Abstract
This paper presents the intercultural reader Developing Intercultural Competence through English: Focus on Ukrainian and Polish Cultures (in short DICE) (Niżegorodcew, Bystrov and Kleban 2011) as the outcome of a joint project of two Departments of English Studies: the English Studies Department at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and the English Philology Department at the Precarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, and its implementation in class in Ukraine and in Poland. The authors and editors’ intentions are confronted with the interpretation of some of the texts and tasks by Ukrainian and Polish students. A striking difference has been observed between Polish and Ukrainian perception of the English language. The English language is perceived by Polish students as a language for international communication, while for Ukrainian students there is a strong link between the English language and target cultures. The conclusion of the paper is that the mere use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) is not sufficient for the students to assume the position of intercultural mediators or to build up a community of ELF users. In using an intercultural reader, the teachers and students have to critically assess the authors’ intentions and their own text implementation in class, which results in a double life of the texts—their various uses and interpretations by teachers and students in different educational contexts.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The contents of the DICE reader are included in the Appendix.
- 3.
I am grateful to Prof. Hanna Komorowska for the comments she made at a preliminary stage of the DICE Project on the absence in the DICE reader of references to the history of Ukrainian-Polish conflicts, in particular to the Wolyn massacre of 1943. I accept her opinion that the truth about the Ukrainian crimes should be revealed by historians and presented to the public in Poland and Ukraine. However, I believe that the decision of the DICE reader editors not to include texts which would touch on those conflicts and crimes was justified.
- 4.
I would like to thank Dr. Olga Kulchytska (and her students R. Gotsuliak, O. Kosmii, I. Pyskiv, O. Popel and O. Fediuk) and Ms. Lesya Ikalyuk, co-authors of DICE, who used the reader in class at the Precarpathian University in Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as Prof. Olga Misechko, who used DICE at the Zhytomyr State University in Zhytomyr, for their co-operation and sharing their class outcomes.
- 5.
In Zhytomyr, the course was conducted with students from the Department of Philology and Journalism.
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Appendices
Appendix
Developing Intercultural Competence through English: Focus on Ukrainian and Polish cultures Edited by Anna Niżegorodcew, Yakiv Bystrov and Marcin Kleban. Jagiellonian University Press 2011.
Contents
Preface
Theory and Application
Chapter 1
Culture—Communication—Intercultural Communication.
Yakiv Bystrov, Anastasiya Yermolenko.
Chapter 2
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in Intercultural Communication.
Anna Niżegorodcew.
Chapter 3
Developing Cultural Self-Awareness and Knowledge to Enhance.
Intercultural Competence of Foreign Language Students.
Ewa Bandura.
Chapter 4
Computer Technology in Developing Intercultural Competence.
Marcin Kleban.
Practice
A. Readings
Chapter 5
Interpreting Fiction.
Olga Kulchytska, Yakiv Bystrov.
Chapter 6
Ukrainian Customs and Traditions.
Tetyana Pan’kova, Iryna Pavlyuk.
Chapter 7
Cultural Stereotypes and Lifestyle.
Lesya Ikalyuk, Anastasiya Yermolenko.
Chapter 8
Tourism and Migration in Ukraine.
Oksana Petryna, Tetyana Skibitska.
Chapter 9
A Glimpse of the Latest Developments in Social Life.
Nataliya Telegina, Ella Mintsys.
B. Projects
Chapter 10
Polish People’s Attitudes Towards Religion.
Roy Jones.
Chapter 11
Is Poland an Anti-Semitic Country?
Agnieszka Krzykowska.
Chapter 12
Polish Standards of Politeness.
Ewa Bieta, Katarzyna Biegaj, Marta Pająk.
Chapter 13
Are Polish Students Dishonest?
Sarah Stinissen, Alexandra Balant, Justyna Kula, Natalia Mól.
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Niżegorodcew, A. (2013). A Double Life of Texts: English as a Lingua Franca in a Polish–Ukrainian Intercultural Project. In: Gabryś-Barker, D., Piechurska-Kuciel, E., Zybert, J. (eds) Investigations in Teaching and Learning Languages. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00044-2_6
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