- Drnyei, Z. 2009, The L2 motivational self system. In: Z Drnyei and E Ushioda (eds.)
Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

- Gardner, R.C. and Lambert, W.E. 1972, Attitudes and motivation in second-language
learning. Rowley MA: Newbury House.

- Halliday, F. 1988, Three concepts of internationalism. International Affairs 64, 3, 187-
198.

- Kedourie, E. (1966). Nationalism. London: Hutchinson.

- Porto, M and Barboni, S. 2012, Policy perspectives from Argentina. In: M. Byram and L.
Parmenter (eds.) The Common European Framework. The globalisation of language
education policy. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

- Royal Commission to inquire into Endowments, Funds and Condition of Schools
endowed for purpose of Education in Ireland Endowed Schools, Ireland, Commission.
1858 (C.W FitzGerald, Chair).

- Tnnies, F. Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft. Abhandlung des Communismus und des
Socialismus als empirischer Culturformen.

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<HO*E *IDE ARE <E ON ANY<AY? MEDIATION AND CULTURAL
AGGILIATION IN TRAN*LATION
by Assoc. Prof. Wel!a Jatalan, Sofia University -St. li!ent "hrids#i

In the past years Bulgarian lovers of the classic English novel have had opportunities to feel
satisfied. Well-known high-quality translations have been reissued and a few new ones have
appeared on the market. Among the former is that of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, and the
latter group is notably represented by George Eliots Middlemarch.
7
Divided by almost precisely
sixty years, the two novels nevertheless share some characteristics. Foremost among them is
the theme of marriage a topic typical of the nineteenth-century British novel. The clash
between the demands of the heart and those of the purse accounts for the vast array of plot
complications masterfully exploited by the greatest writers of the day. Characteristically, the
problems first emerge in the family and ramify in both directions horizontally, among the heros
or heroines peers, such as siblings, friends and rivals, and vertically, between children and their
parents or various other parent figures. And often the conflicts are enacted on the level of
discourse, which refracts the power relations active in the social life of nineteenth-century
Britain. It would not be an overstatement to say that the dynamics of the novel of the period
relies mostly on modulations of distance among the interlocutors. These modulations, more than
anything else, present the Bulgarian translator with problems whose source is an asymmetry
between the two linguistic systems the absence of a distinction between the second person
singular and plural, known as the tu-vous (T-V) distinction.
In spite of the long tradition of literary translation from English, the rendering of this distinction in
Bulgarian is still not fully codified. The translator of Pride and Prejudice, for example, has chosen
the V form of address between the Bennett children and their parents. By contrast, in the
translation of Middlemarch the Brooke sisters use T to address their uncle, who is also their
guardian. Neither choice can be considered arbitrary, nor is it without implications. Given that in
both novels the families in question both belong to polite society and that the younger
generation in them use a fairly formal register to address their elders, the differences in the
Bulgarian translations are more than stylistic. It is my contention in this paper that the choice
between the T and the V mode of address reflects a dynamic that proceeds from phenomena
which are essentially cultural. In the context of present-day Bulgaria the translators decisions
signal a cultural and ideological stance and an engagement with the problems and uncertainties
surrounding the sense of identity and of proximity or distance in interpersonal relations.
To find a theoretical frame of reference for such an argument, one needs to move beyond
linguistically and textually oriented studies of translation issues. Such an angle is offered by the
eminent theorist of cultural translation Maria Tymoczko. In a groundbreaking article, Ideology

>
T'e 1u"ga!ian t!an&"ation o7 +iddle!arch $a& puA"i&'ed A8 Co"iA!i in -F,-5 t'e t!an&"ato! i& +e&e"a 3at&a!o#a. T'e
t!an&"ato! o7 Pride and Pre4&dice i& *neB'ana Mi"e#a LApo&t!op'5 -F,-M.

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and the Position of the Translator: In What Sense Is a Translator In Between?
8
she has
reacted against a view, popular among students of translation, as well as among the general
public, that translation as an act of mediation takes place in a space in between the source and
target culture and is therefore free of the ideologies that inform each of them. The translators
position, in her opinion, is actually one of inevitable engagement; his or her place of
enunciation is an ideological positioning as well as a temporal and geographical one
9
and
involves engagement either with the source culture, with the target culture, with yet another
culture or with a more global one which comprises them all.
10
Tymoczkos location of the place
of enunciation coincides, in fact, with what another cultural theorist, Mary Louise Pratt, calls
contact zones. These are the social spaces where disparate cultures meet, clash, grapple with
each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of domination and subordination.
11

The T-V distinction is an issue that has a well-known history in the studies of discourse. In their
seminal paper The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity R. Brown and A. Gilman took a
sociolinguistic perspective, placing tous and vous in two kinds of semantic - one of power and
one of solidarity, characterised respectively by asymmetry or symmetry.
12
For M. Silverstein, the
vous-pronoun functions as an index of deference by speaker to hearer. The pluralisation
enlarges the hearers social importance and grants it a weightiness which has truth value.
Silverstein, more than Brown and Gilman, emphasises the cultural significance of this linguistic
choice, which symbolically stratifies the society interlocutors belong to and lends each layer its
distinctive value.
13
And in their impressive study entitled Politeness, R. Brown and S. Levinson
treat the asymmetry linguistically created by the use of the second-person honorific as
enhancing the hearers status and reciprocally diminishing that of the speaker. It is, in their view,
an important negative politeness strategy which serves to preserve the others face.
14
It could
also be argued, however, that the vous-honorific works also for the speakers benefit,
establishing a comfortable distance between the two and so enhancing the speakers sense of
confidence and security. What seems to matter may in fact be the dimension of solidarity that a
reciprocal use of a honorific activates, a case which is far more common at present than the
non-reciprocal application of the pronouns.
An excursus into the recent history of Bulgaria can illustrate the political and ideological
fluctuations of the discursive norm underpinning the choice of T or V. Solidarity is actually the
key concept for defining the principle of todays Bulgarian and not only Bulgarian culture. I do
not mean this term in any political sense, of course, though the memory of its past meaning is
still lurking in the national ethos. The imposition of comrade as the compulsory form of address
after the communists took power in 1944 entailed the universal use of the tu pronoun. This, of

4
in: Baker, Mona (ed.). Critical Readings in Translation Studies. New York: Routledge, 2010, 213-228.
9 Tymoczko, p. 216.
10 Ibid., p. 226.
11 Pratt, Mary Louise. Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation. London: Routledge, 1992, p.4.
12 Brown, R. and A. Gilman. "The pronouns of power and solidarity, IN: Sebeok, T. A. (ed.) Style in Language.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1960, 253-276.
13
Silverstein, Michael. Shifters, linguistic categories, and cultural description. IN Basso, K. and H. Selby (eds.),
Meaning in Anthropology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1976, 11-56.
14 Brown, P and S. Levinson. Politeness: Some Universals in Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press,1987.

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course, happened in what was a high-context culture where formality was reserved for the
relatively small segment of the educated city dwellers. In the absence of a ruling norm derived
from the culture of a historically formed polite society and spreading downwards, as was the
case in Western and Central Europe, solidarity was based on shared rural origins, little or no
education and limited prospects for social rise. Yet the arrival of the communist regime created a
discursive and cultural paradox, since the new rulers themselves gradually became distanced
from the people in whose name they had grabbed power. Along with a reinstated yet spatially
shifted V, the spread of radio, and then TV communication also propagated the norm of the
honorific, as well as a low-context culture of reserve, if not fear of the close contact announced
by T. The exceptions were such naturally solidary environments as the school, the workplace
and the pub. In the first two environments, nevertheless, the principle was that of the
asymmetrical T/V use and the imposition of the power of the superiors, be they teachers or
bosses, who would use T to their subordinates V. Interestingly, the same could be observed in
hospitals where patients were always tu even to the orderlies and V once they replaced the
hospital dress with the civilian one.
With the political change of 1989 came a major shift in the power structure and relations. Yet the
fundamental social and cultural transformation incorporated two mutually incompatible
pressures. On the one hand, the re-institution of the Mr/Mrs form of address initially brought
back a wider application of politeness strategies among people, especially strangers. The
capitalist emphasis on individual performance and the high value placed on competences would
predict a drift towards a high-context culture. In effect, however, the opposite trend established
itself, largely due to the spread of the media and especially TV with its predominantly American
movie repertoire, and later of the Internet and the social networks. To use the relevant
terminology, it was the visible culture that shaped the invisible one. Certainly, because this
visible culture is nowadays global and mostly entertainment-oriented, it has imposed a largely
uncontested sense of solidarity, expressed in the almost omnipresent tu appellation among
formerly hierarchically stratified segments of society. Coupled to this is the diminishing use of a
given name or surname in face-to-face interaction. Whereas first-name terms normally evokeT,
their establishment and announcement is dropping out of the scenario of meeting and growing
closer to people. The pattern therefore becomes T with anonymous address, a kind of
impossible mixture of positive and negative politeness in Brown and Levinsons terms. In
general, the generation which has grown and matured in the past twenty years has adopted and
normalised a discourse of informality often at odds with the scenario of the respective
communicative situation. It is thus the common practice for, say, shop assistants, taxi drivers or
hairdressers to ignore the Mr/Mrs appellation and use T to address their customers, whom they
typically do not know by name. The use of honorifics, including V, is enclosed within the walls of
schools, universities or administrative institutions. The discursively projected ideology of
equality, which continually clashes with a reality of social and material inequality, produces a
disorienting cultural tension and turmoil. This hampers the formation of a sense of autonomous
selfhood and a measuring scale of individual social and professional competences otherwise
signalled also through the use of the surname and the Mr/Mrs honorific. Discursive exchanges in

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Bulgaria, I would suggest, now take place in a contact zone where cultures vie for dominance
within one and the same national and geographical context.
Against this background, the translator or the interpreter will inevitably find herself at pains to
make a quick decision about the way to render the English you. The translator, as I have
argued, is ideologically engaged and each choice indicates her association with a given cultural
practice. In the example with the translation of Middlemarch, the choice of the T pronoun in
Dorotheas and Celias addresses to their uncle and guardian indicates the translators affiliation
with a culture of equality and solidarity which is historically foreign to the original and the reality it
refers to. Yet the lack of deference signalled by T accurately reflects the attitudes of todays
children towards their elders and will appeal to a reading audience compliant with the
contemporary culture. By contrast, the use of the V honorific chosen by the translator of Pride
and Prejudice better renders the historical and geographical distance of the novels world. At the
same time, however, it reinstates the unequal power relations rejected by the local Bulgarian
culture and distances the place of enunciation from the one todays readers, especially the
younger ones, affiliate with.
Admittedly, the translation of the classics occupies only a tiny sector of the cultural field and is
not likely to have a decisive or visible impact on the participants in it. This is true even of their
film adaptations where dubbing and subtitling still require the translator to decide on a T or V
form. There is, however, a genre with a much greater social prominence where translation and
interpretation become deeply involved with the cultural processes of today and make the choice
of the place of enunciation highly important. This genre is the public discussion, common on
the electronic media and available to wide audiences. Here, not only modes of address but also
the control of the turn-taking and the content and length of the contribution are crucial to both the
form and the outcome of the interaction. The difficulty for the potential translator or interpreter
springs from the fact that typically, the participants and the moderator are taken as equals and
proximal but on a footing very different from that inherent in the culture outside the studio and
outlined above. They may or may not have been known to each other informally prior to the
event but for the purpose of the discussion what matters is that they are related solely through
the topic and their relation to the argument, whatever personal ties and hierarchies among them
there might exist otherwise. Does the translator affiliate herself with the culture inside or outside
the studio? Consequently, if there is a difference between the norms of T or V use in the source
and target culture, which does she choose?
To offer a tentative answer to these questions in line with Tymoczkos position, I offer an
example where there is a great divergence between the two norms and their cultural
underpinnings. This is a discussion which is part of the BBC radio series Things We Forgot to
Remember
15
and which was offered for analysis and translation to Masters students of
translation at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
16
In it, the moderator Chris Williams
addresses each question to one of the participants and openly signals this by beginning or
ending an interrogative sentence with the first name of the addressee. For instance:

15
http://media.open2.net/things_forgot_2/ep4_communities.mp3
16 The experience with this particular text has grown into a sample session plan for the PICT Project (Promoting
Intercultural Competence in Translators), of which Sofia University is a partner institution. See http://www.pictllp.eu.

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But is the community remaking Robin Hood something which has only just happened, Dan?
Jovan, can you from your own research give any indication of whether or not these attempts to
freeze memory will succeed, or are they doomed to failure? Jovan?
In the English choice and use of the first name, there is a host of unspoken assumptions and
systems of controlling both distance and face. For a Bulgarian, the use of the given name
typically calls for the T form, as does the equality and proximity of the participants. Yet for the
translator into that language, T clashes with the nature and the register of the discussion, the
fact (announced at the beginning) that the participants are experts and academics, and the
primary intended audience are the students at the Open University. The students found that
using the T form in the translation would approximate the discussion to table talk. According to
them, the T-use detracts from the seriousness of the issue, which in this particular case is the
way that national and local communities fix and transmit their views of the past. In other words, if
they position themselves in the Bulgarian culture at large, such as outlined above, they will
distance the discussion from the cultural space in which its content and discourse norms are
initially located.
Could then the first-name terms be coupled to the V honorific? The students were prompted to
approach this question by culturally locating the issue. Obviously, in the source culture it finds
truth and validity in the academic context. The same is true of the issue and the whole
discussion in the target culture. However natural might the T form seem outside the academic
environment, where the interlocutors address each other by first names or no name, the
students eventually chose V for this particular text. What is more, the norm still and uniquely
current in the Bulgarian academic environment is of using V and first name from teacher to
student, even though the coupling is non-reciprocal and students will use V and Mr/Mrs, Dr or
Prof and a surname when talking to the academic and non-academic staff. In spite of the
asymmetry, the emphasis in both directions is on formality, on preserving the others face and
the weight is on V (commonly expressed in Bulgarian in the verbal and adjectival endings) rather
than on the name or the title. To enact and signal the shift from informal to more formal,
therefore, and to naturalise and yet retain the sense of the target culture environment of the
discussion, the students came up with further transformations and relevant adjustments in their
translations. They suggested, for instance, extending the invitation to speak contained in the
single name Jovan? to Whats your opinion, Jovan? or I address my question to you, Dan,
where the pronoun or the V verbal ending will make this shift even more pronounced.
The choice of the honorific V rather than the informal T in the above example places the
Bulgarian translator of the discussion in the contact zone between the source British culture
and the target Bulgarian culture. And this is by no means a space empty of tensions or dynamics
of power and distance. At every step of the decision-making process, the translator has to
consider the implications of her choice for the target audience and for herself. This is certainly
a risky position as regards his or her sense of identity, especially when the discussion or debate
has for its subject issues of the day, which might evoke serious public reactions to the relative
positions of the interlocutors. What this example also shows, however, is that the culture of
academic interaction has the potential to empower the translator because it is not purely local in

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geographical or ideological terms. It is Tymoczkos third culture which comprises both the local
and the source culture. Academic culture has been formed as the comprehensive third one as
a result of globalisation, which has made possible academic exchange of people and research
both in the physical and the virtual space. In this third culture the activity of translation takes on
an ethical significance as well, promoting the sharing of ideas and of perspectives rather than
using the topic as a weapon, which is often the case in the contact zone. By making explicit
that it is not carried out in an uncertain space in between, but in a concrete space at,
translation therefore exceeds its immediate pragmatic purpose. It becomes a way to hone the
skill of seeing, understanding, and preserving the autonomy and the dignity of the self and the
other which is what cultural contact should do.




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TRAN*LATIN) AND MEDIATIN) ?ET<EEN CULTURE*: THE ?UL)ARIAN
E@PERIENCE <ITHIN THE PICT PROHECT
by Assoc. Prof. Wel!a Jatalan, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Karia Stoicheva, PhD, Assist.
Prof. Xi#olina Fsvet#ova, PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#i9

Any of us who have had to grapple for example with a problem with the water pipes at home will
need little convincing that to do the job effectively, it is not enough to have once or twice held a
screwdriver in our hands. Most, I am sure, will call in a professional plumber, checking his
qualifications carefully before entrusting him with the job. Yet when it comes to translation and
interpretation, it is surprising how many people still abide by the myth that anyone who has been
through a course of the respective foreign language at school will be able to do the job to a
satisfactory degree. Still, translation generates perhaps more revenue than home plumbing on a
worldwide basis. In the EU alone the figures are awe-inspiring: the value of the translation and
interpreting sector in 2008 was 5.7 billion euro, that of dubbing and subtitling was 633 million
euro and the annual growth 10 per cent.
17

The labour market for translators is therefore growing, in spite of the financial and economic
crisis, and so is the need for qualified professionals capable of meeting the challenges posed by
an increasingly globalized communication. To promote the implementation of commonly
accepted and market-oriented standards, the DGT initiated and developed the European Master
of Translation project. Its goal is to provide organizational help and to stimulate universities to
create a quality benchmark. One of the first results was the production of EMT quality standards,
based on the set of Competences for professional translators, experts in multilingual and
multimedia communication, prepared by a working group in 2009.
18

The Competences were devised as a reference framework to serve the designing and
implementing the education of translators at a Masters level in universities. The term
competence is used in the meaning of the combination of aptitudes, knowledge, behaviour
and knowhow necessary to carry out a given task under given conditions. This combination is
recognised and legitimised by a responsible authority (institution, expert) (3). The framework
comprises six competences with the understanding that they are interrelated and
interdependent. At the core of them is translation service provision, with its two subdimensions
interpersonal and production. The other five competences include: language, intercultural,
information mining, technological and thematic. The intercultural competence, which is our focus
of interest, similarly comprises two subdimensions sociolinguistic and textual.


17
Studies on Translation and Multilinguism: The Size of the Language Industry. Study Report for DGT at the EC,
2009, http://ec.europa.eu/languages/news/pdf/language-industry-study_en.pdf
18 Gambier, Yves et al. Competences for professional translators, experts in multilingual and multimedia communication.
Brussels, 2009. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/emt/key_documents/emt_competences_translators_en.pdf

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INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
(the dual perspective sociolinguistic and textual is in the comparison of and contrast between
discursive practices in A, B and C)

SOCIOLINGUISTIC dimension
- Knowing how to recognise function and
meaning in language variations (social,
geographical, historical, stylistic)
- Knowing how to identify the rules for interaction
relating to a specific community, including non-
verbal elements (useful knowledge for
negotiation)
- Knowing how to produce a register appropriate
to a given situation, for a particular document
(written) or speech (oral)

TEXTUAL dimension
- Knowing how to understand and analyse
the macrostructure of a document and its
overall coherence (including where it
consists of visual and sound elements)
- Knowing how to grasp the
presuppositions, the implicit, allusions,
stereotypes and intertextual nature of a
document
- Knowing how to describe and evaluate
ones problems with comprehension and
define strategies for resolving those
problems
- Knowing how to extract and summarise
the essential information in a document
(ability to summarise)
- Knowing how to recognise and identify
elements, values and references proper to
the cultures represented
- Knowing how to bring together and
compare cultural elements and methods of
composition
- Knowing how to compose a document in
accordance with the conventions of the
genre and rhetorical standards
- Knowing how to draft, rephrase,
restructure, condense, and post-edit rapidly
and well (in languages A and B)

Looking at the knowledge and skills required in the Intercultural Competence rubric, we can see
that the knowledge of cultures is the element which underlies all the rest. For instance, to grasp
the presuppositions, the implicit allusions, stereotypes and intertextual nature of a document
requires the ability to see the document not just as a (hopefully) well-formed text but as one
existing within the context of a complex of cultural phenomena and processes. And this
existence must be equally functional in both the source and the target cultures. That is why the
PICT project set itself the goal of finding adequate forms and methods to teach future translators
the awareness of the distinctions between those two or more cultures and the translators role as

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a mediator between them, both from a professional and a personality perspective. To do so, the
PICT project team proposes sample teaching sessions focusing on three subdimensions:
theoretical, textual and interpersonal.
The understanding of the intercultural competence for translators outlined above is in line with
the Key competences for lifelong learning
19
which are defined as a combination of knowledge,
skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. They are particularly necessary for personal
fulfilment and development, social inclusion, active citizenship and employment. Broadly
speaking, the proposed theoretical dimension correlates with knowledge about culture and
translation studies i.e. of intercultural communication core concepts, conceptual tools for
analysing the intercultural relations, etc. The textual dimension focuses on the skills needed to
understand and interpret the more and the less subtle manifestations of cultures in a text. These
include the skills of comparing and contrasting issues related to source and target culture
audiences, of analysing lexical and syntactic features in an intercultural perspective, skills of
addressing issues of non-equivalence in a text, or of recognising and managing the impact of the
translators internalised culture and emotional reaction to elements of the source culture and
text. The interpersonal dimension is thus related to cultural awareness and empathy manifested
in social exchange, curiosity and pro-activeness in all forms of contact with other cultures,
sensitivity to affects and potential conflicts in communication
20
.
The framework proposed by the PICT project is inspired by Byrams model of the Intercultural
Speaker. Byrams view, developed in his book Teaching and Assessing Intercultural
Communicative Competence (1997), is that native speaker competence is not adequate to the
complex requirements of modern life, in addition to being an unrealistic target of any process of
teaching and learning a language.
His concept of the intercultural speaker is built on the understanding of intercultural
communicative competence as a complex entity of intercultural relations (savoir tre),
knowledge of social groups and practices in both the target and home cultures (savoirs), skills of
interpreting and relating (savoir comprendre), skills of discovery and interaction (savoir
apprendre/faire), and critical cultural awareness (savoir sengager), which comprises abilities to
evaluate perspectives, practices and products of both home and target cultures (Byram: 1997).
The process of translating is never only related to rendering meaning from one language into
another but is always related to translating from one culture into another. Translators
themselves therefore have to mediate between these cultures bearing in mind the confines of
their own.
In order to emphasise this never ending to-and-fro journey that a translator is on while dealing
with a translation, we have formulated the concept of the Intercultural Mediator
21
as one who
possesses theoretical knowledge of cultures and is conceptually equipped with the tools needed
to understand the intercultural issues of translation, who is able to interpret genres and text

19
Key Competences for Lifelong Learning: European Reference Framework -
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/lifelong_learning/c11090_en.htm
20
Promoting Intercultural Competence for Translators: Curriculum Framework - http://www.pictllp.eu/project-
outcomes/curriculum-framework/
21
The idea of a translator as mediator is, of course, not new. See Katan (12). However, we are focusing on the figure
of the Intercultural Mediator from the point of view of his/her intercultural competence.

