An Intercultural Communication Event by Our English Studies Department

Within the framework of the ELT Methodology for All seminar series, our English Studies Department (ESD) was pleased to present an open seminar on “Intercultural Communication in the ELT Classroom” on April 18th.  The event featured Dr. Giorgos Dimitriadis, Part-time Lecturer at ESD, and our Guest Speaker Dr. Theodore Maniakas, State School ELT Advisor. 

Students and staff from ESD attended the seminar along with external guests; like all open seminars of the series, the event was open to the public, offering the opportunity to attend in person, as well as online via live streaming. The seminar addressed the issue of Intercultural Communication offering both an introduction to its theoretical foundations and practical tips on how teachers can handle such issues in the ELT classroom.

Dr. Dimitriadis opened the seminar with his talk titled “From Confusion to Fusion: The Challenges of the Contemporary Intercultural ELT Classroom.” Approaching the classroom as a microcosm of all aspects of students’ social life, the talk focused on language teaching in general and ELT in particular as elements being at the core of ICC issues, due to the nature of the discipline and the cultural as well as social parameters that it is infused with. It was stressed that language teaching should adapt accordingly in ICC situations, so that it becomes an opportunity rather than a challenge. In this respect, the wider social implications of ICC were linked to its specific dynamics inside the classroom, as well as to the role that the English language has been called to play in a globalized world.

In the second part of the seminar, Dr Maniakas took over with his talk titled “Everything Is Culture, Even My Classroom!” in which he steered the discussion towards more practical activities that teachers can find useful when they are called to teach English in an ICC classroom. More specifically, Dr. Maniakas suggested various solutions such as classroom activities or projects that teachers may use with their own students so that they make the best of their available classroom time and resources. The aim of Dr. Maniakas’ talk was to enhance the sensitivity of ELT teachers towards a more humanistic approach to developing critical thinking and life skills, as well as to stress the importance of the expanded role that teachers are called to play as guides, mentors and parents within socio-economic and, therefore, also cultural changes.

The events of the ELT Methodology for All series of open seminars are aimed at current and prospective foreign language teachers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, the ELT community in the wider area of Northern Greece, and online viewers able to access the sessions through live streaming or by watching the recording of each seminar.

Watch the seminar: