TC / PK: Jürgen Kurtz: Culture-sensitive Communication, Instruction and Learning

In the current age of globalization, migration and internet communication, intercultural communicative competence is a key requirement in many professions and has become a priority aim in school and university education. This half-day course focuses on some fundamental aspects of intercultural communication and on approaches to developing intercultural competence and understanding, placing special emphasis on intercultural pragmatics and the intricacies of non-verbal communication.  

Participants will learn through a mix of theory (brief tutorials by the course instructor) and practice (experiential, discovery-oriented activities and tasks). Authentic materials collected all around the world and a few critical incidents presented through video vignettes will serve as points of departure for collective exploration and in-depth discussion and reflection. The central goal of the course is to enhance participants’ awareness and understanding of how language, culture, and identity are perceived, constructed, and expressed in intercultural communicative encounters.

// Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kurtz (JLU Giessen) 

Jürgen Kurtz is professor at the Department of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at JLU Giessen. He is especially interested in the theory and practice of foreign and/or second language learning and teaching.