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conventions in an intercultural perspective and is ready to suspend judgement and be open
towards others ways and to apply social positioning as need be.


These three dimensions (and the four subdivisions of each) of the Intercultural Mediators
competence are in a complex interrelation and cannot exist in isolation. Although the PICT
Curriculum Framework provides clear guidelines for assessing each of them individually, it is
only when displayed in combination in the practice of negotiating, discussing and finally
translating a text that they lead to truly intercultural competence.

The intercultural mediator is seen as displaying knowledge, skills/abilities or attitudes in the
following spheres: theoretical, textual and interpersonal, each of which is further specified in a
grid where descriptors are also provided to guide teachers along measuring the level of
attainment of MA translation students intercultural knowledge, skills/abilities or attitudes. Thus
the framework can also be used as a guide towards assessment of intercultural competence for
translators.
Another key premise underlying the project aims is that the dimensions in their interrelation will
be visible and measurable mostly in the metatexts produced by students, as they comment on
the tasks they are given and on their results. In effect it extends from the context of text to that of
culture Maria Tymoczkos view of translation, formulated in her seminal article Ideology and the
Position of the Translator - In What Sense Is a Translator In Between?Translation, she writes,
is a metastatement about the source text, a statement about the source text that constitutes a
comment on the source text (215). Thus the competence standard we are working towards
includes the ability to identify firstly the culture-boundedness of the context of the situation in
which translation as doubly-oriented communication takes place, the translators own position in
it and the intercultural dynamic that a given translation is going to participate in. Attention is also

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given to the complex network of cultural perspectives when each of these languages is
approached from a plurilingual perspective that is, as loaded with cultural meanings that
inevitably reach beyond the boundaries of one single culture.
To illustrate our approach and the procedures we propose for achieving the goals formulated
above, we will offer here two samples of the material we have developed for sessions focusing
on the theoretical dimension. A survey carried out at the initial stage of the PICT project showed
that many Masters programmes in translation do not include a special module on Intercultural
Competence and/or favour an integrated approach, in which the development of the relevant
skills is incorporated into the course in translation of different genres. That is why we offer
suggestions for both approaches through a stand-alone module and through integration into
another course. The structure of the session plan also includes information on and brief
summaries of the theoretical source(s) used to back up the actual class work. It should be taken
into consideration that the content of the session is provisional, adaptable to the students level
and needs and is proposed either as material to be applied directly or as a model for devising
one or more sessions focusing on the dimensions and subdimensions announced at the
beginning.
The first sample is aimed at students of translation who are at the initial stage of their studies
and is meant to be used as part of a stand-alone module although certain adaptations will make
it suitable for an integrated approach as well. In terms of learning targets, it seeks to establish a
common understanding of some basic intercultural studies terms, i.e. culture, and introduces the
notions of large and small culture. The approach is markedly student-centered and the
teacher mostly monitors the students work and provides prompts if needed.
Students start off by writing definitions of culture, then compare and discuss these definitions in
pairs. As a result, they produce revised definitions in the light of the views on culture as the
substance which provides the software of human brains without which most human behaviours
would seem random, unpredictable or even meaningless to others (Seeley in Fantini 23).
The next task introduces Hollidays large-versus-small culture paradigm (240-242). Students
brainstorm definitions of nationalities on their own, then compare them in pairs and identify the
underlying overgeneralisations and stereotypes. Next, in a whole-group discussion, they
disprove them drawing on personal experience, thus dealing in practice with the essentialist and
confining effects of the large culture paradigm.
Finally, in groups of 3 or 4, using the ideas discussed in the previous tasks, students draw a
picture of the Masters of translation they are part of as a small culture and present it in class.
This material is logically related to a whole set of materials dealing with the theoretical
subdimesion presented above (such as the Iceberg of Culture, identities, etc.) and reflects the
PICT Survey findings about the approaches to teaching intercultural issues most favoured by
students, i.e. through reflection, self-reflection and solving practical tasks.
The second sample is meant for advanced students of translation, as in the integrated-approach
version it leads to practical translation work on a text of considerable complexity - The Inkblot
Protests published in the online edition of The Economist
(http://www.economist.com/node/21531481). The learning outcomes include core concepts of

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the theory of intercultural communication but also the focus on the cultural context of translation
(e.g. differences between professional translation practices in several countries, implications for
translators, etc.). The importance of this subdimension will emerge as the students discuss and
compare editorial practices in their home and target cultures and the format in which the
translation of a text of topical political interest, such as The Inkblot Protests, might finds its place
on the pages of the print or social media. In addition, the session plan intends to develop the
students awareness of the links between Intercultural Communication Theory and Translation
Studies, especially through highlighting cultural subjectivity and the translators personal
visibility.
The theoretical text underpinning the session plan is Maria Tymoczkos seminal article, already
mentioned here, Ideology and the Position of the Translator - In What Sense Is a Translator In
Between?. The session plan includes a summary of this article and an explanation of the
allusion of the title The Inkblot Protests to the Rorschach test. Before the session, the students
are given the home assignment to find and bring in reports and/or visual material on street
protests, in their country or abroad. They should note down the slogans raised by the protesters.
As the session begins, students are asked to imagine themselves in the place of one of the
protesters and to describe what is happening and what the protest is about to a person from
their own culture. Then they have to do the same but this time for a visitor from abroad and
should translate the slogans into the target language. Based on differences in the choice of
words, their semantics and/or emotional colouring, they should try to identify the speakers
position as participant in the events and then as translator. This stage is conducted in small
groups.
At the following stage, the whole-class discussion, a corpus of semantically loaded language is
compiled from the students reports. This leads to a debate on the translators ideological
position with regard to both the source and the target culture. In the follow-up, the students
debate the ethical issues emerging from their stance and their responsibilities both as citizens
and as translation professionals.
This material is better suited for integration into a practical course in translation of journalistic
texts or a course in text analysis for translation purposes. In this case, the students are assigned
the translation of the text for homework. During a further session, they can be asked to discuss
questions such as: What magazine or journal in your country is a translation of this text likely to
appear in? What changes might you need to make in order to bring the text into conformity with
its house linguistic and stylistic norms? Would these changes involve the use of or the
departure from the clichs and the language of stereotyping constructing the cultural myths the
West and the East?
The Curriculum Framework developed by the PICT project team easily provides the approach
and the structure of quality learning materials aimed at developing intercultural competence in
Masters students of translation and supports their teachers in assessing it. Going back to the
plumbing comparison from the beginning of the paper, the PICT project provides the conditions
for the right tools for the job to be used in the process of translating professionally. These are the
tools necessary to a modern Intercultural Mediator who is able and called upon to identify,

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interpret and render the underlying cultural substance of the texts he or she works with and the
contexts he or she functions in.


References:

- Byram, Michael. Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.
Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 1997.

- Gambier, Yves et al. Competences for professional translators, experts in multilingual
and multimedia communication. Brussels, 2009.
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/emt/key_documents/emt_competences_
translators_en.pdf

- Holliday, Adrian. Small Cultures. In: Oxford Journals: Applied Linguistics, 1999, Volume
20, Issue 2, 237-264.

- Katan, David. Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and
Mediators. Manchester: St Jerome Publishing, 1999.

- Key Competences for Lifelong Learning: European Reference Framework.
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/education_training_youth/lifelong_learning/c1109
0_en.htm

- Promoting Intercultural Competence for Translators: Curriculum Framework.
http://www.pictllp.eu/project-outcomes/curriculum-framework/

- Studies on Translation and Multilinguism: The Size of the Language Industry. Study
Report for DGT at the EC, 2009, http://ec.europa.eu/languages/news/pdf/language-
industry-study_en.pdf

- Seeley, Ned. Cultural Goals for Achieving Intercultural Communicative Competence. In
Fantini, A. (ed.), New Ways of Teaching Culture. Bloomington, Illinois, TESOL, Inc.,
1997, 22-26.

- Tymoczko, Maria. Ideology and the Position of the Translator - In What Sense Is a
Translator In Between? In Critical Readings in Translation Studies. In Baker, Mona
(ed.), Routledge: London and New York, 2009, 213228.

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BULGARIAN LANGUAGE POLICY AND THE LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE OF
BULGARIAN CITIZENS ON THE BASIS OF EUROPEAN SUREYS
by Ms. Penka Hristova, PhD Candidate at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

Abstract:
The language policy of the EU strives for the maintenance of equality among languages and the
spread of linguistic diversity a policy which represents the EU's underlying principles respect
for diversity and equality among the members. Bulgaria is one of the countries with traditional
linguistic diversity in school education six foreign languages are officially taught in high school
and Bulgaria has a long-standing tradition in foreign language teaching. However, Special
Eurobarometer 386 Europeans and their Languages from June 2012 shows a sharp decrease
in the ability of Bulgarian citizens to speak more than one language. This paper will study
Bulgarian Ministry of Educations legislative and strategic documents for foreign language
education in schools and will examine the data provided by recent surveys on linguistic
competence of Bulgarian people, trying to find the possible reasons for the discrepancy between
policy and practice.

1. Introduction

According to Special Eurobarometer 386
22
, 73% of the Bulgarians agree that every European
citizen should speak more than one foreign language. But is this the actual situation in Bulgaria?
The starting point of this paper will be the results of two major European surveys, namely the
Special Eurobarometer 386 from June 2012 and the European Survey on Language
Competence from 2011. Although Bulgarias accession to EU presupposes increased mobility of
Bulgarian citizens and hence enhanced abilities to speak foreign languages, surprisingly the
data of this survey shows a dramatic decrease in Bulgarian citizens ability to speak foreign
languages. This is why this paper is going to review the Bulgarian language policy
23
in order to
determine if there are formal constraints to the plurilingualism
24
of Bulgarian citizens and to give
some explanations for the demonstrated results.

22
Eurobarometer 386 Special. Europeans and their Languages. June 2012.
<http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_399_380_en.htm#386>
23
We are going to adopt Stoichevas definition of language policy as a concept related to the languages in
education not limited to foreign language studying, but also including teaching through foreign languages,
and using them for other educational purposes (Stoicheva 2006). In her further publications she states
there is a constant pressure for expanding this concept (Stoicheva 2011).
24
Ability of the individual to speak more than one language.

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2. Data from European surveys on languages (the Bulgarian case)

Special Eurobarometer 386
Special Eurobarometer 386 Europeans and their Languages was carried out among the
Member States of the European Union in February and March 2012. The results show that
Bulgaria is a monolingual country with 95% of respondents having Bulgarian as their mother
tongue. As to the ability of Bulgarians to speak foreign languages, only 48% of Bulgarian citizens
answered that they speak at least one language well enough to be able to have a conversation.
This is 11% less than the previous Eurobarometer dedicated to languages
25
, and 6% less than
the EU-average. In addition, the number of people speaking no foreign languages at all has
risen to 52% (which is 11% more than in 2005). Just 19% answered that they speak at least two
foreign languages (12% less than in 2005). There is also a decrease in the number of people
speaking at least three foreign languages (4% in 2012, 8% in 2005).

According to the Survey, the foreign languages spoken in Bulgaria are English (25%), Russian
(23%) and German (8%), followed by French and Spanish (2% each). The high percentage of
Russian (which is 5% higher than the EU-average) is a result of the traditional teaching of
Russian in Bulgaria during the 45-year totalitarian regime. However, Bulgaria is given as an
example for one of the most significant drops in Russian: The decrease since 2005 amounts to
12%.

Obviously, the most common foreign language in Bulgaria is English (25%), which is less than
the EU average (38%), but still is indicative of the common EU trend to use English as a lingua
franca
26
. As regards the other languages in the linguistic repertoire of the Bulgarians (English,
German, French and Spanish) these are spoken less frequently than the EU-average.

The majority of Bulgarian citizens (57%) consider English the most important language for them,
but again this is still less than the EU-average of 67%. Also, the Bulgarian results have
witnessed a drop since 2005 of 8%. Moreover, Bulgaria is given as an example of one of the
countries where English is mentioned as least useful. Bulgaria is also mentioned as one of the
countries where French is considered least useful (5%). As to the other foreign languages: the
declared usefulness of German has slumped from 34% in 2005 to 20% in 2012, and there has
been only a slight increase for Spanish, Italian (+2% each) and Russian (+3%). An increasing
number of Bulgarians do not consider any foreign language useful (24%, +8% compared to the
results in 2005).

When asked which language they think is most useful for children to learn for their future, 90% of
Bulgarians answered English (compared to 79% in the EU-average).

25
Eurobarometer 237 Special. Europeans and Languages. September 2005.
<http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf>
26
For more details on the different aspects of English as a lingua franca, see Crystal 1997, Seidlhofer
2002, Stoicheva 2006, Dewey 2007, Jenkins 2009.

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European Survey on Language Competences
The other survey which will be analysed by this paper is the first European Survey on Language
Competences carried out in 2011 among students at level ISCED 2 or ISCED 3
27
from the
following fourteen European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Greece,
Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and UK-England). The aim of
the Survey is to provide participating countries with comparative data on foreign language
competence and insights into good practice in language teaching
28
.

The levels of reference are those from the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages: teaching, learning and assessment (CEFR)
29
. The term basic user has been
adopted to describe the users having achieved levels A1 and A2 and independent user for
those having achieved levels B1 and B2. Additionally, beginner (Pre-A level) is used to
designate the abilities of those who have not achieved the level of competence described by A1.

The Survey assessed the writing, reading and listening skills of students in the two most widely
taught languages (the so-called first foreign language and second foreign language) in the
respective country. The following languages where therefore considered: English, German,
French, Spanish and Italian.

The average results from the participating countries show that 44% of people can be described
as basic users of the first foreign language, while 42% reach the level of an independent user.
55% are basic users of the second foreign language, while the independent users reach only
25%.

In Bulgaria the first foreign language is English and the second is German. The results show that
45% are basic users of English, and 35% independent users. As for the second foreign
language (German), there 54% are basic users and 21% independent users.

It is obvious from both surveys that the majority of the Bulgarian citizens surveyed and high-
school Bulgarian students assessed are not independent users of foreign languages. English is
seen by Bulgarians as a language of the future, a lingua franca, but even so, only 25% of
Bulgarians master it at a level to hold a conversation and only 35% of high-school students are
independent users of English. In relation to this fact, we are going to review the Bulgarian
language policy in order to search for some explanations of these results.


27
This means either last year of lower secondary education or second year of upper secondary education.
28
European Commission. (2012). First European Survey on Language Competences. Executive
Summary. p. 3. <http://ec.europa.eu/languages/eslc/docs/en/executive-summary-eslc_en.pdf>
29
Functional competence is defined in terms of six levels: A1 basic, A2 advanced basic, B1
independent user, B2 advanced independent, C1 and C2 proficient user.

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3. Bulgarian language policy foreign language teaching in schools

According to Art. 3 of the Bulgarian Constitution
30
from 1991, the official language of Bulgaria
is Bulgarian, and according to Art. 36, the citizens for whom Bulgarian is not the mother tongue
have the right to study their own mother tongue, along with the compulsory study of Bulgarian.

According to Pachev (Pachev 2006), Bulgarian language policy has always been directed at
consolidating the national unity and at guaranteeing the linguistic rights of Bulgarian citizens. For
the purposes of this paper we are not going to review the language policy concerning mother
tongues in Bulgaria, but the policy regulating personal multilingualism (plurilingualism) of
Bulgarian citizens (achieved mostly through education), as it is related to the results described
above.

Legislative documents
The structure, function and management of the Bulgarian educational system are regulated by
the Public Education Act of 1991.
31
It stipulates the types of schools and kindergartens, the
stages of education and the state educational requirements. Secondary education is completed
after a successful matriculation exam, which is in Bulgarian Language and Literature and one of
the following subjects: Foreign Language, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, Chemistry,
History, Biology and Philosophy. This shows that foreign languages have equal status with other
general subjects.

Art. 15, Para. 2 of the Rules for the Application of Public Education Act
32
stipulates that in
schools where foreign languages are taught intensively, general subjects are taught in the
respective foreign language, if this is provided in the curriculum. This shows a positive tendency
for compliance with the Action Plan 2004-2006 of European Commission
33
concerning the
promotion of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).

Ordinance 26 from 2001 on the distribution of school time for achieving the general
education minimum by classes, stages and levels of education
34
stipulates the number of
classes required for the education minimum in the school subjects, as well as the type of

30
K P Er. <http://www.parliament.bg/bg/const>
31
3 .
<http://www.mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/en/left_menu/acts/Public_Education_Act.pdf>
32
R r .
<http://www.minedu.government.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/regulations/prvlnk_z
kn_prosveta.pdf>
33
European Commission. (2004). Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity. Action Plan
2002-04. Luxemburg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
<http://www.saaic.sk/eu-label/doc/2004-06_en.pdf>
34
N 6 28.05.2001 r. r
, .
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/process/nrdb_6-
01_razpr_uchebno_verme.pdf>

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subjects in terms of their compulsory character. Achieving the education minimum is attainable
by studying the school subjects in the instruction time allotted for compulsory schooling.
According to the Appendix of Ordinance N6, the compulsory number of classes in foreign
languages is 986 698 in primary school and 288 in secondary school. The Ordinance sets out
that compulsory education in the first foreign language starts in the second grade in school (at
the age of 8), and the second one in the ninth grade (at the age of 15). However, there is an
option to start studying the first foreign language in the first grade, and the second one at the
junior high school level, at the age of eleven.

This document shows that the legislation in the Bulgarian foreign education policy is in
compliance with the goals of the Barcelona Council in 2002
35
on studying mother tongue plus
two foreign languages. However, this practice was introduced in Bulgaria as early as in the
1940s and Bulgaria has a long tradition in compulsory foreign language education as a result of
Bulgarias geopolitical and cultural orientation (Stoicheva & Stefanova 2012).

Ordinance 22 on the educational content
36
determines the levels of general education at the
end of the educational stages. The educational minimum includes the skills and abilities
evaluated as students results in the subjects. Pursuant to Art. 10 of the Level of Education,
General Education minimum and the Curriculum Act
37
, the school subjects are divided into eight
cultural and educational fields (Bulgarian Language and Culture, Foreign Languages,
Mathematics and Informatics, Social Sciences and Civil Education, Natural Sciences and
Ecology, Arts, Technologies and Sports) and are regulated by eight appendices of the
Ordinance.

Appendix 22 regulates the education content of foreign languages. It lists the subjects in the
cultural and educational field Foreign Languages, namely English, French, German, Italian,
Russian and Spanish. The aim of this field is to prepare the students to communicate with
people from other cultural and linguistic communities, to teach them to look for, find and
understand information from sources in foreign languages, to enhance their linguistic culture and
to develop abilities for further individual study of foreign languages. These broad aims are made
more concrete by the development of communicative competence, the ability to perceive oral
and written speech and the production of oral and written statements.

This Appendix regulates the state education requirements for foreign languages at the end of
each educational stage. They basically correspond to the functional writing, reading, listening
and speaking skills related to each stage of the Common European Framework of Reference

35
Presidency Conclusions. Barcelona European Council. 15
th
and 16
th
March 2002.
<http://ec.europa.eu/languages/documents/doc4794_en.pdf>
36
N2 18.05.2000 r. .
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/process/nrdb_2-
00_uch_sadarjanie.pdf>
37
3 , .
<http://www.mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/law/zkn_obr_minimun.pdf>

ICC the international language association 2013
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(CEFR). However, there is no full correspondence between the description of the Bulgarian state
requirements for foreign languages and that of CEFR functional skills. Also, there are concerns
that CEFR concepts are not integrated into learning and teaching practices (Stoicheva &
Stefanova 2012).

Strategic documents
The National Programme for development of school education and preschool education
(2006-2015)
38
aims to formulate national goals for the school education and preschool education
and to develop measures for their accomplishment. The Programme outlines two major goals:
equal access to education and quality education. The measures are focused on the process of
education and upbringing. In relation to foreign language policy, there are measures providing
additional optional classes in 8
th
grade for foreign languages, information technologies and
vocational training. Also, the Programme provides external evaluation with the purpose of better
quality in education.

The Programme for development of education, science and youth policies in the Republic
of Bulgaria (2009-2013)
39
focuses on the idea of building a competitive European educational
and research environment in Bulgaria, stimulating each individual in their creative and
professional development. The strategic directions for 2009-2013 are achieving European
quality of education, providing equal access to education, developing conditions and
environment for the Lifelong Learning practices, stimulating the young people's participation in
sectoral policies and turning Bulgaria into a country with a knowledge- and innovation-driven
economy.

