SESSION 3C

Thuy Ngoc Dinh, Monash College
Intercultural activities in EAP/ESP for academic success and community engagement

Abstract
This session showcases intercultural activities that help enhance intercultural competence and use of English for EAP and ESP classes.

IC and English proficiency significantly impact international students’ academic success, use of English in and out of class, and study satisfaction. Most international students, however, experience linguistic insecurity/ inferiority and lack communication skills.

This session will start with a brief introduction to intercultural communicative competence and meta-cultural competence. It then demonstrates activities such as conversation analysis, conversational partners, lingua-scape awareness raising activities, media review, role-plays, reflective practice and different speaking and writing topics. It also suggests feedback giving strategies and general activity design framework to cope with intercultural miscommunication and academic under-performance.

The session provides tips for teachers of English to be intercultural educators and models of intercultural communicators for students.

Bio
Thuy Dinh is currently an ELICOS teacher at Monash College and learning skills adviser at Monash University. Prior to that, she was a lecturer and tutor for the Faculty of Arts, Monash University. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics, Monash University and has over 10 years of teaching experience in Australia and overseas.

Her interests include academic skills, EAP, ESP, EIL, intercultural competence, material design and innovative pedagogy.