Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence - Center for ...

Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence
had to communicate straight away. This I was able to do by putting simple sentences together but
as the weeks went by I became much more confident in talking to my host family and co-workers
on the project. Part of my project duties were to guide visitors around the sanctuary, so I also
needed the language for that.
- vital to the success of trip
- grateful for the language course
- boosted confidence
- family did not speak English so had to communicate straight away
- able to talk to host family and co-workers on the project
- duties included guiding visitors around in Spanish
(BA3) “Language is definitely important as you are closed to both communication and the culture
if you don’t speak the language. It is the main medium for everything else. At first, I was
hindered by a lack of Spanish but the language did come quickly. I thought the Spanish lessons
were excellent.”
- definitely important
- otherwise closed to communication and the culture
- the main medium for everything else
- hindered without the language
- language is the key to everything
(BA4)
- if younger, learning the language was vital to success of visit
- also tried English with anyone willing
- also relied on other volunteers to translate
- would have enjoyed the experience even more if spoke more Spanish at every opportunity
(BA6)
- studied more than required from course so I could speak more quickly
- important to have basic language skills
- smiled, laughed, and used hand gestures
- willing to be corrected, wouldn’t take offense
- language contributed greatly to the overall success of the program
(BA8) “I really really wanted to learn Spanish well, so I made a real effort to speak Spanish even
when the other person spoke or understood English, as I knew that if I reverted to speaking
English all the time whenever I could, I would never had made progress so fast. . . Learning the
host language is definitely important to success. If you don’t speak the host language you miss
out on so much. It’s all part of the experience and makes the whole thing much more enjoyable. If
you can’t understand what people are saying to you it gets frustrating and boring for both parties.
Language is the key to understanding the culture.”
- motivation, really wanted to learn Spanish
- made a real effort
- host language important to success
- otherwise you miss out on so much
- it’s part of the experience
- makes the whole thing much more enjoyable
- otherwise, it gets frustrating and boring
- language is the key to understanding the culture
- learning Spanish has opened up a whole new world of opportunities and experiences
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
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