There are no explicit priorities concerning foreign language education, but there are certain key
measures (regarding the achievement of European quality in Bulgarian education) that have a
direct impact on foreign language education, namely introducing external evaluation in schools,
developing syllabuses with Content and Language Integrated Learning and international school
exchanges.

National Lifelong Learning Strategy (2008-2013)
40
is in compliance with the Lifelong Learning
Programme
41
and is a result of the European Council's call for coherent national strategies in

38
r
r.
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies/programa_obrazovanie.pdf>
39
Rr , P Er
(2009 2013),
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies/programa_MOMN-2009-
2013.pdf>
40
r (YUX) 2008 r. - 2013 r.,
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies/LLL_strategy_01-10-2008.pdf>
41
Established in compliance with Decision 1720/2006/EC of European Parliament and of the Council of
15 November 2006 establishing an action programme in lifelong learning, Official Journal, 24
th
November
2006, <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:327:0045:0068:EN:PDF>

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this area. The Strategy's goal is to create conditions for each Bulgarian citizen to develop their
individual and professional knowledge, skills and abilities for improving their personal well-being
and the national economy competitiveness. All the proposed actions (throughout all the stages
of personal development) are based on professional competences (professional skills of the
individual) and key competences (basic skills necessary to every employed individual, including
communication in foreign languages). The Strategy provides for various actions concerning the
development of foreign language skills (formal and informal education, CLIL, teacher training
etc.).

4. Conclusions

The conclusions that can be drawn from the Bulgarian language policy documents concerning
foreign language teaching and learning are that there are no formal legislative or strategic
constraints to the ability of Bulgarian citizens to speak foreign languages. The laws and
strategies are harmonized with the basic goals of European multilingualism policy (two foreign
languages at school, CLIL, external evaluation, Lifelong Learning Strategy).

However, still there are some practical constraints that negatively affect Bulgarians ability to be
more multilingual and which could be the reasons for the demonstrated linguistic results:
1) Language planning is related to many demographic, social, economic and political
factors (Stoicheva 2006). Statistical data from 2011 shows a deteriorated demographic
situation in Bulgaria, characterized by a decrease in birth rates and an increase of the
percentage of elderly people (65+).
42
The mean age of the population is 42.7 years,
which explains the fact that Russian is so popular among Bulgarians, and English is still
not as popular as it is in other European countries (although its importance is
acknowledged). It might therefore be argued that as the number of younger people
(participating in the contemporary educational system) decreases, fewer people will
speak European languages.
2) The political situation in Bulgaria before 1989 and the marginalization of western
languages (Stoicheva & Stefanova 2012) could also help explain the poor results of the
Eurobarometer Survey, which interviewed mostly people above the age of 15.
3) The economic situation in Bulgaria could also be a possible reason for reduced travel
abroad and hence a diminished use of foreign languages in conversation.
4) According to Shopov, the whole educational system should be bound to the Lifelong
Learning Programme, as Bulgarian education still follows the classic humanistic model
(Shopov 2008). LLP would help individuals at all stages of personal development to
obtain and maintain professional and key competences. Such a strategy is developed in
Bulgaria, but obviously there are no practical results concerning the Bulgarians ability to
speak foreign languages.

42
National Statistical Institute. Statistical Reference Book 2012.
<http://statlib.nsi.bg:8181/FullT/FulltOpen/SRB_7_5_2011_2012.pdf>

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5) The results of the European Survey on Language Competences cover high-school
students and can be explained with the application of current language policy in Bulgaria.
Shopov focuses on the need for teacher training, especially for the early foreign
language teaching (Shopov 2008). Lack of teachers adequate training and motivation
can affect students performance.
6) The potential of Content and Language Integrated Learning is still not fully developed
(Shopov 2008), although it exists as an objective and has at least been partially used in
Bulgarian foreign language secondary schools.
7) The lack of multilingualism in Bulgaria with specific measures and actions could also be a
reason for the discrepancy between the language legislative framework and practice.
8) Last but not least, the Common European Framework of Reference is not sufficiently
integrated in the Bulgarian educational system and it has not yet become a reference tool
for language teachers there are neglected concepts, low contextualization and a
certain lack of language skills correspondence (Stoicheva & Stefanova 2012).

While this list of possible explanations for the discouraging results in the ability of Bulgarian
citizens to speak foreign languages is not exhaustive, it outlines certain negative trends
concerning Bulgarian language education policy and can provide grounds for further analysis.

References:

Books and articles
- R, A. (2006).
. : PL.

- , M. (.) (2011). E . Er E. :
Y . K O.

- , M. (2006) . : Y
. K O.

- L, . (2008). : , , . Err:
M .

- Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

- Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.


ICC the international language association 2013
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- Dewey, M. (2007). English as a lingua franca and globalization: An interconnected
perspective. In: International Journal of Applied Linguistics,17 (3), pp. 332-354.

- Jenkins, J. (2009). English as a lingua franca: interpretations and attitudes. In: World
Englishes, Vol. 28, N2, pp. 200-207.

- Seidlhofer, B. (2002). The shape of things to come? Some basic questions about
English as a lingua franca. In: K. Knapp & C. Meierkord (Eds.), Lingua franca
communication (pp. 269-302). Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang.

- Stoicheva, M. & P. Stefanova (2012) Academic Perspective from Bulgaria. In: Byram,
M. & L. Parmenter (eds.) The Common European Framework of Reference: the
globalization of language education policy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
.
Acts, ordinances, regulations
- 3 .
<http://www.mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/en/left_menu/acts/Public_Education_Act.
pdf>

- 3 , .
<http://www.mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/law/zkn_obr_mini
mun.pdf>

- K P Er. ., , . 56/13.07.1991 r.
<http://www.parliament.bg/bg/const>

- N2 18.05.2000 r. . ., , .
48/13.06.2000 r.
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/process/nrdb_2-
00_uch_sadarjanie.pdf>

- N 6 28.05.2001 r. r
, . .,
, . 54/15.06.2001 r.
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/process/nrdb_6-
01_razpr_uchebno_verme.pdf>

- R r . .,
, . 68/30.07.1999 r.
<http://www.minedu.government.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/reg
ulations/prvlnk_zkn_prosveta.pdf>

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Strategies, action plans, national programmes, decisions, reports
- r
r (2006-2015).
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies/programa_obr
azovanie.pdf>

- r (YUX) 2008 r. - 2013
r. <http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies
/LLL_strategy_01-10-2008.pdf>

- Rr ,
P Er (2009 2013).
<http://mon.bg/opencms/export/sites/mon/left_menu/documents/strategies/programa_M
OMN-2009-2013.pdf>

- Decision 1720/2006/EC of European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November
2006 establishing an action programme in lifelong learning, Official Journal, 24
th

November 2006. <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=
OJ:L:2006:327:0045:0068:EN:PDF>

- Eurobarometer 237 Special. Europeans and Languages. September 2005. -
<http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf>

- Eurobarometer 386 Special. Europeans and their Languages. June 2012.
<http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_399_380_en.htm#386>

- European Commission. (2004). Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity.
Action Plan 2002-04. Luxemburg: Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities. <http://www.saaic.sk/eu-label/doc/2004-06_en.pdf>

- European Commission. (2012). First European Survey on Language Competences.
Executive Summary. <http://ec.europa.eu/languages/eslc/docs/en/executive-summary-
eslc_en.pdf>

- National Statistical Institute. Statistical Reference Book 2012.
<http://statlib.nsi.bg:8181/FullT/FulltOpen/SRB_7_5_2011_2012.pdf>

- Presidency Conclusions. Barcelona European Council. 15
th
and 16
th
March 2002.
<http://ec.europa.eu/languages/documents/doc4794_en.pdf>


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INTERCULTURAL LEARNIN) <ITHIN THE PE*TALOIII PRO)RAMME OG
THE COUNCIL OG EUROPE D A $epo$t on t(e 'eEnote speec( bE Hosef
Hbe$B Head of t(e PestaloJJ! P$o"$amme
by Anthony MitRpatric#, IJJ V the international lanCEaCe association

Josef Hubers talk opened the proceedings of the conference on Sunday morning. He spoke to a
PowerPoint presentation which combined vivid visual input with thought-provoking theses and
suggestions. His presentation style was greatly appreciated and was inspiring to follow.
He interwove theoretical considerations with practical examples
of how these can be translated into our everyday lives and
teaching. In particular, he pointed out that culture - and
discourse about intercultural matters - is often used as a
smokescreen to hide social and economic injustice, and that the
focus of current education practice is all too often on the
transmission of knowledge when it would be so important to
focus (also) on the development of attitudes and values. Many
of the ideas and expressions which he promulgated were to be
heard later in the conference in workshops, discussions and the
final debate.
In the course of his talk, he gave an overall overview of the aims
and work of the Pestalozzi Programme, which is to be found on
the website of the Council of Europe at:
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/pestalozzi/Source/AdminDocs/Flyer2013EN.pdf

More detailed information on the activities and concerns of the Council of Europe in relation to
intercultural competence can be found in the publication: Intercultural competence for all -
Preparation for living in a heterogeneous world (Pestalozzi series n2) (2012)
Synopsis.

Education which helps citizens live together in our diverse societies is a matter of urgency. We
all need to develop the ability to understand each other across all types of cultural barriers; this
is a fundamental prerequisite for making our diverse democratic societies work.
This publication looks at the development of intercultural competence as a key element of
mainstream education. It stresses the need, first and foremost, for an appropriate education
policy which puts intercultural competence at the heart of all education and, above all, for the
development, on an everyday basis, of the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge needed for
mutual understanding. Without these, no sustainable societal change is possible. The website
link for further information on this publication is to be found at:
http://book.coe.int/EN/ficheouvrage.php?PAGEID=36&lang=EN&produit_aliasid=2719

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Those who missed the speech might like to listen to two podcast interviews with Josef presented
on the Council of Europe website:
http://www.humanrightseurope.org/2012/01/podcast-how-learning-lost-its-fun/


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THE CRO** CULTURAL ACADEMIC E@PERIENCE: THE CA*E OG
?UL)ARIAN GUL?RI)HT GELLO<*
byAssist. Prof. Desislava araasenova, PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent
"hrids#i9

Abstract:
The article reports on research in progress. The study aims at recognizing the benefits and
understanding the challenges the Bulgarian Fulbright fellows faced in their teaching and
research activities at American institutions. This article highlights the challenges encountered by
the Bulgarian scholars under five headings: Challenges in the teaching process, Challenges in
interaction with colleagues, Challenges in interaction with university administrative staff,
Language challenges, Reentry challenges. These challenges speak of the differing assumptions
and value orientations of the Bulgarian scholars. Cultural specificities are prominent and should
be accounted for when scholars embark on a cross-cultural experience such as the Fulbright
program is.
The study aims to recognise the benefits and understand the challenges the Bulgarian Fulbright
fellows faced in their teaching and research activities at American institutions. Scholars are
carriers of their academic culture which is seen as systems of beliefs, expectations and
practices about how to perform academically (Carroll, 2005). Therefore, their academic culture
will affect their perspective and might lead to a need for certain adjustments. The research
project attempts to explore how the Bulgarian scholars perceive their cross-cultural academic
experience. It seeks to reveal whether the Fulbright program exchange has had an impact on
their professional and personal development.
The Fulbright Program is an international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S.
government. It was established in 1946 under legislation proposed by then senator J. William
Fulbright. As Senator Fulbright himself put it The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more
knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby
increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship. More than a
hundred Bulgarian scholars, chosen for their academic merit, have had the opportunity to pursue
research and/or lecture for 3 to 5 months at prestigious U.S. institutions under the Visiting
Scholar Grant category since the program became operational in Bulgaria in 1967.
______________________________

Research background and objectives
While the existing literature on the implications of cross-cultural work experience in the field of
corporate management is ample, the literature on the implications of academic mobility is
scarce, and even more so, the literature on how the Fulbright program visiting scholars
experienced their academic sojourn. A large-scale mail survey conducted just a few years after
the inception of the program came to the conclusion that the American participants in the
program generally bring back a host of professionally and personally desirable experiences

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which they share to the benefit of the community (Mendelsohn and Orenstein, 1954-55). The
analysis showed that lecturers and researchers appeared to have profited most from the
exchange in terms of professional contacts, stimulus to engage in further research, access to
materials (ibid.). The focus of the survey was the benefit, person-wise and society-wise, of the
Fulbright program. The researchers did not explore possible internal and external tensions and
challenges that may have arisen during the experience of a totally different cultural context,
neither were they interested in the response to such tensions and challenges, nor in the impact
such experiences may have exerted on the scholars perceptions, beliefs and behaviours.
Another research project suggests that academics might encounter cross-cultural difficulties due
to the different academic traditions and perceptions as to what constitutes a successful teaching
approach and advises in favour of accommodating ones approach in order to meet the differing
expectations of students from another cultural background (Laurence Raw, 2002).
The two aforementioned studies provide valuable insights into the implications of the Fulbright
exchange program. To the researchers knowledge, however, no such studies have explored the
Bulgarian scholars perspective regarding the Fulbright experience. As Culture consists of the
ideals, values, and assumptions about life that are widely shared and that guide specific
behaviours. (Kushner and Brislin, 1996:6), it is then inevitable that scholars from different
cultural backgrounds will have differing assumptions and value orientations. Such culturally
conditioned assumptions and orientations will affect how the scholars fare when they immerse
themselves in a different cultural context. This research project attempts to uncover the
expectations of the Bulgarian Fulbright scholars, the tensions they encountered and the
strategies they employed to handle these tensions, the adjustments they had to make during
and after their sojourn. It is the hope of the researcher to provide some insight into what
Bulgarian Fulbrighters-to-be may be facing, and thus contribute to a successful and productive
academic sojourn, to personal contentment and a feeling of well-being.

Research design
The research approach adopted for the study is Grounded Theory, which is a qualitative
research method (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Unlike the traditional model of research where the
researcher selects a theoretical framework through which to investigate the phenomenon, the
Grounded Theory method emphasizes the emergence of theoretical categories solely from the
empirical data through a process of systematic analysis and constant comparison. The
researchers goal is not the truth rather, the researcher aims at understanding the dynamics
within a particular phenomenon. The Grounded Theory method, therefore, seemed a particularly
relevant approach to the topic under investigation as it provides the researcher with the
opportunity to capture the participants lived experiences .
The selected research format is semi-structured in-depth interviews in order to provide enough
space and opportunity for the respondents to tell their stories. The first two interviews served as
orientation interviews. They were held in an unstructured way in order to elicit relevant topics for
discussion with respondents. The researcher subsequently conducted six interviews, with the
target number being at least twelve interviews in order to ensure a more comprehensive

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coverage in terms of scientific field representation, gender and age balance, period of sojourn.
Themes in the interviews were not discussed in the same order. The researcher added
questions to clarify and delve into emerging themes at the interview sessions. These questions
were subsequently asked to the other interviewees with the hope of gaining more insight into the
themes. The interviewed scholars represent the fields of economics, sociology, philosophy and
political science. Four of the respondents both lectured and did research at the American
institution while the other four only pursued research. The latter also engaged in some sort of
academic instruction activities like seminars, workshops, and lectures, but these were one-off
events. In terms of gender representation, two of the respondents are female, while as far as
age at the time of the sojourn is concerned, three respondents were in their mid-thirties, two in
their mid-forties, three in their early fifties. During the analysis the respondents were named A,
B, C, D, E, F, and G for confidentiality reasons. The interviewees spent 4 to 5 months as
Fulbright scholars. One of the respondents participated twice in the Fulbright Visiting Scholar
program.The period represented in the interviews is the Spring semester of 1999 to the Spring
semester of 2012. A broad topic list was used as a guide in the interviewing process. The
questions asked addressed the scholars motivation, expectations, impressions, internal and
external tensions during and after their Fulbright experience.

Interview results
The preliminary findings speak of a number of benefits such as access to latest scholarly
publications as there you can find anything, access to the most interesting and topical in my
field, lasting professional relations, research stimulating environment to cite but a few.
Alongside the beneficial, the respondents appear to have encountered some challenging
situations. In many cases these challenges, for the sheer fact that they had to be addressed,
were eventually recognized as a benefit. These challenges brought to a change in the scholars'
attitudes or behaviours. This article summarizes the challenges encountered by the Bulgarian
scholars under five headings. As research is still ongoing, subsequent interviews and further
analysis will most probably provide a more complete picture.

Challenges in the teaching process
Respondents who were engaged in teaching report that they encountered challenges in their
teaching activities that were due to the very different academic traditions and teacher-student
interaction style. As such accounts are prominent in the study, effort should be put into raising
awareness of such differences in order to facilitate the teaching process for both teacher and
student. McLean and Ransom draw our attention to culturally aware teaching and advise
against ethnocentric judgments (Carroll, 2005).
Interviewee C shares that in the way they speak with you, the words they use, you see that they
(students) feel that they are at your level. C further states: In Europe there is a barrier between
university teachers and students, we give due respect to the teachers while in the US there's no
distance, you need to gain respect through your work, it's not something granted because of
your status. Respondent Cs comments speak of uneasiness and internal tension that such

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contexts caused by adding:It's a challenge how to adjust.At times I didn't feel very comfortable
when the distance was low. The students feel so empowered that they adopt an arrogant
behaviour.
Respondent E shares a critical incident in the same vein: When I faced the auditorium full of
students who were having snacks and drinks, while others were chewing gum, I couldn't utter a
word. It took me some time to accept this.
The aforementioned accounts refer to the more egalitarian American social context, which in its
turn impacts the American academic context. The United States score is 40 against a score of
70 for Bulgaria according to the Power Distance index in Hofstedes model of cultural
differences. The Hierarchy Dimension refers to the degree to which societies accept
equality/inequality between people. A high score under this index characterizes societies where
respect for status is a core value (Hofstede et al., 2010). However, further on respondents C and
E both recognize and appreciate the positive side of this culturally specific feature. The good
side of low distance is that students feel relaxed and express their opinion, participate in the
discussions, it's much more interesting when they are active. At the end of the seminar I had a
very pleasant feeling because the students had been very active and had shown interest in the
topic and there was a very nice discussion, which was very pleasant because it was a real
academic interaction. Sometimes with our students (Bulgarian students), I don't feel we connect
well in terms of what I am lecturing on.
With F we have a very different case. The respondent had been a visiting scholar at the same
institution for 5 to 6 times prior to his Fulbright stay there. He did not explicitly mention
challenges but had had to learn and adjust his teaching style on a previous visit to the same
institution. He had signed to be a co-auditor and observed the American teaching methods and
learnt the tricks of the trade. When it came to his teaching assignment he says: I was fully
aware what was expected of me in my teaching, content and approach-wise. It was very
pleasant, very pleasant. Now I apply this interactive method with my students (Bulgarian).
These accounts show that this challenge in the teaching process was dealt with successfully and
the respondents acknowledge benefit from the experience. The above accounts testify to
possible problems in respect to teacher-student interaction. Fulbrighters-to-be should be
sensitized to such culturally specific features before they embark on the exchange.

Challenges in interaction with colleagues
All respondents describe work relations as egalitarian, informal, friendly but not intrusive into
personal space. Yet, there are accounts that testify to feelings of isolation and disinterest.
Respondent D explains: I found it annoying, it didn't make me happy, this demonstration of
faked interest into the other person's activities. They ask you questions about yourself and in the
meantime you read in their eyes that you are the last thing they're interested to know about. D
had had two visits to the same institution for 2.5 and 1.5 months respectively. He nevertheless
describes relations with colleagues as productive and beneficial.
Respondent G, too, shares feelings of discomfort: You are no one from nowhere. No one takes
responsibility for you. You are left to manage by yourself. There was no interest whatsoever by

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the colleagues. G felt especially isolated on his first Fulbright visit. Which was not the case
during his second visit. He had met colleagues at academic forums and had established lasting
work relations with them. His second visit was characterized with a marked interest by
colleagues and a very intensive social life. Such accounts point to how work relationships,
established prior to the visit, might facilitate the scholars adjustment to the new environment and
contribute to their well-being during the exchange.

Challenges in interaction with university administrative staff
The interaction with the administrative staff left positive impressions overall. However, some
scholars do share challenges in this respect.
Respondent D comments by saying: The friendly, polite, kind attitude doesn't go with efficiency.
But this inefficiency is compensated for by politeness and attention. Respondent G had those
little crises all the time. Especially when you're a European and you expect some sort of
institutionalization. But the level of institutionalization is very low. Do what suits you. I needed
rules but there are no rules. Deal with it by yourself. Respondent G's comments can be
discussed in the light of the Identity Dimension in Hofstede's model. The United States' score of
91 identifies it as a highly individualist society. Bulgaria, on its part, scores 30, which is indicative
of its collectivist characteristics (Hofstede et al., 2010). The core value of individualist societies is
individual freedom (Hofstede et al., 2002). Individualist culture believes that people are
supposed to take care of themselves and remain emotionally independent of groups,
organizations, or other collectivities. (Hofstede et al., 2002:136)
Despite the discomfort such a feeling of unavailable support caused, the same respondent
further states: It is the natural course of life that some will manage to deal with it, while others
will not. We witness a shift towards a more individualistic stance in the respondent's attitude
when he eventually aknowledges that this is the way to do things.

Language challenges
While most of the respondents felt comfortable as far as their English language skills were
concerned, there still appear some reports about challenges in this direction that need attention
so as to enhance the positive outcome of the visit. Respondent G shares: While I do very well in
the academic environment and at academic forums and have no language barrier, in my
everyday communication, I felt that the foreigners were straining in order to understand me.
Respondent Bs comment I sometimes found it difficult to understand the students' accent
draws our attention to comprehension difficulties associated with varieties of English. Coming
from a European country, Bulgarian learners of English would probably have been exposed to
British influences as far as the language acquisition is concerned. The Bulgarian Fulbrighters
who embark on teaching assignments should be sensitized in this respect and anticipate to
interact with students and colleagues who speak a variety of English different from the one they
are used to.



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Reentry challenges
The reentry period was not easy to go through for some of the scholars. The reported reentry
challenges have to do with feelings of nostalgia, isolation, even a readjustment crisis. Such
highly pronounced difficulties were mostly reported by the scholars whose first visit to the US
was the Fulbright visit.
Respondent D makes a strong statement of losing ground: The first week back, I felt very
discouraged because there isn't much chance for things to improve at this university. Before I
had had ideas to change things and make them work better. I was demotivated to embark on
anything but my immediate work responsibilities. It was an existential crisis.
Respondent G also shares feelings of isolation and lack of understanding: The experience had
been amazing. When I returned, I walked on air. Until I was faced with my colleagues' attitude.
Respondent A talks of estrangement from the local academic community: When I returned I felt
that I didn't belong to this academic community. I didn't have a work environment that was
stimulating enough.
Respondent Fs statement refers to student-teacher interaction: I feel nostalgic about my
students (American students). Respondent C goes in the same line: There are more interested
students there, not that our students (Bulgarian students) are not interested but they are fewer.
Such reentry disturbances are belived to be due, in large part, to those changes sojourners
made in their behavior and thinking, the changes that helped them be more effective in the host
country (Sussman, 2002, Unit 8, Chapter 1, Online Readings in Psychology and Culture). To
alleviate the process of adjustment, it is advisable that the cross-cultural sojourner prepare
psychologically before returning home. According to research on the repatriation process,
devoting time to introspection and asking oneself in what ways one has changed during the
sojourn, being prepared that there might be repatriation distress for a certain period of time,
being aware of possible lack of interest and understanding at work, knowing of the dissipating
nature of repatriation distress, are ways to diminish distress (Sussman, 1986).

Conclusion
It is the hope of the researcher, through this small-scale study, to offer some insights into the
experiences, attitudes and behaviours of the Bulgarian academics who took part in the Fulbright
exchange program. The challenges highlighted in this article were common to the respondents
regardless of the scientific field they represent, their age and gender, the time when the visit took
place. These challenges speak of the differing assumptions and value orientations of
representatives of different cultural backgrounds. Cultural specificities are prominent and should
be accounted for when scholars embark on a cross-cultural experience such as the Fulbright
program is.

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References:

- Carroll, J., and Ryan, J. (Eds.) (2005) Teaching international students: Improving
learning for all. Routledge: New York

- Cushner, K. and Brislin, R. W. (1996) Intercultural Interactions. A Practical Guide. 2nd
ed. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks

- Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for
Qualitative Research. Sociology Press

- Hofstede, Geert H., Hofstede, Gert Jan, and Minkov, M. Cultures and Organizations:
Software of the Mind, (2010) 3

rd ed. McGraw-Hill

- Hofstede, Gert Jan, Pedersen, Paul B. and Hofstede, Geert H. (2002) Exploring culture:
exercises, stories, and synthetic cultures. Intercultural Press: Yarmouth, USA

- Mendelsohn, H. & Orenstein, F. A Survey of Fulbright Award Recipients: Cross- cultural
Education and its Impacts. Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 (1955-56), pp.401-
407

- Raw, Laurence. The Fulbright Difference: The Future of Visiting Academics in Turkey
and elsewhere. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 15 (2002), pp. 23-31.

- Sussman, N.M. Re-entry research and training: Methods and implications. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10 (1986), pp. 235-254.

- Sussman, N. M. (2002). Sojourners to another country: The psychological roller-coaster
of cultural transitions. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler
(Eds.),Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 8, Chapter 1),
(http://www.wwu.edu/~culture), Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western
Washington University, Bellingham, Washington USA.

- http://www.cies.org/Fulbright

- http://www.fulbright.bg

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AC>UIRIN) AND DE+ELOPIN) PLURILIN)UAL AND INTERCULTURAL
MANA)EMENT *AILL* GOR +OCATIONAL PURPO*E*: KIN*I)HT* INTO AN
A<ARENE** RAI*IN) PROCE**L
A presentation by Yean-JlaEde Lasnier, TZpert aEpr[s dE Jonseil de l\TErope

The main objective of this presentation is to go through various aspects and viewpoints related
to uses of and needs for plurilingual and intercultural management skills in the business world,
highlighting various aspects of a continuous process of appropriation, rather than providing an
in-depth account of the nature of these skills.
The presentation starts with a Once upon a time historical, political and international
perspective, showing the breadth and diversity of this plurilingual and intercultural question.
Then, by showing a range of statistical data and different types of resources, the general context
is introduced, demonstrating how the process of globalization creates the need for intercultural
communication, with concrete illustrations of the present day situation and concomitant
evolutionary developments in the business world, as well as the variety of views, sometimes
differing, held in the business world on the subject.
After this general overview, different features of language & Intercultural management skills are
explored in terms of types of practices, clearly demonstrating that English is not enough, as
well as some of the most common methodological approaches to Intercultural Communication
Competence.
Two recent, interesting European surveys are then presented to examine how companies, and
the business sector in general, deal with language and intercultural skills:

- ELAN Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in
Enterprise
- PIMLICO, Promoting, Implementing, Mapping Language and Intercultural
Communication Strategies

The facts & findings from these two E.C projects, clearly illustrate
- the present situation in Europe in terms of shortages and potentials of these skills, as
well as their economic consequences
- some of the most successful plurilingual and intercultural good practice in companies

The presentation concludes by surveying approaches to the development of Intercultural
Communicative Competence in the business world, in terms of procedures, training schemes,
awareness-raising and assessment tools, ending up on a humorous note, hinting at the evolution
of plurilingual and intercultural competence in the European Union from 1960 to 2013


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43
The rights to all pictures included in this presentation have been secured by Jean-Claude Lasnier, who has granted
the ICC permission to print them in this edited volume.

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THE LAN)UA)E M A GACTOR GOR ?UILDIN) A EUROPEAN IDENTITY IN
THE *OCIAL MEDIA
by Desislava Kanova-OeorCiev&, Sofia University -St. li!ent "hrids#i9

Abstract:
The European institutions and the political parties see real opportunities to communicate with the
young people, and to make them part of their causes in the social media on the Internet.
However, communicating the European identity idea with the European citizens is a real
challenge for the future of Europe.
One of the key factors of the recent and future communication with the young people is the
proper usage of the new social media in Internet. These are perfectly developed communication
platforms which make most of the offline communication restrictions disappear and provide an
open stage in terms of location, culture, gender and political orientation. Digital technologies give
a chance to restore the lost connection with the young people and make their integration within
the European paradigm real. In order to create a common European identity, regular and
constant online communication is necessary, comprising real feedback and proper usage of the
language of the youth.
The research focuses on particular case studies from the social media which reveal the
language used by both the European institutions and the young audience its characteristics
and features. The transformation of Eurojargon into a form which is much more understandable
and friendly to the young generation and helps the European identity building process through
the mechanisms of the social media will be discussed.
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?U*INE** RHETORIC AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
by Dr. Ivan#a Kavrodieva, Sofia University -St. li!ent "hrids#i9

Introduction
Rhetoric is an ancient and at the same time modern science. The definition given in Chapter 2 of
Aristotles Rhetoric states that rhetoric is the faculty of observing in any given case the available
means of persuasion (<http://www2.iastate.edu/~honeyl/Rhetoric/oneindex.html>).
Ancient rhetoric has three branches: deliberative or political, judicial or forensic and epideictic
rhetoric is speech or ceremonial discourse.
Rhetoric is apprehended as ars bene dicendi or as bene dicendi scentia. Oratory is accepted as
an oral performance but rhetorical heritage has influences in the style, literature genres, written
formats etc. Ars dictaminies is only one of the manifestations of the rhetoric in the fields of
written communication (Petkov 2011 <http://rhetoric.bg/>).
The place of rhetoric in the contemporary world is the result of incessant chain of
metamorphoses. Oratory represents thousands of years practice but globalization, business and
in particular transnational companies and international corporations establish relatively different
circumstances in the modern world. The Internet today opens new opportunities for the growing
diversity of rhetorical applications in cyber space. Business rhetoric has cross points with
intercultural communication and it has led to the adoption of an interdisciplinary approach not
only in the research but in the process of teaching of rhetoric and in particular oral business like
oratory and virtual business communication.
Business rhetoric is a relatively new practice and it has manifestations in business meetings and
briefings, business negotiations and presentations, job selection interviews and promotions,
virtual business communications and social networks, etc. Business rhetoric can be presented in
the perspective of intercultural differences. On one hand, organizational culture and corporate
values establish strict rules. On the other hand, the Internet and particularly the social networks
establish new opportunities and it is very important to create new rules, norms and standards
named netiquette which have universal applications. Intercultural communication is a factor
which extends the influence on the contemporary business practices and has cross points with
business rhetoric and English teaching and in particular with business English. Corporations
accepted business norms and rules of business netiquette and they appreciate that they are an
inseparable part of business rhetoric. At the same time corporate management understands that
cultural differences could be analyzed simultaneously with the basic and common standards.
From this standpoint it is possible to introduce the term intercultural rhetoric.

Netiquette theoretical observation
Netiquette has its applications in different forms of virtual communication, and it is not possible
to give one complete definition of it. The etymology of the word etiquette comes from the French
word for ticket (Shea 1994). There are other points of view as well. For example, R. Wiggins
finds applications of netiquette in many different situations and enlarges the volume of the notion

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in the publication The Internet for everyone (Wiggins 1995). S. Hambridge prepared
Netiquette Guidelines (Hambridge 1995,
<http://www.stanton.dtcc.edu/stanton/cs/rfc1855.html>). Other authors also enlarge the meaning
of the term. They prefer using the phrase net manners, suggesting some connections between
ethics and communication in the virtual space. The term business e-mail etiquette is used by J.
Kallos (<http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/>).
A certain part of my own research work is concentrated on netiquette in virtual societies
(Mavrodieva 2003: 404-414); another one on netiquette in business communication.
(Mavrodieva 2004: 10-14). The term business netiquette consists of two words business and
netiquette. It is a special application of the basic rules of netiquette but it has some specific
manifestations too.

E-mails and netiquette
The information about netiquette, available in business companies in established Bulgaria, is
relatively limited. A few companies from different market branches such as computer
technologies (Lirex, Stemo, HP, Siemens), pharmacy (Actavis), publishing houses (Ciela), PR
and advertising agencies (APRA), manufactures, marketing and sales offices (Nestle), insurance
holdings (Allianz), tourist agencies (Hermes holidays), engineer and technology (Johnson
Control Electronics) etc., frequently communicate in the virtual space. They give different
instructions, which they had collected in a couple of short guides. They often organize training
on the topic of business etiquette and particularly of the netiquette. The guide Netiquette, for
example, is a tool for developing the corporate culture of the company Orbitel. It was written by
V. Angelova and G. Marinov and was published on the companys internet page. This is
undoubtedly a good practice in Bulgaria, as the information is shared and every visitor could use
the handbook, located at <http://www.orbitel.bg/downloads/netiket.pdf.> K. Krancheva presented
important advice regarding netiquette in the chapter Business correspondence of her book
Business Etiquette (Krancheva 2008: 175-186).
The communication process in the virtual space requires an identification of all the participants.
Business netiquette requires us to constantly reflect on the social, professional and personal
status of the partners and to reduce the time for finding additional information about any one of
them. The first tool of identification is the e-mail address. HR and computer specialists,
communication managers and system administrators prescribe a series of rules on how to
arrange it. Some of the elements are stated as follows: domain, surname and/or name, position
in organization; and sometimes additional elements as department, faculty, branch offices, etc.
The domain usually has to finish with: .com (mainly for business organizations), .bg (for
institutions governmental, educational, etc.), .org (mainly for nongovernmental organizations),
and .net. Since Bulgaria joined the EU some companies choose the .eu extension. Observations
of the web pages of many foreign and Bulgarian companies and non-governmental
organizations showed that they prefer to create domains following the instructions:
www.actavis.com, www.mag.com, www.sme.government.bg, www.ciela.net.

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The analyses of the e-mail addresses of 50 companies, NGOs, media and institutions in
Bulgaria showed that there are some different versions too. The big companies prefer to use an
e-mail address which is accessible only for a limited number of employees from the business
administration and it includes the word office as a necessary element, for example: office@sky-
pal.com, office@5w-pr.com, office@kragozor.com, office@infodar.com, office@ellion.bg. If the
e-mail address will be used by clients, partners, visitors, it is relevant to include the element info
in it. For example: info@posoka.com. The rules of organizational culture require an indication of
the department and the different activities in the company. This is a necessary element in any e-
mail address. For example, two of the biggest informational agencies in Bulgaria follow this rule:
pressclub@bta.bg (Bulgarian Telegraph Agency) and pressclub@sofiapress.bg (Sofia Press).
Another group of private companies prefers e-mails created at the free servers of the virtual
space (abv.bg, gmail.com, hotmail.com, yahoo.com, dir.bg, mail.bg) but this is not an
appropriate practice: royalwedding@abv.bg.
If we use personal names as criteria (name and surname), the e-mail addresses of the
employees can be divided in three groups. Usually the business organizations managers as well
as the public and government administration prefer the surname (kutevski@mag.com) or the
combination of two names with a dash, hyphen, underscore or a dot between them:
(M.Ivanova@apraagency.com, s.ezekieva@ict.bg, n.efremova@flgr.bg.) Rarely, the managers
use both their names, fully written: elena.andreinska@jobs.bg.org, dimitar.tanchev@allianz.bg.
The corporative guides do not recommend putting the first letter of the name before the surname
because it could be a communicative barrier to foreigners who wont be able to separate the
names. Some employees, however, follow this model: etassovski@actavis.bg,
dkaneva@wrigley.bg, davdjieva@computel.bg. The young employees prefer another model of
organizational behavior friendly and informal and they use only their first names:
violeta@5w-pr.com, katerina@mag.bg, svetlyo@ciela.net.
A second tool that allows correct identification and eases surveys is the correspondents
signature, termed here in a different way: virtual business card. It consists of surname, name,
current position in the company, phone numbers, address, etc. When a recipient opens the e-
mail message, he or she can see at the bottom all the details which show that the sender is the
person in question. This signature is an element which shows corporative affiliation.

Business English and intercultural communication
Business English is a version of modern English and in the last decades it has become the
language of international business relationships. English has gained an important position as
intercultural mediator in business communications. Some scientists and practitioners introduce
the term Internet English. The authors of business e-mails pay much attention to facts, prices,
deadlines, contracts, obligations, needs and attitudes of their clients or partners. This is why they
should avoid using figures of speech, metaphorical language. Some employees prefer
professional terms, professional jargon or slang. The professional jargon does not create
communication barriers because both the sender and the receiver understand the information;
they decode the means and sense. For example the term infotainment has different senses in

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public relations and design. The engineers construct devices for cars and every employee
understands correctly the meaning infotainment in their closed professional group. The
engineers explain infotainment as a device which include internet radio, opportunities to use
social networks during the driving a car. PR specialists on the other side decode infotainment
as a special event.
Employees often use clichs but the receivers usually wont waste their time for decoding
metaphors. They generally direct their efforts into strategic decisions. Some of the main aims of
business communications are the sending and receiving of accurate, complicated and timely
information. Accordingly, clear language helps participants to comprehend the information more
quickly. The frequent use of terms is an important rhetorical characteristic of business messages
and virtual dialogues. Using economical or financial terms is an effective way to make the
business correspondence and conversations in virtual space much more clear, accurate,
informative and comprehensive. Every term has the special characteristic to reproduce one and
the same meaning time after time. This helps every receiver always to grasp the same meaning,
which is a necessary condition for any successful business relationship. The clear composition
of business letters and e-mails should be synchronized with the use of simple words.

Rhetoric and new rules of business netiquette
The netiquette has its specific applications in video conferences, video job selection interviews,
video meetings, webinars, and virtual forums. The netiquette concerning these activities includes
verbal and non-vernal elements which are synchronized during all communication processes in
the net. The internet communication is a complex one because the physical contact between
people is missing. They formulate, send and receive their messages while sitting in front of the
screen and the video camera. They are in the conditions of limited space and time and therefore,
under a constant pressure. They send real signals which are transformed through the
transmissions in the net. The recipients accept visual signals. The participants in the different
virtual dialogues see clearly only some of the non-verbal elements on the computer or TV
screen. The communicators can perceive the faces of their partners, colleagues, clients or
applicants; the gestures they make with arms, palms and fingers. They can catch eye contact
and continue this contact as active persons.
The verbal elements include short and plain sentences. The main reason is that many
participants use English as a second language and they speak in the circumstances of computer
mediated communication (CMC). It should be remembered that the written language is a formal
one and it is different from the spoken language (including that in the virtual dialogues). From a
rhetorical point of view the business messages should include specific terms and short
sentences. The style should be comprehensive but not metaphorical. The participants should
present facts accurately and truthfully. The speakers are expected to avoid emotive phrases and
appeals, as understanding is really important for business relationships. The participants usually
try to reach their conclusions on the basis of facts. They should be as persuasive as possible in
order to convince their partners, clients or colleagues. But at the same time they should not state
their standpoints too directly.

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Social Networks and Intercultural communication
Social media or sites of social networks (SNS) are an important part of contemporary business
including international corporations and domestic companies. Social networks and social media
(LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) allow employees to communicate and engage with
professional and personal information that is easily accessible on the Net. Internet users from
Web 2.0 become creators of the content on the social networks; they become more popular and
active netizens. Informal or semi-formal online communication has been including interactive
dialogues. The representatives of Net generation should be adapted to formal business rules
including netiquette, language standards, corporate culture etc. In social media, employees have
the opportunity to express their opinions informally but they need to transform this manner to
formal business communication. The process of adaptation includes instructions and training
because it is very important to improve their rhetorical and communication skills in accordance
with international and corporative standards. Intercultural adaptation could be organized
gradually and this process includes as an inseparable part intercultural studies. Some
corporations follow a flexible approach but the other group of companies prefers the assertive
model. Intercultural differences and the attitudes from virtual communication in the social
networks establish new questions in front of the managers. Summarizing we could say that
these cross points between intercultural and virtual communication could be a new field of
research in the future but this requires a interdisciplinary approach.

Conclusion
In conclusion we can definitely state that business rhetoric has a stable place in the
contemporary world. Business oratory is presented in negotiations, presentations, special
events, meetings, conferences, general assemblies, statements, instructions, projects, and
reports. Business rhetoric is a part of staff training, seminars, workshops, job selection
interviews etc. Oratory is an inseparable element of electronic business correspondence,
webinars, video conferences. Clients take part in virtual dialogues, they publish posts in the
social networks. Employees share corporate news, presentations, and promotions. Rhetoric is a
module of the training and courses and it is in collaboration with other modules. Business
rhetoric has been transformed and it has a renaissance. One of the tendencies of modern
business training is to improve communication, presentation and rhetorical skills. The ancient
rhetoric has application in new spheres and one of them is business, the second is Internet. The
oratory adapts to new circumstances and opportunities and we could use the term virtual
business communication. Consequently rhetoric proves its viability in the flexibility of adjusting
its tools to new business practices. The current study shows that rhetoric has extended its
application in business, using knowledge from different fields and applying a flexible approach,
following the intercultural differences. Rhetorical terminology is gradually adjusting to current
developments in the new practices and one of them is intercultural communication. The
managers constantly compose netiquette guides as a tool for developing corporate culture. They
aim at the creation of common rules with respect to intercultural differences. They seek to
neutralize the informal elements. They work to establish corporate standards, which will function

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as regulations for the business communication in the virtual space. The managers want to help
businessmen to avoid any misunderstandings and to minimize their errors using English
language in written business correspondence, electronic business letters, business utterances,
and virtual dialogical formats in the cyber space. The rules of netiquette are in accordance with
the basic aims of business management: making strategic decisions and saving the time for
other more important activities of managers and employees in general.

References:

- Angelova, V. & Marinov. G. (2003). Netiquette, Sofia: Orbitel. Retrieved January 10,
2004, from <http://www.orbitel.bg/downloads/netiket.pdf.>, Retrived on 12.02.2013.

- Aristotle. (2004). Chapter 2, (1356a, 1356b, 1357a, 1357b, 1358a), in Aristotles
Rhetoric. Retrieved July 12, 2008, from
<http://www2.iastate.edu/~honeyl/Rhetoric/oneindex.html>. Retrieved on 10.02.2013.

- Hambridge, S. (1995). Netiquette Guidelines, RFC 1855. Retrieved July 12, 2008, from
<http://www.stanton.dtcc.edu/stanton/cs/rfc1855.html>. Retrieved on 11.02.2013.

- Holtz, Sh. (2001). Public relations on the Net, second ed., New York: AMACOM.

- Kallos, J. (2008). Business e-mail etiquette. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from
<http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/>. Retrieved on 10.02.2013.

- Krancheva, K. (2008). Business Etiquette, Sofia: Iconomedia.

- Mavrodieva. I. (2003). Netiquette and business communication, Business secretary, 3,
10-14.

- Mavrodieva. I. (2004). Virtual societies and netiquette (tendencies in Bulgaria and
Europe), in M. European Integration and intercultural communication, Sofia: Faculty of
Journalism and Mass Communication, Sofia University Press, 4040-414.

- Petkov, G. Ars Dictaminic. Rhetoric and Communication, Vol. 1, 2011,
<http://rhetoric.bg/> Retrieved on 11.02.2013.

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the Feminine of Cyberspace. STCs 50
th
Annual Conference Proceedings, 153-158.
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040.pdf>. Retrieved on 10.02.2013.


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- Sawyer, R. (2005). The Impact of New Social Media on Intercultural Adaptation
<http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=srhonorsprog>,
Retrieved on 10.02.2013.

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<http://www.albion.com/netiquette/introduction.html>. Retrieved on 10.05.2008.
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- Wiggins, R. (1995). The Internet for everyone: a guide for users and providers, New
York: McGraw-Hill.



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NA MODERNB +I?RANTB MULTICULTURAL ?RITAINL: THE LONDON OPQO
OLYMPIC* OPENIN) CEREMONY IN THE LAN)UA)E AND CULTURE
CLA**ROOM
by Assist. Prof. T!ilia Slavova, PhD, Sofia University -St. li!ent "hrids#i

Language and culture are clearly connected, as every language teacher nowadays must be
aware. Much has been done in recent years to underscore the importance of culture in the
language classroom and to demonstrate that in order to acquire a foreign language, one needs
more than just linguistic skills. In addition to Hymes notion of communicative competence,
Byram (1997) develops the concept of intercultural competence. In Byram et al (2002:11)
intercultural competence is defined as knowledge, skills and attitudes, complemented by the
values one holds because of one's belonging to a number of social groups. The components
can be represented in the following table:

Intercultural attitudes: curiosity and openness, readiness to suspend disbelief about
other cultures and belief about ones own.

Knowledge: of social groups and their products and practices in ones own and in ones
interlocutors country, and of the general processes of societal and individual interaction.

Skills of interpreting and relating; Skills of discovery and interaction; Critical
cultural awareness.
(See Byram et al, 2002: 12-13 for a more detailed account).

And while a teachers role is not to change learners values, There is nonetheless a
fundamental values position which all language teaching should promote: a position which
acknowledges respect for human dignity and equality of human rights as the democratic basis
for social interaction. (ibid.).

Globalization, Diversity and British English
In line with this position in support of equality and democracy, there is a growing awareness
among language teachers and planners that English language teaching should no longer be
Anglo-centric. In an age of globalization, English has turned into a lingua franca used in
communication between people from diverse cultural backgrounds and has detached itself from
British (or American) culture. With the development of modern technologies and media, it is
increasingly easy to avoid focusing on a single dominant culture and to bring the rich and
diverse cultures of the world to the classroom.
On the other hand, many language learners show a clear preference for British English and
British culture. The native speaker ideal, the supremacy of English culture, while contested in
the West, seems to have taken hold in many countries of the Expanding circle (in Kachrus

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definition). This is particularly apparent where English is not associated with a history of colonial
oppression but is rather seen as the language of democracy and freedom, e.g. post-communist
countries. The focus on British culture (seen in essentialist terms as a clear-cut, homogeneous
entity), the perpetuation of stereotypical notions of Britishness (such as the English gentleman,
excessive politeness, or the Dickensian view of London as covered by smog), the lack of proper
intercultural skills and diversity training may result in quite a shock for many devout learners of
English who find themselves in the streets of todays fast-paced, diverse, multicultural London.
This shock may go hand-in-hand with negative attitudes and prejudice towards British people
who fail to comply with the white, male and middle-class stereotype or who speak with an
accent which considerably departs from the Received pronunciation (RP) learned in the
phonetics lab (current estimates show that only about 2-3% of British people actually speak with
an RP accent).

London 2012
Considering the above, it seems that approaching British culture from a contemporary,
multicultural perspective is an important objective in the English language-and-culture
classroom. An event which is particularly appropriate for class viewing and discussions is the
opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. The event is a visual feast, highly spectacular
even without particular knowledge of any of the cultural references made. For the teacher of
language and culture, it is a treasure trove of allusions to key historical events, literary
characters, and cultural landmarks, star-studded with British celebrities, sportspeople,
musicians, and even a cameo appearance by the Queen as a Bond girl. The ceremonys
commentary on highly debated social issues, one of which is multiculturalism and national
identity in the aftermath of the British Empire, has had powerful reverberations in British society,
as can be seen from a number of newspaper articles (to be discussed below), articulating further
the messages sent by the director of the ceremony and the artistic team.
The 2012 Olympics opening ceremony was an event like no other. Staged by academy-award-
winning film director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 hours), it was
watched by over 65 000 people at the Olympic Stadium; another 27 million viewers in Britain and
a billion viewers around the world watched it live on television; and many more have watched it
recorded since then. The event was an opportunity for Britain to redefine its identity not only to
itself, but also to the whole world, and Danny Boyle made the most of this opportunity. "The
ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from
and where we want to be, the director said in the Media guide. The media also recognized and
commented on this unique chance: Tonight was Britain's opportunity to speak directly to the
world, and as befits a nation that declines to learn other languages it did so in English. (The
Guardian, Olympic Games opening ceremony: irreverent and idiosyncratic).
The ceremony was compared to another event, the Olympic Games in post-war Britain in 1948,
at a time marked by austerity and exhaustion, by the unraveling of an empire, by the story of
decline, of Britain as a has-been nation, once glorious, now reduced to a tired marginality,
bobbing around in the Atlantic stuck between Europe and a superpower United States. (The

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Guardian, London 2012: we've glimpsed another kind of Britain, so let's fight for it). All those
years of self-doubt, of plummeting national pride, seem to have been compensated for by the
changes that started that same year, and the London 2012 ceremony is seen as a turning point
in putting an end to Britain's age of decline and celebrating what we are, not what we used to
be:
It presented 1948 as the pivot year in the history of modern Britain. That was the last time
London played Olympic host, but also the year that saw the founding of the National Health
Service and the arrival of the Windrush, the ship bearing the Caribbean migrants who would
change the face of Britain. (ibid.)

A social revolution
These two events, the founding of the National Health Service (NHS) and the arrival of the first
nearly 500 immigrants from Jamaica on the Empire Windrush ship in 1948, were indeed pivotal
in Danny Boyles ceremony. Both may have remained obscure to an international audience but
surely had an immense impact on British viewers. Both are related to the social revolution taking
place in Britain one of the three revolutions Boyle made reference to in the Media guide: the
Industrial Revolution, the revolution of social attitudes after the 1960s and the digital revolution
of the present day.
Indeed, it is the revolution of social attitudes which made the conservative, class-ridden British
society much more open to social mobility in the second half of the 20
th
century. And then,
following the massive waves of immigration from the former colonies in the 1950s and 1960s, it
gradually embraced ethnic and racial diversity as well, including Indian, Pakistani, Black
Caribbean, Black African, Bangladeshi, Chinese and other Asian people, as well as those of
mixed race. In fact, mixed race is currently the third ethnic group in the UK, but it is the fastest
growing one; and one in five pre-school children in London belongs to Generation M (The
Independent, A black and white issue: The future of society is mixed). And while multiculturalism
is not unanimously embraced by all British people, the majority (62%) now believe that
multiculturalism has made Britain a better place to live, as opposed to 32% who think it
"threatens the British way of life" (according to a poll conducted for the BBC in 2005). The
survey also showed that tolerance towards other ethnicities was not negatively affected by the
7/7 London bombings in 2005, in which several dozen people were killed in Islamist suicide
attacks (The BBC, UK majority back multiculturalism).
But if the Windrush (represented by a ship which was brought on the stadium amidst the
Industrial Revolution sequence, with a group of Caribbean immigrants in grey costumes
surrounding it) may have slipped unnoticed for many, what followed in the Frankie-and-June-
say-Thanks-Tim sequence surely wasnt. This was the sequence devoted to youth culture, to
British pop music, to digital media communication, paying tribute to the British inventor of the
World Wide Web, Sit Tim Bernards-Lee (hence the sequence title) as well as to a new,
multicultural Britain. The sequence, in which two teenage girls of mixed race are at home,
preparing for a Saturday night out, develops into a huge party scene showcasing the best of
British pop music from the 1960s to the present day. One of the girls, June, impersonated by

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stunningly charming Jasmine Breinburg, is spotted in the crowd by a young boy, Frankie. It is a
romantic tale with a happy ending, but what is most striking is that those typical British youth are
both non-white and represent the diverse multiethnic community living in Britain today. To
strengthen the message, a live performance by a popular London-born rapper of mixed origin
(Ghanaian and Nigerian), Dizzee Rascal, follows. The whole sequence vibrates with colour,
youthful energy, vigour, and vitality.
In stark contrast to that sequence is the next one, solemn and powerful, paying tribute to people
who have died recently, including the victims of the 7/7 London attack by showing their
photographs on a memorial wall. This is followed by a song, Abide with me, a Christian hymn
performed by Emeli Sand a highly acclaimed Scottish-born singer of mixed origin (a Zambian
father and a white mother), which is yet another example in support of the multicultural theme
maintained throughout the ceremony. So is the dance, performed by Akram Khans Dance
Company during the song: a visually stunning piece demonstrating a mixture of traditional Indian
dancing and contemporary dance. London-born of Bangladeshi descent, Akram Khan is known
as one of the highly successful Bangladeshi in Britain (BritBangla, British Bengali Success
Stories) whose work as a dancer and choreographer typically focuses around the theme of
immigrant identity (The Independent, Akram Khan: 'You have to become a warrior') and is yet
another symbol of the cultural mix that modern Britain has come to represent.

Reactions to London 2012
The multicultural message was surely not lost on the audience. A Tory MP member tweeted
during the ceremony: Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie
multicultural crap words for which he was severely criticized and because of which he had to
apologize. Following an investigation into the case initiated by the prime minister, these words
could even cost him his political career in the future (The Guardian, Olympics opening ceremony
was 'multicultural crap', Tory MP tweets), which only comes to show how tolerant British society
has become to multiculturalism and how intolerant to people who are critical of it.
Most other commentators have been much more positive, however, commenting both on the
ceremony redefining and celebrating British identity and on the theme of migration, immigration
and multiculturalism. A Telegraph article commented on Boyles show as being original, cool,
intense and utterly compelling, a triumph of punk over pomp, presenting a subversive view of
British history, incorporating within it the story of migration and immigration:
Thematically too Boyles view of British history was quietly subversive, stripped of any iconic
grandeur or royal pageantry. This was the story of migration and immigration, protest and
rebellion. (The Telegraph, London 2012 Opening Ceremony, first review)
Another Telegraph article announced that The London 2012 Olympics has opened in a big,
brash, blast of Britishness, presenting 90 minutes of dazzling theatre, dance, film and music, a
mash-up of our cultural history delivered at breakneck speed (The Telegraph, London 2012:
Greatest show on earth puts Britain at centre of the world).
The Mirror applauded the celebration of the nations inventiveness, humour and tolerance,
instead of brooding over its past empire grandeur and power:

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This wasnt some jingoistic flaunting of our Empire-ruling history. It was a celebration of our
genius, tolerance, humour, and all we have given to the world. (The Mirror, Unpredictable and
inventive as the British themselves, this was the People's Opening Ceremony).
The international press also commented favourably on the eccentricity, sense of humour and
inventiveness in presenting a new, confident post-empire British identity:
With its hilariously quirky Olympic opening ceremony, a wild jumble of the celebratory and the
fanciful; the conventional and the eccentric; and the frankly off-the-wall, Britain presented itself to
the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation
secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is (The New York Times, A Five-
Ring Opening Circus, Weirdly and Unabashedly British).
The Guardian discussed the ceremony and its presentation of a new Britain, unshackled from
its imperial past and modern, vibrant, multicultural:
From the heart of the East End, where the riches of Empire had once flowed into the docklands,
Boyle provided a template of modern, vibrant, multicultural Britain with all its energy and
vulgarity (The Guardian, Olympic pageant riled the right by showing the reality of new Britain).
All in all, The Guardians definition of the ceremony as iconoclastic and era-defining (ibid.) is
perhaps the most appropriate and apt description of the event, highlighting its importance in the
cultural landscape of the country and its impact on the way British national identity and
multiculturalism are discussed, not only in Britain, but also on a global scale.

London 2012 in the classroom
The London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony certainly offers ample material for discussion in
the language-and-culture classroom. This paper has focused on one aspect mainly Britains
newly defined post-imperial identity, the reality of intense migration and immigration in recent
years and the changing attitudes to multiculturalism as a result of the social revolution
happening after the 1960s. There are a number of other aspects worth exploring: the historical
context and implications of the Industrial Revolution; the British sense of humour,
understatement and self-deprecation; British literary, musical, and cultural heritage; the welfare
state and the special tribute paid in the ceremony to the National Health Service; the changing
role of the Royal family and the Queens participation in the James Bond sequence; the role of
the Internet and mobile communication in changing linguistic and cultural patterns; the
(un)translatability of culture and cultural references made throughout the ceremony, and so on.
The language-and-culture relationship can be explored by discussing an emerging linguistic
phenomenon, Multicultural London English (MLE), in the context of the social changes taking
place in Britain in the last decades. A mixture of traditional London speech (with some Cockney
features) with elements from Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean, Indian and other vernaculars, this new
variety is a reflection of the new shared multi-ethnic culture of young people in London and other
major towns with a diverse ethnic community (for a comprehensive sociolinguistic analysis of
MLE see Cheshire et al, 2011). Interestingly, one of the most prominent speakers of MLE is the
rapper Dizzee Rascal. One of his interviews (BBC 2, Dizzee Rascal speaks to Jeremy Paxman),
discussing the election of the first colored president of the United States in 2008, Barack

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Obama, has become very popular and relevant for a class discussion on ethnicity and race.
Jasmine Breinburg from the Frankie-and-June sequence has also given an interview (The
Telegraph, London 2012 Olympics: opening ceremony star describes her 'surreal' night) which
has become viral and has attracted many comments in YouTube, relevant to a class discussion
on Britain becoming multicultural and on the new London accent (see Slavova 2013 for a
discussion on changing attitudes to English):
Not meaning to be racist...but it came over to me last night...that we are being portrayed or at
least the youth of this country are...as no longer a white nation
I can't believe someone could be so dense and ignorant. Yesterday's performance was about
Britain being a diverse nation. However, I do sympathise with you; not everyone can be fortunate
enough to have intellect.
Ev'ryfin was amazin'... Just wanna fank ev'ryone... What is wrong with people? Why can't they
talk properly?
Oh you can't be fuckin serious!...Get a bloody passport and an education. It's a London accent,
and it's been around before America was even discovered let alone colonized. Wow... seriously,
some of you people just can't process stuff that isn't American can you! Incredible.
All this can lead to further cultural, sociolinguistic and critical discussions of language, dialect,
accent, native and non-native speakers, heteroglossia, crossing, hybridity, linguistic diversity and
super-diversity, globalization, ideology, power, modernity, post-modernity and so on. These
topics could then be related to the knowledge-skills-attitudes aspects of language and culture
learning, as discussed by Byram et al (2002): acquiring knowledge about ones own and other
peoples language, culture, history, social processes and important events; developing skills of
interpreting historical and cultural events and linguistic processes, as well as critical awareness
about those events and processes and their interpretations in relation to issues of power and
ideology; and finally, changing attitudes, fostering curiosity and openness towards other
cultures, giving up on ones ethnocentrism, on ones stereotypes and prejudices and developing
the ability to decentre and ethnorelativise.



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References:

- Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

- Byram, M. et al 2002, Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching,
Council of Europe, Strasbourg

- Cheshire, J., Kerswill, P., Fox, S. & Torgersen, E. 2011. Contact, the feature pool and the
speech community: The emergence of Multicultural London English. Journal of
Sociolinguistics.

- London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Media guide
http://www.london2012.com/mm/Document/Documents/Publications/01/30/43/40/OPENI
NGCEREMONYGUIDE_English.pdf

- Slavova, E. 2013, The Great Power Shift: Changing Values and Attitudes towards the
English Language, The Contemporary Nineteenth Century, conference proceedings,
Sofia University press (forthcoming)


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UNA DOCENA DE CLA+ELE*
by BlaCovesta Stefanova Slavova, JonseSerPa de TdEcaciQn T!baSada de TspaUa
en BElCaria

Abstract:
Learning a foreign language always includes exposure to a new culture. Sometimes knowing the
language is not enough to express oneself fluently. In certain situations you might need
something else to achieve efficient communication.
For this reason, the present paper compares, explains and reflects on the differences between
Spanish and Bulgarian mores and cultural traditions in order to avoid possible
misunderstandings.
_____________________________

En el mundo globalizado en el que vivimos la necesidad lingstica es cada vez ms
imprescindible. Las imparables migraciones alientan el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras ya
que las personas se ven sumergidas en entornos totalmente diferentes: otras situaciones,
comportamiento y mentalidad que representan la cultura de un pueblo y a su vez hacen
reflexionar sobre la identidad de uno.

En nuestra vida estamos constantemente interactuando y comunicando con los dems: dos
mundos se encuentran e intercambian experiencia, conocimientos, pensamientos, sentimientos.
Este encuentro est sometido a prueba cuando se produce entre personas de diferentes pases
y respectivamente culturas. Pero somos conscientes de que el buen dominio de un idioma no es
suficiente para la comunicacin eficaz; es necesario un componente crucial, el conocimiento de
la cultura ajena, para que la informacin que queramos transmitir llegue satisfactoriamente a
nuestro interlocutor.

En el presente trabajo nos vamos a centrar en algunas diferencias de las costumbres y las
tradiciones entre Espaa y Bulgaria que son importantes a la hora del encuentro entre las dos
culturas ya que pueden provocar malentendidos, situaciones graciosas o incluso
desagradables.

Las diferencias culturales empiezan con el primer dato personal que se intercambia: el nombre
y los apellidos. En Espaa cada persona tiene dos apellidos: el primer apellido es el primer
apellido del padre; el segundo apellido es el primer apellido de la madre. En Bulgaria tambin
existen dos apellidos pero el uso del segundo predomina. En documentos y formularios oficiales
en ambos pases aparecen los dos apellidos pero a la hora de presentarse los espaoles usan
el primero y los blgaros el segundo. As pues puede darse el caso de presentar a un espaol
con su segundo apellido o a un blgaro con su primer apellido, lo que a primera vista no parece
muy preocupante pero en el caso de emitir documentos, firmar papeles, hacer transferencias

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bancarias o simplemente aparecer en una lista lo es, pues estaramos hablando de cambio de
identidad.

Otro aspecto importante que merece ser explicado es el origen de los apellidos y su significado
porque refleja la mentalidad de un pueblo. En el caso de los espaoles el primer apellido es el
del padre y el segundo el de la madre, sin embargo en el caso de los blgaros los dos apellidos
son por parte del padre el segundo es el apellido del padre y el primero es el patronmico, el
que se forma a partir del nombre propio del padre aadiendo el sufijo OV o EV que significa
hijo de y una terminacin del gnero femenino A: Stefan -> Stefanov (m.), Stefanova (f.); Ilia ->
Iliev (m.), Ilieva (f.). As pues est presente una doble confirmacin de la paternidad, faltando
por completo una representacin materna. Cuando el padre se desconoce, el patronmico se
forma del nombre propio de la madre y el segundo apellido es el apellido de la madre.

Una similitud con Espaa es que los apellidos terminados en EZ significan hijo de
(Hernndez significa Hijo se Hernando). Igualmente est el caso de los apellidos referidos a la
profesin de dicha persona. Como es el caso de Zapatero (persona que hace zapatos) y en
Bulgaria Zlatarov (persona que trabaja con oro). Por otro lado existen apellidos, como por
ejemplo Fernando de Aranda, Pedro de Sols, que se refieren al lugar de origen de la persona,
como son los apellidos blgaros Kaloferov (de Kalofer) o Parizhev (de Paris).

En la comunicacin verbal destaca la manera de responder a una pregunta negativa. En
espaol la norma dice que se debe responder con S si la respuesta es afirmativa y con No si es
negativa. En Bulgaria la norma dice lo mismo pero en la prctica es todo lo contrario. A una
pregunta del tipo No vas a venir? un blgaro enseguida responde No como respuesta
afirmativa. La lgica a esta respuesta se debe a que est pensada como dar o quitar la razn a
lo que su interlocutor acaba de decir. O sea si la pregunta es negativa el que pregunta est
buscando afirmacin a una informacin negativa, por lo tanto el blgaro le da la razn y dice
S que se debe entender que lo que sigue es informacin negativa: No tienes deberes? S
(=No tengo). En cambio si la respuesta es No eso significa que no le damos la razn al que
pregunta: No has terminado? No (=Lo he terminado); No sabes hablar ingls? No. (=S
hablar ingls). Esta diferencia es de gran importancia porque a menudo suceden malentendidos
que dificultan la comunicacin e impiden la transmisin de la informacin correcta (No tienes el
carn de conducir? No. (=Lo tengo); No has salido con mi novia? S. (=No he salido con ella)
No has bebido? S. (=No he bebido). Est claro que en estos casos tambin influye mucho la
entonacin de la respuesta. Pero como en Bulgaria las reglas de entonar una oracin, ya sea
interrogativa o afirmativa, son diferentes y si uno se limita solo a responder con s o no la
situacin resulta muy confusa. Otro hecho curioso en Bulgaria es la doble respuesta afirmativa
que indica no creencia en lo dicho (S, s = No).

Algo ms a tener en cuenta son los falsos amigos que en algunos casos coinciden con palabras
malsonantes del otro idioma. Tal es el caso de las palabras espaolas que en blgaro significan

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otras cosas curva (prostituta, puta) y chiquilla (masturbacin). Tambin puede provocar
situacin confusa el adjetivo ntimo para referirse a un amigo muy querido y de gran confianza,
pero que la traduccin literal al blgaro hace alusin a un amigo con el que se tiene relaciones
sexuales.
La invitacin tambin es un aspecto interesante para reflexionar. Cuando a un espaol le invitan
a un evento, una cena o simplemente unas galletas si quiere aceptar lo hace enseguida. En
cambio el blgaro primero niega un par de veces y despus de ver que el otro sigue insistiendo
acepta la invitacin. Resulta que en el trato con los blgaros hay que ser un poco ms
insistentes. Asimismo si la invitacin se niega el espaol se siente obligado a explicar el motivo
por el cual no acepta, mientras que el blgaro, en la mayora de los casos, ni se le ocurre dar
explicaciones algo que puede parecer grosero a los ojos del espaol.

Hablando de groseras reflexionemos acerca del uso de nombres de animales para insultar a
alguien. En ambos pases solo la palabra animal ya supone un insulto genrico a alguien que
tiene un comportamiento brutal, ms instintivo que racional o que es ignorante.

Los insultos con animales son construcciones que representan cultural y socialmente a un
pueblo. Por lo tanto la eleccin de un animal u otro est condicionada por el conocimiento
general que se tiene del animal y por las connotaciones peyorativas generales y particulares
que se atribuyen a cada uno de ellos. Dichas construcciones representan lo despreciable en el
individuo al que se pretende ofender, y este debe interpretarlo claramente como una ofensa.
Pero aqu tambin existen diferencias que uno debera manejar bien para ser entendido. A
continuacin se ofrece una lista con los insultos ms usados en los dos pases.

Significado Espaa Bulgaria
Ser gordo Ser un hipoptamo Ser un cerdo
Ser lento Ser una tortuga Ser un caracol
Ser listo y astuto Ser un zorro Ser una urraca / una zorra
Persona con malas
intenciones
Ser una vbora Ser una serpiente
Ser cobarde Ser una gallina Ser un conejo
Alguien que se cree muy
bueno y lo quiere
demostrar
Ser un gallo Ser un pavo
Alguien que habla mucho Ser una cotorra
Ser una gallina (se atribuye ms que nada a
las chicas que hablan mucho y piensan poco)


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Significado Espaa Bulgaria
Alguien con poca higiene
personal
Ser un guarro Ser un turn
Estar gorda
Estar como una vaca /
foca / ballena
Estar como un elefante
Alguien que se pasa el da
durmiendo
Una marmota Un turn

Otro aspecto importante para la comunicacin y su efectiva realizacin es saber que los
espaoles muchas veces suelen interrumpir la conversacin. Ya sea para adelantar o para
ensear que se ha entendido lo dicho y a la vez conseguir un ritmo ms rpido de la
comunicacin, pero este hecho no le gusta a los blgaros y adems de parecerle maleducado
tambin les ofende.

En cuanto a la comunicacin no verbal lo ms importante es la forma de saludar: los
espaoles se dan dos besos en la mejilla y medio abrazo, mientras que los blgaros solo se dan
la mano a una cierta distancia corts de casi un metro (incluso en situaciones no formales). Este
hecho tiene mucho que ver con la gestin del espacio. En la cultura espaola dicho espacio es
mucho menor que en la blgara. Incluso se suele tocar al interlocutor mientras habla con la
intencin de llamarle la atencin o para hacer nfasis en las palabras, pero en ambos casos
esto sorprende y hasta cierto punto choca al blgaro. El espacio personal en Bulgaria es casi
sagrado. Uno se siente bastante incomodado por la cercana de un desconocido que todava no
siente como amigo. Es bastante curioso porque al mismo tiempo al hacer una cola se puede
notar una impaciencia y una invasin al espacio personal que intimida al que est comprando
en este momento y no le deja terminar hacer su compra con tranquilidad.

Algo parecido sucede con el trato de t o de usted. En Espaa este tema es bastante difcil de
tratar por las diferencias regionales, generacionales y culturales. En Bulgaria se ha mantenido
ms el uso de usted y es ms fcil saber la norma: en caso de que no conozcas a la persona se
habla de usted, al igual que a una persona mayor, un profesor, un funcionario, un mdico o un
polica. Tambin se suele hablar de usted a los padres de un amigo mostrando as respeto.

La gestualidad es una parte fundamental de la comunicacin. El gesto ms chocante por su
diferencia con el resto del mundo es el que acompaa el s y el no. En Espaa, y en todo el
mundo excepto Bulgaria, este gesto es moviendo la cabeza de arriba abajo, mientras que los
blgaros hacen el gesto contrario, de derecha a izquierda, para responder afirmativamente y
viceversa.

Existe una leyenda que deriva de los tiempos del dominio otomano en los territorios blgaros
durante cinco siglos. Los blgaros tienen fama de obstinados y haciendo gala de ello durante
dicho perodo la mayora de ellos fueron obligados a cambiar de religin de forma violenta. La

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manera que tenan los otomanes de convertirles al islam era ponerles un cuchillo pegado a la
garganta para preguntarles si iban a cambiar de religin, de manera que si respondan con no
girando la cabeza de un lado al otro, el cuchillo se deslizaba por el cuello y la persona mora. De
esta manera, para salvarse la vida, los blgaros hacan el gesto de s (moviendo la cabeza de
arriba a abajo) pero pensaban en el no. Tambin existe la hiptesis de Desmod Morris (zologo
y etlogo ingls) que da en su libro El animal humano: el s blgaro es la expresin corporal de
la expresin te doy mi odo que surgi en el comienzo del lenguaje hablado y que ms tarde
se convirti en signo de afirmacin. Dicho gesto consiste en mover la cabeza a un lado
acercando as el odo al interlocutor, algo que hoy en da la gente mayor hace cuando no oye
bien.
Aparte de la sorpresa que se llevan los extranjeros en Bulgaria, este gesto provoca muchas
confusiones en la comunicacin y si uno no est anteriormente preparado corre el riesgo de no
entender al otro o a no conseguir el servicio que necesita (Este autobs va al centro? y
respuesta con la cabeza movindola de un lado a otro, expresando afirmacin, pero sin
pronunciar palabra. El que pregunta entiende que no va al centro, baja del autobs y espera
otro).

Existen diferencias en los significados de otros gestos:
o La expresin Ests loco es tambin diferente. En Espaa es apuntando el dedo
ndice a la sien y movindolo, y en Bulgaria es moviendo toda la mano de un lado
a otro, como si se desatornillara una bombilla, cerca de la sien.
o Mucha gente: el gesto espaol es juntando todos los dedos de la mano con la
palma hacia arriba. En cambio el blgaro es cruzando los dedos de las dos
manos, unos en otros.
o Ten cuidado de alguien o de algo: en Espaa se pone el dedo ndice en el
prpado inferior de un ojo, en Bulgaria este gesto es ms bien para dejar claro
que cree que le estn mintiendo.
o Tocar madera: en Espaa consiste solamente en tocar, acariciar la madera por
debajo, mientras que en Bulgaria es tocar la madera, tambin por debajo, con un
dedo haciendo ruido.
o Me piro: La palma de la mano izquierda totalmente abierta, y la mano derecha
perpendicular a ella golpeando de lado (gesto espaol) y moviendo una palma
abierta verticalmente, a la altura de la cara.
o Ser un caradura: En Espaa se representa golpeando ligeramente varias veces
sobre la mejilla con la palma de la mano abierta y vuelta. En Bulgaria no existe
un gesto.

Las supersticiones es otro tema interesante en el mbito de la comunicacin no verbal porque
representan hasta cierto punto la mentalidad de la gente y explican su comportamiento. Existen
similitudes entre ambos pases: espejo roto (mala suerte durante 7 aos); ver gato negro (mala

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suerte durante el da) y otros que son diferentes: una fecha fatal en Espaa es el martes 13 y en
Bulgaria el viernes 13; los gatos en Espaa tienen 7 vidas, y en Bulgaria 9.
Existen supersticiones que tienen su explicacin con la educacin de los nios. Tales son por
ejemplo la imposibilidad de sentarse en la esquina de la mesa porque eso promete la soltera de
por vida; no se puede cantar mientras se come porque tu marido va a ser de clase ms baja, el
ltimo bocado siempre debe comerse porque en caso contrario te van a vencer en las peleas
del barrio.

Supersticiones que simplemente predicen el futuro son: si te pica la mano (vas a recibir o a dar
dinero, dependiendo de qu mano es); si ves una cigea volando (viajar mucho durante el ao
siguiente); si a una mujer embarazada se le echa un poco de sal a la cabeza y segn lo primero
que ella toca se predice el sexo del beb (si es la nariz ser un nio, si es la barbilla una
nia).
Otro aspecto de las supersticiones son las creencias populares. En Bulgaria abundan acciones
como pequeos rituales en las que las personas todava creen que gracias a ellas tendrn o no
buena suerte. As por ejemplo es difcil ver a una blgara dejarse el bolso en el suelo porque
eso significa que se va a quedar sin dinero. Si va de visita a una casa blgara el visitante, que
quiera regalar un ramo de flores, debera asegurarse que este sea impar, porque los pares se
llevan solamente a las tumbas de los muertos. Existen varias explicaciones de esta costumbre.
La ms romntica es que la chica a la que se regalan las flores forma el nmero par del
conjunto. Otra explicacin es que es una tradicin francesa para demostrar que las flores han
sido compradas de una floristera y no del mercado donde se suelen vender en decenas,
docenas, veintenas, etc. Segn las creencias paganas los nmeros pares son smbolo del mal
(en blgaro existe el dicho popular Ningn mal viene solo); en las culturas antiguas estos
nmeros representan un ciclo terminado, como la muerte, y los impares: la vida y la felicidad.

Asimismo no se debe pasar por debajo de una escalera puesta en la calle (origen pagano, la
explicacin consiste en que los dioses suban al cielo por una escalera como esta y para no
irritarles se evitaba pasar por all); no hay que derramar la sal porque eso influye en el dinero y
el bienestar; no tirar la basura por la noche o sacudir ropa o el mantel (as se tira la suerte); no
regalar un reloj (se va a estropear la amistad). Son importantes las supersticiones que predicen
mala suerte porque son los que ms frecuentemente se pueden detectar en la vida de los
blgaros y explican su comportamiento en determinadas situaciones.

Para terminar mencionaremos algunas cosas curiosas que suelen sorprender a los espaoles
cuando llegan a Bulgaria. Tales son las tiendas que estn situados en stanos y la gente tiene
que agacharse para comprar algo; las tiendas y restaurantes que estn abiertos 24 horas; las
esquelas pegadas en cualquier sitio en las calles (muchas veces los extranjeros piensan que
son carteles de gente desaparecida); la abundancia de perros y gatos callejeros; las bebidas
airn (yogur con agua y sal) y la boza (hecha a base de trigo o mijo, de consistencia densa y
sabor agridulce); la conservacin en botes de verduras para el invierno; asar pimientos y secar

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frutas y verduras colgndolas; la forma de hacer la cama o el desayuno tpico hecho de hojaldre
muy fino y queso salado, que tambin se puede tomar como postre o merienda.
Estamos acostumbrados a representar la mentalidad y la cultura de un pueblo a travs de los
estereotipos que conocemos, pero muchas veces eso tiene poco que ver con la realidad de hoy.
La imagen que se tiene sobre los espaoles es que son muy gritones, sonrientes, utilizan
muchos gestos, muy emocionales, pero tambin perezosos. Y la de los blgaros - muy serios,
formales, reservados y antipticos. Para desmentir estos estereotipos se precisa el contacto
entre los dos mundos, una mente abierta, comprensiva y tolerante hacia la diversidad as como
el buen manejo de las diferencias culturales para poder conseguir una comunicacin eficiente.




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HO< INTERCULTURAL AM I ? ORB THE EUROPEAN LAN)UA)E
PORTGOLIO A* A TOOL IN THE INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION
by Assist. Prof. Xi#olina Fsvet#ova PhD, Sofia University St. li!ent "hrids#i9

Todays education in general and language education in particular are unthinkable without
the development of skills to participate successfully in ever intensifying communication across
groups such as age, ethnic, or religious, and across borders and continents. A number of
important European documents discussing the priorities of modern language education,
including the White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue Living together as equals in dignity (2008),
emphasise the necessity of adequate language education coupled with the development of
intercultural competence as important factors in achieving enhanced quality of education and
social cohesion. As a whole, multilingualism and maintaining the diversity of languages and
cultures represented in Europe have the status of an official policy of the European Commission
with the Commissions aim to encourage language learning and promoting linguistic diversity in
society(,. Language education which is aimed at establishing connections between all the
languages and cultures one studies or acquires informally is seen as enhancing individuals
personal development as well as improving society as a whole. One of the basic documents of
the European Commission which embodies the above values is the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR), which serves as the foundation for converging language
policies of member-states, for developing new language learning syllabi, teaching materials,
assessment strategies and tools, and which provides transparency and comparability of
language qualifications in all modern foreign languages.

In the CEFR, language and culture learning are seen as one whole and the languages and
cultures one learns or acquires are seen as forming a complex whole, the constituent elements
of which influence one another. The learner of a second or foreign language and culture does
not cease to be competent in his or her mother tongue and the associated culture. Nor is the
new competence kept entirely separate from the old. The learner does not simply acquire two
distinct, unrelated ways of acting and communicating.

The language learner becomes plurilingual and develops interculturality. The linguistic and
cultural competences in respect of each language are modified by knowledge of the other and
contribute to intercultural awareness, skills and know-how. They enable the individual to develop
an enriched, more complex personality and an enhanced capacity for further language learning
and greater openness to new cultural experiences. (CEFR: p.43)

51
A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (COM (2005) 596 final). The document states that language is the
most direct expression of culture; it is what makes us human and what gives each of us a sense of identity and
outlines further what strategic actions should be taken by member-states to pursue and implement the multilingualism
policy.

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This framework document leads to a number of results which can be summarised as follows:
creation of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) which helps learners assess
their linguistic and cultural competences in all languages spoken by them;
ones mother tongue is not excluded from the process of learning languages but
is used as the basis for studying a second, third, etc. language;
ones language and culture learning experience leads to better knowledge of
language and culture, intercomprehension, development of learning to learn skills;
discussion about the process of learning a language and ones language and
culture learning experience enhance the learners self-awareness (Stefanova:
2007).

We firmly believe the need for teaching students to communicate interculturally cannot be
separated from language education. As this is a task which goes well beyond the classroom
walls, we are going to look at one of the possible ways of achieving this in practice, namely, we
are going to discuss the potential of the ELP in this respect. We are going to argue that keeping
a portfolio is, on the whole, beneficial for developing learners independence and self-awareness
although it needs some extra effort in and out of class on the part of both educators and
learners. In addition, the task of supporting language and intercultural learning relies on helping
learners become aware of others identities as well as their own and is closely related to
equipping students with the necessary tools to explore and reflect on their own language and
culture learning needs and the best ways these can be met.

From a broad pedagogical perspective, portfolios are being used more and more often in a
variety of settings related to teaching and learning. Pedagogical theory holds that a portfolio can
be viewed as a personal folder providing documentation and evidence of ones personal
development, a collection of materials and work on a specific school subject or topic area, a self-
assessment instrument, a self-reflection tool, an alternative assessment tool, a collection of
materials, tools, etc., aimed at achieving a specific goal, a personal folder containing materials
grouped as the author sees fit, etc., but most of all, as a modern educational technology.
Researchers into the theory and practice of using portfolios in education emphasise that a
portfolio is, first of all, a personal product, an effective tool in developing curious, critical,
independent learners which provides a record of ones development and its most important
stages thus becoming an effective assessment and self-assessment tool (Yanakieva 2005). In a
constructivist sense, portfolios help learners construct knowledge in their own minds, discover
and categorise information, putting them in the position of active learners. From a psychological
perspective, they help create independent, creative, empathetic learners with positive self-
esteem. In his discussion of the ELP and its pedagogical value David Little points out that self-
assessment is the hinge on which reflective learning and the development of learner autonomy
turn (2009: 3).


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The European Language Portfolio (ELP) has been around for more than 10 years now. It has
been trialled in different versions for different ages and learner groups in different countries -
and currently a collection of ELP templates are available to choose from and compile an ELP
that best suits an institutions or an individuals purposes
(http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/). All these reflect the basic philosophy of the CEFR and
can be used to record and present ones experience in learning languages and cultures. They
follow the same tripartite structure - the Language Passport, which provides an overview of
ones language competences at a given moment, defined in terms of skills and the common
reference levels (from A1 Basic User to C2 Proficient User); the Language Biography which
includes information on linguistic and cultural personal goal-setting, experiences in and outside
class and self-assessment grids; and the Dossier, which is a collection of materials, documents
and certificates which support the information included in the other two sections. In their review
of the different self-assessment techniques used in language education from completing self-
assessment sheets to using assessment grids Coomb and Canning (2002) emphasise some
of the advantages of using self-assessment in language education as follows.

It allows learners to specify what they know in a language at different stages of
their learning.
It helps learner to develop critical thinking skills.
It allows learners to look at the language in greater depth.
It motivates learners to reflect on their strong and weak points as regards
language learning and to become more independent, with this gradually
becoming a substantial part of the teaching and learning process.

The ELP belongs to the learner, can be revised and updated as needed and is thus entirely
its owners responsibility. Going further, in line with the underlying values of multilingualism and
multiculturalism, the ELP is based on self-reflection and self-assessment. As a result, learners
distance themselves from the process of learning a language and begin to think about the
strategies they apply in learning a language and dealing with culture, and exactly how they do
this. Self-reflection is thus thought to help develop learner autonomy and motivation to study a
language. However, successful self-reflection does not happen automatically, it requires certain
skills.

Goal setting or setting personal learning aims. This is an important skill as it
allows learners to evaluate their achievements against clear personal learning goals.
Another positive aspect is that setting such aims is important to the individual and
achieving them has a powerful motivating effect. It is common among students to initially
set themselves vague and rather general learning aims which are difficult to self-assess
or even assess for that matter (i.e. "to speak English"). This means that learners need
guidance in how to formulate realistic, attainable and measurable aims with regard to
their language and culture learning.

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Skills in using self-assessment tools. It is considered that learners need to be
shown self-assessment ideas and strategies in the course of learning a language.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the CEFR and ELP have influenced a large
number of newly published or revised language course books, in that they often contain
self-assessment grids or course book oriented can-do statements (usually at the end of a
unit or module) or even separate Portfolio booklets.

Skills in keeping a (language) portfolio. Since portfolios in general are a
purposeful and systematically organised collection of evidence of a learners
development, it is especially important to guide students to develop skills in regularly
revising and updating their language portfolio. (Based on ideas from The National Capital
Language Resource Center, Washington, DC (2003, 2004)
http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/assessing/peereval.htm.).

Bearing in mind that according to the introduction to the intercultural component of the ELP,
most existing ELP models encourage the owner to write reflectively on intercultural
experiences of various kinds, but usually without providing a specific focus, the various
validated versions of the ELP can be used as starting points with regard to the possible ways to
record and reflect on ones own plurilingual and intercultural competence. However, they need to
be further enriched in a way that reflects the complexity of intercultural competence (see
Byrams model of intercultural competence(-). Apart from the guidelines in these introductory
pages, an ELP designer can also keep in mind the suggestions made by Goullier(3 and/or
Byram(:.
A small-scale research project carried out by teacher trainers from Sofia University
Department of Information and In-service Teacher Training used a set of ELP templates
(http://www.coe.int/t/DG4/Portfolio/?L=E&M=/documents_intro/Templates.html) to establish the
linguistic and cultural awareness of Bulgarian students at the end of their basic and secondary
education (8th and 12th grades respectively). The research team used these templates because

52
Byram proposes the following model of intercultural competence which has been used as point of reference in a
variety of educational and research documents: (a) Attitudes: curiosity and openness, readiness to suspend disbelief
about other cultures and belief about one's own; (b) Knowledge: of social groups and their products and practices in
one's own and in one's interlocutor's country, and of the general processes of societal and individual interaction; (c)
Skills of interpreting and relating: ability to interpret a document or event from another culture, to explain it and
relate it to documents from one's own; (d) Skills of discovery and interaction: ability to acquire new knowledge of a
culture and cultural practices and the ability to operate knowledge, attitudes and skills under the constraints of real-
time communication and interaction; (e) Critical cultural awareness/political education: an ability to evaluate critically
and on the basis of explicit criteria perspectives, practices and products in one's own and other cultures and countries.
53
Gullier suggests ELP designers follow three possible lines of development taking stock of the different learning and
life experiences possible within a particular context. He also suggests linking the use of an ELP with the AIE (the
English version can be found at http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/autobiography/default_en.asp).
54
Byram, M. (2000) Based on Byrams model of intercultural competence (Byram 1997), the author suggests two
approaches to dealing with interculturality in the ELP recording ones feelings, knowledge and actions with regard to
intercultural experiences and/or ones interest in other people's way of life, ability to change perspective, ability to
cope with living in a different culture, knowledge about another country and culture, knowledge about intercultural
communication.

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of the plurilingual and intercultural potential of the ELP, hoping to find out whether students are
able to reflect on and draw parallels between the different languages they study at school, as
well as on the different cultures they come into contact with while learning or using these
languages. The selected templates were simplified to a certain extent as they were used only
once to take a snapshot of the results of implementing the mother tongue plus two other
languages policy in Bulgarian secondary education. The team focused on looking at personal
learning goals; achievements and difficulties of learning a foreign language; learners awareness
of getting in contact with other cultures; awareness of the significance of the language in
question to the process of getting in contact with other cultures and awareness of sources of
learning about the culture of this language. The numbers of the returned reflection sheets (129
for plurilingual competence and only 37 for intercultural competence)(( demonstrate that
students find it harder to reflect on their own intercultural encounters. This may be due to the
somewhat traditional neglect of the matter (established in previous studies - see Tsvetkova
2011) in the process of learning languages at Bulgarian schools, or to the fact that students have
not been trained to reflect on their own culture or how they interact with other cultures. Another
reason for the rather laconic student responses in all reflection sheets may be that using
reflection sheets focused on learning-to-learn, goal-setting or interculturality in class is not a very
common situation. In general, at school the ELP is often reduced to self-assessment checklists
with regard to linguistic proficiency, despite some efforts on the part of the Department of
Information and In-service Teacher Training in this respect through a series of teacher training
seminars in 2006-2009 focusing on helping Bulgarian English teachers implement the ELP.

The authors active involvement in the above-mentioned surveys and training as well as
systematically using the ELP as a self-reflection tool with her own BA and MA students at Sofia
University makes her believe that developing a reflective element in language teaching is worth-
while. The Language Biography sheets students complete over time demonstrate a change in
the way the learners perceive their language and intercultural development they become more
confident in formulating their ideas and more critical in their reflections. However, this is a
process requiring time and effort. It is necessary to support teachers and students to understand
the underlying philosophy of the ELP and to provide opportunities for teachers and students to
have portfolio-keeping training. Language learning courses should also be designed in a way
that allows reflection and discussion of the lessons one learns as a result of working on their
own ELP with peers and educators.



55
The results of the research are discussed in more detail in Tsvetkova, N. & B. Stoimenova (2012) Applying The
ELP at Secondary Schools. The Bulgarian Experience.

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References:

- A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (COM (2005) 596 final,
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/doc/com596_en.pdf, 2005.

- Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters (2009), Council of Europe,
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/autobiography/default_EN.asp

- Byram, M. (1997) Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.
Clevedon, UK, Multilingual Matters.

- Byram, M. (2000). Assessing Intercultural Competence in Langauge teaching. In:
Sprogforum, Issue 18, Vol. 6, 2000, pp 8-13.

- Council of Europe: Modern Languages division (2001), Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment,
Strassbourg & CUP.

- Council of Europe (2003), Guide for the Development of Language Education,
Policies in Europe. Strasbourg,
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/FullGuide_EN.pdf.

- Coomb, C. & C. Canning (2002) Using Self-Assessment in the Classroom: Rationale
and Suggested Techniques (http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/selfassess2.html).

- Goullier, F. (2009) Taking Account of Plurilingual and Intercultural Competence in
European Language Portfolios: ELP Templates and Resources,
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/elp-
reg/Source/Templates/ELP_Plurilingual_competence_EN.pdf.

- European Language Portfolio, http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp

- Little, D. (2009) Learner autonomy: drawing together the threads of self-assessment,
goal-setting and reflection. Council of Europe
- Little, D., (2009) The European Language Portfolio: where pedagogy and
assessment meet, DGIV EDU LANG (2009) 19,
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/elp-
reg/Source/Publications/ELP_pedagogy_assessment_Little_EN.pdf.

- Tsvetkova, N. (2011). Aspects of Assessing Intercultural Communicative
Competence While Studying English at Secondary School - Assessment Issues. In

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Pejatovic, A. Evaluation in Education in the Balkan Countries. Institute for Pedagogy
and Andragogy Faculty of Philosophy University of Belgrade, pp. 417 422.

- Council of Europe (2008) White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue Living together as
equals in dignity, Council of Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, 2008,
http://www.coe.int/dialogue.

- , R. (2007) - . Y, ,
. r, .

- U, ., E. (2012) Rr EER
OY. Er . B: R, M. (.) E
, HK "3'94", B , 2012, . 529-538.

- H, . (2005) O : , r,
. B i-, 2/2005, http://www.diuu.bg/






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+ALUE*: <RITTEN IN THE *TAR*R PROMOTED ?Y THE MEDIA
by Desislava Wareva, Xew BElCarian University

Introduction
Astrology, and more specifically one of its aspects, the horoscope, seems to be quite favoured
by the contemporary mass media around the world. Both electronic and printed media consider
it necessary, if not compulsory to offer daily, weekly or monthly horoscopes in order to increase
their readership or respond to their audiences needs (see Burton 2012). Various types of
horoscopes are produced, circulated, distributed and consumed in particular societies, they tend
to address particular audiences and satisfy certain needs. They appear to share similar text
structures, raise similar topics and make use of particular linguistic devices. All these aspects
make the horoscopes published in the media an interesting object of study.

Aims
The present article is based on the assumption that the horoscopes appearing in any medium
bear a sufficient number of characteristic features, which allow them to be identified as a specific
media genre with its own structure and discursive characteristics. It also draws upon the
understanding that media texts are always simultaneously constitutive of social identities, social
relations and systems of knowledge and belief (Fiske 1990: 55). The main research focus in the
article is the values detectable in a sample of 60 horoscopes published in different editions of a
world-wide popular womens magazine Cosmopolitan. I will discuss the means (textual,
linguistic and non-linguistic) employed by the production teams in order to represent and
promote certain values among Cosmopolitan readers in two countries Bulgaria and Britain.

Values
The term value usually refers to a principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or
desirable. Social values are those of the principles and standards of human interaction within a
given group that are regarded by members of that group as being worthy, important or significant
(see businessdictionary.com, education.com). These usually make it clear what is acceptable or
unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc. within the
constraints of the given group. According to Vinogradov (Vinogradov 2007: 9395), values have
a hierarchical structure which can be different for each culture, they are stable but at the same
time they are subject to change. Last but not least, even though they are idealistic in nature, they
are detectable through human behaviour.
For the purposes of this article, I have relied on several sources providing information about the
values shared by women in the two countries: Bulgaria and Britain. One is a source book on
beliefs and values of people from more than 80 societies around the world. Using data from the
World Values Survey and European Values Study Surveys, it examines standardized cross-
cultural measures of human values and goals concerning politics, economics, religion, sexual
behaviour, gender roles, family values, communal identities, civic engagement and ethical
concerns, and such issues as environmental protection, scientific progress and technological

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development and human happiness. (Inglehart, Basanez, Deiz-Medrano, Halman and Luijkx
2004: 1)
It provides comparatively independent and reliable information about the Bulgarians and the
British from different age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Among the top 5 highest
ranking values in both cultures as quoted in the 2001-2002 survey are:
value Bulgaria Great Britain
Family 89% 89%
Work 65% 42%
Friends 44% 58%
Religion 40% 13%
Leisure 33% 51%
Table 1. Top 5 highest ranking values quoted in the 2001-2002 survey

Cosmo values
It also seemed important to give a comparatively reliable account of what Cosmopolitan readers
are expected to value most. Information about these was sought in logos, mission statements
and target group descriptions made available by the Cosmopolitan publishers. The
Cosmopolitan Media Kit website claims that the magazine aims at the fun fearless females who
want to be the best they can be in every area of their lives, offering articles on topics such as
relationships, fashion, beauty/ grooming, health & fitness, entertainment, self-improvement, food,
careers, home, general interest, and others (see Cosmopolitan Media Kit: 2011). Further
research concerning its Bulgarian readership throws light on the following habits of its readers.

Activities Avarage %
for women
Average % for
Cosmopolitan readers
go out once a week or more often 14,00% 44,00%
use of cream/body lotion once or more times a day 16,00% 41,00%
spend money with no hesitation 14,00% 32,00%
bought jeans over the last 12 months 35,00% 74,00%
bought trainers over the last 12 months 27,00% 57,00%
bought a car in their household over the last 12
months
7,00% 13,00%
put on make-up every day 14,00% 26,00%
own a digital camera 29,00% 53,00%
own a laptop 19,00% 33,00%
brand is very important for cosmetics 42,00% 58,00%
Table 2. The Cosmopolitan reader in Bulgaria. (based on data from a TGI Market test, July-September 2011)


ICC the international language association 2013
189
One possible interpretation of these figures is that Cosmopolitan readers in Bulgaria put great
importance on: leisure (e.g.clubbing and going out to restaurants); high standard of living (e.g.
owning comparatively expensive possessions such as cars and laptops, preferring renowned
trademarks and brands, etc.); consuming (e.g. spending money without second thought, buying
clothes, shoes , cosmetics, etc.); and visual appearance (e.g. using beauty products such as
make-up and cream regularly).
To summarise, Cosmopolitan seems to put great importance on issues such as: relationships,
appearance (e.g. fashion, beauty/ grooming), health & fitness, consuming, entertainment, self-
improvement, food, careers and home and one could tentatively conclude that these are the
values to be represented and reinforced by the content of the magazine.
Cosmopolitan the sample
My sample consists of a total of 60 horoscope entries from five different editions of the
magazine. There are two UK editions (one published in August 2000, the other in August 2011)
and three Bulgarian editions published in August and September 2011). Since back in 2000
Cosmopolitan was not available in Bulgarian, only a copy from year 2011 was included in the
sample. Three of the magazines are paper copies (the monthly editions), two are available
online (Cosmo Bulgaria weekly and Cosmo Bulgaria daily).
issue Monthly/weekly/daily type N of
entries
Cosmopolitan UK August 2000 monthly paper 12
Cosmopolitan UK August 2011 monthly paper 12
Cosmopolitan BG September 2011 monthly paper 12
Cosmopolitan BG August (17-23.08.2011) weekly online 12
Cosmopolitan BG August (23.08.2011) daily online 12
Table 3. The Sample

The research methods
The two main research methods employed in this study are Content and Critical Discourse
Analysis (CDA). I mainly used the former in order to identify the significance each issue assigns
to the horoscope. What seemed relevant to focus on was:
The type of magazine - paper or online
The position of horoscope pages
The number of pages dedicated to horoscopes
The size (approximate number of words) of each item
The authorship (how many of the horoscopes have a designated author)
The number of other astrological items (e.g. articles, classified ads, numerology).
The latter, CDA comprises a number of approaches applied simultaneously to discuss the
different aspects of the horoscope as a media genre. It allows the exploration of the linguistic
features and organization of concrete instances of discourse (Blommaert and Chris Bulcaen
2000:449): e.g. recurrent patterns in vocabulary use, typical grammar structures, cohesion and
text structure. What is more, CDA allows us to look at the horoscope as discourse that is

ICC the international language association 2013
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produced, circulated, distributed and consumed in society, i.e. analysing it within a broader
framework of a particular context. This aspect of CDA is particularly important for this study
since it aims to compare horoscopes produced and consumed in two different cultures.
Finally, CDA helps analyse discourse-as-social-practice and account for some ideological
processes taking place during the production and consumption of this mass media genre. Thus,
one can elicit the type of values represented in the horoscope as well as study in detail the
methods the magazine makes use of in order to project these values to its implied audiences.
To sum up, I focused my analysis on the layout of the horoscope pages, paying particular
attention to the images and other visual means (graphic design, page headings, use of colours,
text organization, format, etc.), which helped me reveal certain similarities and differences in the
means both Bulgarian and British media employ to convey particular meanings and ideologies to
their readers.

Analysis
I will first consider some similarities all three monthly paper editions share with regard to their
horoscope pages. In all issues the horoscope is a regular rubric which is first announced on the
content pages either as regulars (Cosmopolitan UK) or In every issue (Cosmopolitan BG). As
a rule, it appears towards the end of the magazine, immediately after the classified ads
(Cosmopolitan UK) or framed by other advertisements and after the shopping directory
(Cosmopolitan BG). In two of the cases (Cosmopolitan UK 2000 and Cosmopolitan BG), it
spreads over two or three consecutive pages, thus forming a section in its own right. Each issue
introduces the horoscope page with a different heading: Cosmology (Cosmopolitan UK 2000),
Cosmostrology (Cosmopolitan UK 2011) and An Astrologer under your pillow (Cosmopolitan
BG). The horoscopes in both British editions appear as short and neatly outlined paragraphs,
preceded by the Latin name of the zodiac sign and the period over which it extends and are
concluded by a telephone number offering more information. Following the Bulgarian traditions,
the horoscopes in the Bulgarian edition make use of Bulgarian name of the zodiac signs (e.g.
Ram, Twins, Fish, etc.)
Each of the three magazines gives particular prominence to the entry featuring the sign of the
month (Leo and Virgo) as well as some general highlights of the month for all signs. Both British
issues introduce the astrologer who casts the horoscope for their readers, while the Bulgarian
one remains anonymous. As previously mentioned, Cosmopolitan is aimed at educated women
from the age group 18 - 45 with a comparatively higher income and social status. (see
NRS:2000, Cosmo Media Kit:2011). However, the Cosmo girl is different in all the three editions.
In the Bulgarian edition she is practically non-existent, since the selected image accompanying
the stars pages is that of an international celebrity, Beyonc. The choice of an American singer
for Ms. Leo is hardly random. On the one hand, this might be an indication that Cosmo values
are not yet quite at home in Bulgaria. On the other, it may be due to the fact that most of the
content in Cosmopolitan Bulgaria is produced in the USA , translated and adapted to the needs
of the Bulgarian market.

ICC the international language association 2013
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The perceived reader of Cosmopolitan UK (2000) is visualized by means of a cartoon which
occupies the top right corner of the page: she is young, good looking, well-dressed and full of
action. She seems equally capable of taking charge of her professional career and of her private
life. Moreover, she is aware of her appeal and is therefore self-confident. This image of a
successful young professional is further reinforced by the photograph of the astrologer, Sarah
Bartlett, which occupies the opposite corner of the page. The three basic colours, red, white and
pink add further implications with regard to the identity of the Cosmopolitan reader. She is
assertive, passionate, even aggressive (red), she can be tender and innocent (white) and she is
definitely hopeful about the future (pink).
The short introductory passage seems to reinforce the dreamer image of the reader but it also
urges her to action. Dream date, dream job, dream day or are you just dreaming? Your future is
just around the corner, so find out what it holds for you. What is more, it sets the interactive
(astrologer reader) tone of the horoscope, a point to which I will return later on in this analysis.

The Cosmo girl in the horoscope page from the 2011 issue is no longer alone. The picture
accompanying the horoscopes occupies a central position and takes up approximately a quarter
of the page (equal to four of THE horoscope entries). It shows a dark-haired couple in their mid-
twenties, smiling head-to-head. They both are wearing sunglasses a direct reference to the
time of year the summer. The background is not visible but the reflection in the girls
sunglasses gives the outlines of a building on a sandy beach.
This could be interpreted as a change in priorities being in a satisfying relationship with a
member of the opposite sex seems to be foregrounded as a value. This issue of Cosmopolitan
makes use of different colours for the title Cosmostrology pink, orange, yellow, green and
blue constitute the Cosmo part of the word, while black is used for the prediction part
strology. This use of colours may refer to the diversity of women constituting the Cosmopolitan
readership as well as reinforce the idea of variety in terms of topics discussed in the magazine.

The two Bulgarian online horoscope pages do not add much to the image of the Cosmo girl as
they make use of cartoons depicting the animals representing each sign. The two basic colours
used for the cartoons are pink (for the background) and white (for the cartoon itself).

I will now turn to the values that seem to be foregrounded by all issues of Cosmopolitan,
regardless of the year of publication.

Issue Values
Cosmopolitan UK August 2000 selfreliance; selfassertion; belief in ones
qualities; sex and sexual pleasures; personal
relationships; work

ICC the international language association 2013
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Cosmopolitan UK August 2011 finance; change; relationships; friends; family;
love; travel; plans; work; success; possessions;
fashion; home; entertainment; standing up for ones
rights; being unique; being pro-active; being flexible;
Cosmopolitan BG September 2011 sex and sexual relationships; taking the initiative in
all spheres; being self-reliant; friendship; going out;
keeping fit; taking care of appearance; work; intuition;
gossiping;
Cosmopolitan BG August (17-
23.08.2011)
taking the initiative; love; relationships; luck;
orientation to self; change; optimism; sex;
straightforwardness; imagination; honesty; intuition;
pride; friendship; happiness;
Cosmopolitan BG August
(23.08.2011)
taking the initiative; sex; relationships; work;
friendship; relax; going out; stress; self-reliance;
spending money; charity; housework; love; appearance;
Table 4. Cosmopolitan values (summary)

As the table shows, the Cosmo girl is perceived as an individual with her own needs and
concerns. This appears to be a central issue; hence it could also be identified as a basic value.
Self- reliance and self-assertion, as well as the belief in ones qualities are the other values
projected by each of the magazines. The readers are constantly encouraged to take
responsibility and be active, both in their career development and the matters of the heart.
Apparently aiming at young and single women, Cosmopolitan introduces its audiences to the
idea of sex and sexual pleasures as not necessarily being part of a romantic commitment or a
monogamous relationship.
Sparks could fly by the 16
th
when anyone, from a stranger to a friends boyfriend, seems to find
you irresistible.
The Full Moon gives you a burst of sexual desire on the 15
th
. Give in to your needs on the 18
th
and your boyfriend will tell you his fantasies.
(Cosmopolitan 2000)
With the exception of the UK 2011 issue, sex seems to dominate in all the remaining
horoscopes. It appears to be attached to any other topic, be it work, money or change: for
example, one is advised to go to fitness as that is the place where she will meet a potential
boyfriend; the workplace has a potential for promotion, but it is also the place where a colleague
will introduce you to a single friend; food (avocado and oysters) should serve the purpose of an
aphrodisiac, old friends from the past turn out to be your next passionate lover, etc.
(Cosmopolitan 2011:143). This has clear connection to the mission statement of the magazine
which lists sex as one of its major topics.
To sum up, the five most prominent themes that receive extensive coverage in all the editions
are: taking the initiative; sex and sexual relationships; self-reliance; work and friendship. Two of
them work and friendship correspond to the results from the international survey (see table 1).

ICC the international language association 2013
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Language
Language is, no doubt, another powerful means Cosmopolitan makes use of to convey certain
meanings and to further render them to its audiences. A close observation of the linguistic
means employed by the five issues reveals a number of similarities they share. First of all, most
of them strongly rely on astrological jargon and abstract vocabulary in the message. As a result,
a certain degree of vagueness in the language use is achieved, which in turn ensures the appeal
of the horoscope to wider audiences. Second, despite their language vagueness, the
horoscopes attempt to address each of the potential readers personally. This is achieved
through the extensive use of the pronouns you and your, and is reinforced by the use of
numerous imperative forms, e.g. Relax! Seduce! Grab! This and the use of the modal verbs
should, might could outline the function of the horoscope as another more sophisticated
agony aunt column, which tends to give advice or raise readers attention with regard to
particular personal matters.
Though the horoscopes in the Bulgarian issues do not have designated authors, certain
linguistic means are employed not only to directly address the reader, but also urge her to act.
For example, the daily horoscope sounds as an immediate instruction to be followed:
Stay at home, clean the house, cook something, buy delicious wine and invite someone of your
single friends.
Make your day better with quick sex at lunch.
Among the most commonly used devices are singular imperative forms, the informal you (ti),
colloquial speech, etc. The weekly horoscope is more vaguely formulated than the direct urge for
action detectable in the daily horoscopes. It resembles a statement given by psychoanalysts and
usually ends with a warning, piece of advice, suggested course of actions.

Conclusion
Returning to my aims I will now draw some tentative conclusions.
First, the horoscopes in magazines do function as media texts and can be representative
of the values shared by their readers: the horoscopes in Cosmopolitan copy, project and actively
promote the values listed in the publishers mission statements.
Second, the most common and most widely covered themes in the sample correspond to a
greater extent to the values with the highest degree of importance worldwide: family, work and
friends seem to be universal topics. Leisure can also be included as part of this list, though it
does not receive equal coverage in all magazines. Religion is not mentioned at all, but
considering the genre this is hardly surprising.



ICC the international language association 2013
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References:

- Blommaert, J. Bulcaen, C (2000) Critical Discourse Analysis, in Annual Review of
Anthropology, Vol. 29 (2000), pp. 447-466, Annual Reviews Stable
http://www.jstor.org/stable/223428Accessed: 22/11/2010 06:10

- Burton, A. (2012) Affiliate Monthly. http://www.annabelburton.com/affiliate_monthly.html,
last accessed 02.12.2012

- Cosmopolitan (August 2000), The National Magazine Co Ltd.

- Cosmopolitan (August 2011), The National Magazine Co Ltd.

- Cosmopolitan Media Kit (2011) http://www.cosmomediakit.com/r5/home.asp (last
accessed 19.02.2013)

- Cosmopolitan online. Published 2002, accessed 23.08.2011

- http://www.cosmopolitan.bg/.

- Cosmopolitan online daily horoscope. Published 23.08.2011, accessed 23.08.2011

- http://www.cosmopolitan.bg/horoskop/dneven-horoskop-12.html .

- Cosmopolitan online weekly horoscope, published 17.08.2011, accessed 23.08.2011

- http://www.cosmopolitan.bg/sedmichen-horoskop/oven-3786.html.

- Cosmopolitan ( 2011), Ar r, Cosmopolitan, .9 (90),
2011, . 141-142

- Cosmopolitan ( 2011), B r. 3
, Cosmopolitan, .9 (90), 2011, . 143

- Education.com. Social values. Published 2006 accessed 23.01. 2012
http://www.education.com/definition/social-values/

- Fiske, J. (1990) (2
nd
Ed) Introduction to Communication Studies, London&New York:
Routledge


ICC the international language association 2013
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- Inglehart, R., Basez M, Dez-Medrano J., Halman L. and Luijkx R. (ed) (2004): Human
Beliefs and Values .A cross-cultural sourcebook based on the 1999-2002 values surveys,
Mexico: Siglo XXI Editores

- National Readership Survey (December 1999 May 2000), NRS Ltd.

- Sanoma Blyasak Bulgaria (2011) TGI Market test, July-September 2011, published
September 2011, accessed 20.06. 2012

- The Business Dictionary. Cultural values. Accessed 23.01. 2012,

- http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/cultural-values.html

- Vinogradov S.N (2007), K lingvisticheskomu ponimaniyu tsennosti. Russkaya slovestnost
v kontekste mirovoj kulturyi: materialyi mezhdunarodnoj nauchnoj konferentssii PORPHP
(Linguistic understanding of the term value. The Russian Language within the context of
world culture. Conference proceedings.), Nizhnij Novgorod: Nizhnij Novgorod State
University Press

























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Append!ces:

Appendix 1: Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint Presentation slides on
Questions, questions questions a!out "ulture and aims in lan#ua#e
tea"$in#%.

Appendix 2: Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint Presentation slides on
&$e '(lderly and t$e ')oun#: an inter"ultural "iti*ens$ip edu"ation pro+e"t%
,2-12.2-1/0

Appendix /: 1andout on t$e 2al3inas45al6lands 7ar pro+e"t

Appendix 8: 1andout on t$e (lderly% and t$e )oun#% pro+e"t







Appendix 1:

Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint
Presentation slides on Questions,
questions questions aout !ulture and
aims in lan"ua"e tea!#in"$.
Questions, questions about
culture and aims in language
teaching.

Michael Byram
Universities of Durham (UK)
and Luxembourg
2
Commission on Endowed Schools in Ireland 1858
We received at our public courts abundant and convincing
evidence of the interest which is widely felt by intelligent men
of all ranks and professions in the promotion of these studies
(i.e. modern languages).

Gentlemen engaged in various branches of commerce and
manufactures gave their testimony to the increasing
importance, in relation to their pursuits, of a familiar
acquaintance with modern languages and particularly with
French and German.

They also expressed their conviction that such knowledge
should embrace not merely the power of reading and
translating these languages, but speaking and writing them
correctly and with ease.
Policy statements - Norway
Norwegian curriculum:
By learning (foreign) languages, pupils have
opportunity to become familiar with other
cultures. Such insight provides the basis for
respect and increased tolerance, and
contributes to other ways of thinking and
broadens pupils understanding of their own
cultural belonging. In this way pupils own
identity is strengthened.
(http://www.utdanningsdirektoratet.no/dav/78FB8D6918.PDF - Jan 2005)

Policy statements - Argentina
For example, the 2008 curricular innovation in ELT in
the Province of Buenos Aires stated as one aim the
strengthening of their [the childrens] own cultural
identity by enabling the processes of social
integration
(Diseo Curricular de Educacin Primaria, 2008: 321).

(Porto and Barboni 2012: 121)
5
Commission on Endowed Schools in Ireland 1858
We concur with (gentlemen belonging to various
professions) in thinking that the motives for such a
change are to be found, not only in the special wants,
important as these certainly are, incident to industrial
pursuits, but in the very nature and essential
requirements of modern and liberal education.


ICC 20
th
Annual Conference
announcement
In a world where we are all encouraged to
become plurilingual, where communicating
with friends, family and acquaintances in far
flung corners of the earth on a regular basis is
now commonplace, does the phenomenon of
learning a range of languages and
experiencing a range of communities impact
on our sense of identity? If so, how should
language education professionals respond?

How commonplace is far-flung communication?
Comment from Korea
the feedback of the majority (though not all) of
my students who participated in the 'citizenship
education' exchange with Manuela Wagner's
class in the US last semester.
The students' comments and written responses
suggested this was often their first opportunity to
communicate with non-Koreans using the
internet (most of them use SMS and the internet
constantly, from their phones - but in Korean and
with other Koreans). (Cathy Peck)

How commonplace is far-flung communication?
Comment from Italy
Regarding your question about whether 15-20 year olds are
connected to people all over the world, in our experience this is not
so - most teenagers we are familiar with use social networks to talk
to their local friends.
In Ana's doctoral research, the informants had practically no foreign
friends before they did their Erasmus programme.
It is true that, during study abroad, they all had to start writing and
speaking in other languages with their new contacts (mostly other
Erasmus).
But we also need to remember that only about 2% of students in
Europe study abroad, and this reflects the percentage of Europeans
who move to another European country to work - leaving the other
98% at home... food for thought!

9
Nationalism and education
in nationalist theory () the purpose of
education is not to transmit knowledge,
traditional wisdom () its purpose rather is
wholly political, to bend the will of the young
to the will of the nation. Schools are
instruments of state policy, like the army, the
police, and the exchequer.
(Kedourie, 1966: 84)
liberal internationalism
a generally optimistic approach based upon
the belief that independent societies and
autonomous individuals can through greater
interaction and co-operation evolve towards
common purposes, chief among these would
be peace and prosperity.
(Halliday 1988: 192 emphasis added)

The Elderly and the Young: an intercultural citizenship
education project (2012-2013)

PROJECT TEAM
Ana Gonalves Matos Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
Portugal
Paula Santos, teacher of English, Lisbon, Portugal
Leah Davcheva, AHA moments, Centre for intercultural
learning, Sofia, Bulgaria
Elisaveta Statelova, Foreign Languages school in Varna,
Bulgaria

PARTICIPANTS:
1. 16-17 year old pupils from two classes one in Lisbon,
Portugal and one in Varna, Bulgaria. About 45 in total.
2. Elderly persons from both countries


the pupils from the two schools - in Varna and in Lisbon
- perform a range of structured activities by way of
finding out about and learning from the storied
experiences of elderly people.
() They first generate and record a story from an
elderly person of their own choice, transcribe and
analyse it, and work out what the story means to them.
The project is ongoing and we do not know yet how
the young people will decide to act as a result of their
learning.
We trust their project experiences and new
understandings will steer them in a direction of
initiating useful change both for themselves and for
the elderly people ()
Preliminary conclusions data in
handout
() the young people
are happy to be working together, as a group.
()
can talk about their feelings, openly
are curious and keen to meet their Portuguese
partners.
are thinking about their grandparents in terms of
the stories they are going to generate with
them.


The Malvinas/Falklands War (1982): An opportunity for
citizenship education in the foreign language classroom in
Argentina and the UK
50 Argentinean university students of English (CEFR C1)
50 UK students of Spanish (Honours)
- researched conflict and communicated synchronically
and diachronically (wiki and Elluminate) -- focus on
interaction based on respect, mutual understanding
and cooperative conflict resolution
- created PPTs about the war, interviewed Argentine
and English war veteran
- collaboratively created advertisement to show
contact and reconciliation

14


civic participation:
- created blogs/facebook pages and noting
reactions
- produced leaflets and distributed in city
centre of La Plata


15
16
17
- taught special class in English language
school
- taught class with NGO in poor
neighbourhood [youtube]

[see handout]
18
Tnnies on community
Die menschlichen Willen stehen in vielfachen Beziehungen zu
einander; jede solche Beziehung ist eine gegenseitige Wirkung
(...) Jedes solches Verhltniss stellt Einheit in der Mehrheit
oder Mehrheit in der Einheit dar. Es besteht aus Frderungen,
Erleichterungen, Leistungen, welche hinber und herber
gehen, und als Ausdrcke der Willen und ihrer Krfte
betrachtet werden. (...) Das Verhltniss selber, und also die
Verbindung wird entweder als reales und organisches Leben
begriffen dies ist das Wesen der Gemeinschaft, (...)
Para 1.
GEMEINSCHAFT UND GESELLSCHAFT.
ABHANDLUNG DES COMMUNISMUS UND DES SOCIALISMUS ALS EMPIRISCHER
CULTURFORMEN.
VON FERDINAND TNNIES.


Tnnies on community
The wills of human beings interact in many
different ways. Every such relationship is
reciprocal (.) Every relationship of this kind
involves some kind of balance between unity and
diversity. This consists of mutual encouragement
and the sharing of burdens and achievements,
which can be seen as expressions of peoples
energies and wills. () The relationship itself, and
the social bond that stems from it, may be
conceived either as having real organic life, and
that is the essence of Community








Appendix 2:

Copy of Prof. Byrams PowerPoint
Presentation slides on
The Elderly and the Yon!: an
inter"ltral "iti#enship ed"ation
pro$e"t% &2'(2)2'(*+

The Elderly and the Young: an intercultural citizenship
education project (2012-2013)

PROJECT TEAM
Ana Gonalves Matos Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
Portugal
Paula Santos, teacher of English, Lisbon, Portugal
Leah Davcheva, AHA moments, Centre for intercultural
learning, Sofia, Bulgaria
Elisaveta Statelova, Foreign Languages school in Varna,
Bulgaria

PARTICIPANTS:
1. 16-17 year old pupils from two classes one in Lisbon,
Portugal and one in Varna, Bulgaria. About 45 in total.
2. Elderly persons from both countries


the pupils from the two schools - in Varna and in Lisbon
- perform a range of structured activities by way of
finding out about and learning from the storied
experiences of elderly people.
() They first generate and record a story from an
elderly person of their own choice, transcribe and
analyse it, and work out what the story means to them.
The project is ongoing and we do not know yet how
the young people will decide to act as a result of their
learning.
We trust their project experiences and new
understandings will steer them in a direction of
initiating useful change both for themselves and for
the elderly people ()
Preliminary conclusions data in
handout
() the young people
are happy to be working together, as a group.
()
can talk about their feelings, openly
are curious and keen to meet their Portuguese
partners.
are thinking about their grandparents in terms of
the stories they are going to generate with
them.


The Malvinas/Falklands War (1982): An opportunity for
citizenship education in the foreign language classroom in
Argentina and the UK
50 Argentinean university students of English (CEFR C1)
50 UK students of Spanish (Honours)
- researched conflict and communicated synchronically
and diachronically (wiki and Elluminate) -- focus on
interaction based on respect, mutual understanding
and cooperative conflict resolution
- created PPTs about the war, interviewed Argentine
and English war veteran
- collaboratively created advertisement to show
contact and reconciliation

4


civic participation:
- created blogs/facebook pages and noting
reactions
- produced leaflets and distributed in city
centre of La Plata


5
6
7
- taught special class in English language
school
- taught class with NGO in poor
neighbourhood [youtube]

8
Ads for reconciliation between the Argentine
and the English (done in collaboration between
students in Argentina and in the UK)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0twtAmpTn
o&feature=youtu.be
http://www.glogster.com/sofigeido/malvinas-
ad/g-6l5ivb3voi3c1ssvleap1a0
http://youtu.be/clWCcXHMUsw
http://thefalklandsmalvinasproject.blogspot.com.
ar/search/label/Home

Action in the community (by Argentine students in the city of La Plata)
In an ONG called Un techo para mi pas
Video for the
class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fDSJ7yLrw&feature=youtu.be
Final video of the encounter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx3z6FTknyY
Blogspot
http://proyectodemalvinas.blogspot.com.ar/
Flyer
We designed a flyer in Glogster and we handed them in the streets of La Plata.
Here's the link http://www.glogster.com/antomon/malvinas/g-
6l5cocsdp21823pfijd5ea0?fb_action_ids=4526447451862&fb_action_types=og.lik
es&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366
A lesson in an English school. One of the students is 100 years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvXTV5ZwQiY&feature=youtu.be







Appendix 3:
Handout on the Malvinas/
Falklands War project

The Malvinas/Falklands War: An opportunity for citizenship education in the
foreign language classroom in Argentina and the UK
Melina Porto, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and CONICET
Leticia Yulita, University of East Anglia, UK.
The purpose of this project is to facilitate intercultural and citizenship experience in
the foreign language classroom for 100 students in Argentina and the UK. Using a
comparative methodology, the project addresses the Malvinas/Falklands war
fought between Argentina and the UK in 1982. It challenges students to analyse
and understand the power of the media in constructing stereotypical images of
otherness, and how this influences ones thinking and behavior towards Others.
The classroom context in Argentina is a university setting; 50 future teachers
and/or translators of English in their 2
nd
year of undergraduate studies at the
National University of La Plata. This is a prestigious, state, access-for-all university
in a developing country. The age range is 18-22. English is a foreign language in
Argentina and these students have level C1 in the Common European Framework of
Reference. The classroom context in the UK is also a university setting; 50 first-year
undergraduates undertaking Spanish Honors Language degree courses, aged 18-
21, for whom Spanish is a foreign language.
The participants have researched the conflict and have engaged in online
communication using a wiki and Elluminate live (asynchronic and synchronic online
communication respectively) for two months. They have interacted with Others on
the basis of values of respect, mutual understanding, social justice and openness,
allowing Others to express their viewpoints, avoiding hostility and confrontation and
resolving conflict cooperatively when necessary. They have suspended the
perspectives created by their national identity and have acquired a temporary
cooperative international identity and perspective. For instance, they have created
posters and PPTs about the war, they have interviewed an Argentine war veteran
and an English one, and they have collaboratively planned and created an
advertisement whose ultimate and general aim was to reflect a point of contact and
reconciliation between the Argentine and the English. Finally, they have transferred
knowledge of their own context and culture to Others by engaging in civic
participation locally. For instance, some groups have created blogs and facebook
pages and are currently registering reactions; others have created awareness-
raising leaflets about the war and have distributed them in the city center of La
Plata in Argentina; others have taught a special class about the conflict in a local
English language school; and others have done the same in a very poor
neighborhood in the context of an NGO called Un techo para mi pas (an NGO
that teaches adults to read and write).
Ads for reconciliation between the Argentine and the English (done in
collaboration between students in Argentina and in the UK)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0twtAmpTno&feature=youtu.be
http://www.glogster.com/sofigeido/malvinas-ad/g-6l5ivb3voi3c1ssvleap1a0
http://youtu.be/clWCcXHMUsw
http://thefalklandsmalvinasproject.blogspot.com.ar/search/label/Home
Action in the community (by Argentine students in the city of La Plata)
1) In an ONG/NGO called Un techo para mi pas
Video for the
class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4fDSJ7yLrw&feature=youtu.be
Final video of the encounter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx3z6FTknyY
2) Blogspot
http://proyectodemalvinas.blogspot.com.ar/
3) Flyer
We designed a flyer in Glogster and we distributed them in the streets of La
Plata.
Here's the link http://www.glogster.com/antomon/malvinas/g-
6l5cocsdp21823pfijd5ea0?fb_action_ids=4526447451862&fb_action_types
=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366
4) A lesson in an English school. One of the students is 100 years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvXTV5ZwQiY&feature=youtu.be







Appendix 4:
Handout on the
Elderly and the Young project

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The Elderly and the Young: an intercultural citizenship education project
(2012-2013)
COLLABORATING FACILITATORS AND RESEARCHERS
1. Ana Gonalves, Matos Teacher Education and Applied Language Studies at
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
2. Elisaveta Statelova, teacher of English, Foreign Languages School in Varna,
Bulgaria
3. Leah Davcheva, intercultural trainer, coach and researcher at AHA moments,
Centre for intercultural learning, Sofia, Bulgaria
4. Paula Santos, teacher of English, Lisbon, Portugal
PARTICIPANTS:
1. 16-17 year old pupils from two classes one in Lisbon, Portugal and one in Varna,
Bulgaria.
Overall, the number of participating young people is about 45.
2. Elderly persons from both countries
GOAL OF THE PROJECT:
Through initiating this exploratory research project we want to find out and follow
ways the intercultural experiences of young people from two classes in two
secondary schools one in Varna, Bulgaria and one in Lisbon, Portugal change
their knowledge about, their attitudes towards and their interactions with elderly
people. To accomplish our goal, we have set up two inter-related projects which we
are running in parallel. We will draw upon the findings from both and develop the
projects reciprocally from one stage to the next.
PEDAGOGICAL PROJECT:
Within the pedagogical project, the pupils from the two schools - in Varna and in
Lisbon - perform a range of structured activities to find out about and learn from the
experiences related by the elderly people. Each of the project participants will do this
in his/her own respective location. They first generate and record a story from an
elderly person of their own choice, transcribe and analyse it, and work out what the
story means to them. The project is ongoing and we do not yet know how the young
people will decide to act as a result of what they learn. We trust that their project
experience and new perceptions will steer them in the direction of initiating useful
change both for themselves and for the elderly people they have encountered and
learned more about.
On a second, meta-level of the pedagogical project, we will support the young people
in building a shared platform for what they themselves want to do and develop further
in their project. We will be running individual and team coaching sessions in order to
enhance their capacity to perform critically and with confidence. We believe that
individual and joint actions will emerge as a result of their interactions, loosely
structured and facilitated by us.
And, lastly, the pedagogical project will unfold on a third, virtual level, where the
pupils from the two classes interact in virtual space. Communicating online and in
English, at each successive step of the project, the young people will articulate their
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ideas, as they develop and change, share their reflections and talk about their project
experiences.
RESEARCH PROJECT:
THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS:
We find theoretical support for our explorations in
the work of Barnett (1997) and his three-domains that education deals with;
Byrams model of intercultural competence; and
Guilhermes theoretical discussion of critical cultural awareness in foreign
language education.
DATA:
Our data come from a variety of sources. So far, these have been:
email exchanges between the four researchers and facilitators
email exchanges between the researchers and the pupils
the diary entries of the two teachers, taken from their project classes
the pupils AIEVMs reflecting on their encounter with recordings of an elderly
couple in a video documentary
written records from the team-coaching sessions with the Varna class
materials produced by the pupils during these sessions
stories generated by the pupils in story-gathering interviews with the elderly
people
the pupils contribution entries on the virtual platform
pupils analysis of the stories
pupils comments and responses to questions put to them by the researchers
at the start of the project.
FINDINGS:
Our research project is in its early stages, and we are not in a position to draw any
conclusions yet but, by way of illustrating our approach, we can give two examples of
the way we generate our research data.
1) We have asked the pupils to share with each other, in the dedicated online
platform, what being an intercultural citizen means to them. Below is what
the pupils wrote:

open-minded, curious, and cordiality
amiability, respect, honesty
collaboration, magnanimity and
effectiveness
purpose, respect and ability
supportive, inquisitive and perceptive
person
curiosity, affability and respect
kindness, persistence and patience
respect, collaboration and courteousness
tolerance, respect, friendliness
optimism, tolerance creativity
open-mindedness, tolerance, support
tolerance, amiability, intelligence
tolerance ,ambition, communication
freedom, tolerance, creativity
creativity, respect, and tolerance
culture, open-minded and travelling
perseverance, ambition and tolerance
something of great responsibility because
there are multiple countries and societies
involved with each other
help is important because older people
are part of society and are not excluded
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We look at the richness of the conceptual knowledge the pupils collectively construct.
Trying to make sense of the data that comes our way in those initial stages of the
project, we note that the words can loosely fall into five different categories:
1. cognitive, e.g. open-minded, curious, inquisitive, perceptive, ability, creativity
2. affective, e.g. cordiality, amiability, affability
3. attitudes, e.g. tolerance, respect, patience, magnanimity
4. moral and civic values, e.g. honesty, freedom
5. behaviour: purpose, collaboration, courteousness, kindness, helpful,
supportive, effective, communication
Apart from tapping into the pupils level of conceptual and identity awareness, we
hope that we would be able to trace the way new identifications develop as the
project unfolds.
2) The second example is a transcript of the Varna pupils work in a coaching session
where they worked together to understand what aspects of their current project
experiences work for them and what the hot issues are.
What is going well but
We are brainstorming we present new ideas and
views *
Because of our age, we are
not able to help elderly people
directly
We are ambitious, keen to work. We wont meet our partners
from Portugal
We tend to change ourselves in a better way
We are able to properly assess the situation
We are going to introduce our grandparents and
share their life experiences
We have already introduced our grandparents to the
rest of the class
We havent interviewed them
yet
We were already introduced to the main topic of the
project
We havent met people from
other nationalities
We have watched the movie We will not go to other
countries.
We have changed our vision
We learned how to better work in groups
Getting to know others grandparents.
Watching an interesting video. It made us feel bad about the
elderly people in the video
We are going to work with students from Portugal We havent met them yet
Our classes are more interesting.
We got a better idea of what the project should be. We havent met our
Portuguese partners yet.
We learned more about each others grandparents We havent started telling
stories about our
grandparents.
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The project brought change into our daily work at
school.
We all work together and have fun.
We saw the film and we liked it. We are yet to have a clear
idea about the project.
We shared our opinion about it. We havent met our
Portuguese partners and we
dont know their point of view.
We learned more about ourselves.
We are working in groups and we are getting to
know one another better.
We introduced our grandparents to one another.
It is all work in progress but the above suggests that the young people
are happy to be working together, as a group.
remember well and reflect on the two project activities so far presenting their
grandparents and the video
are keen to know about the project and are, at present, unclear what it is going
to be about.
can talk about their feelings, openly
are curious and keen to meet their Portuguese partners.
are thinking about their grandparents in terms of the stories they are going to
generate with them.

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