ENHANCING THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT
CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
PhDr. Dominika KOVÁŘOVÁ, Ph.D., MBA
dominika.kovarova@vse.cz
Department of Romance Languages
Faculty of International Relations
University of Economics
CONTENTS
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Prague and University of Economics
Theoretical Framework
Teaching Methods
Project Presentation
Conclusion
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
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Capital: Prague
Official language: Czech
Area: 78 866 km2
Population: 10,5 million
President: Miloš Zeman
PRAGUE
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Population: 1,8 million
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
• The biggest public economics univerzity in the
CR
• Bachelor´s, master´s and doctoral study
programs
• Six faculties:
– Faculty of Finance and Accounting
– Faculty of International Relations
– Faculty of Business Administration
– Faculty of Informatics and Statistics
– Faculty of Economics
– Faculty of Management
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
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20 000 students
Highly competitive entrance
„ECTS Label“ and „DS Label“
Ranked by the Finantial Times annually
Eduniversal awards
200 partner universities
700 outgoing students/year
CEMS – The Global Alliance in Management
Education
• PIM – Partnership in International Management
FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
• Founded in 1991
• Branches:
– International Trade
– Tourism
– Business and Law
– International Politics and Diplomacy
– European Integration and Political Sciences
FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
• 170 pedagogues
• 3 500 students
• EPAS accreditation
(European Foundation of Management Development
DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE
LANGUAGES
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20 pedagogues; 3 native speakers
4 foreign languages:
– French
– Spanish
– Italian
– Portuguese
Cca 1800 students/semester
Courses A0-C2
Certificates Paris/Madrid Chamber of Commerce (business
language)
DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE
LANGUAGES
• Economics French/Spanish/Italian – 4 semesters (B1-C1)
• Business French/Spanish/Italian – 2 semesters (C1)
• LSP – Language for Specific Purposes
– Business, Economics topics (Banking, Money, European Union,
International Trade, Macro/Micro Economics etc.)
• CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning
– Any dual focused type of provision in which a second language,
foreign or other, is used for the teaching and learning of a nonlanguage subject matter, with language and content having a joined
and mutually beneficial role (Marsh 2002)
TERMINOLOGY
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Foreign language = native language + 1st foreign language, 2nd, 3rd,…
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Language = L1 (native language), L2 (1st foreign language), L3, L4
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Our students:
– L1 = Czech (Slovak, Russian,..)
– L2 = English
– L3 = French, Spanish, Italian (German, Russian)
– L4 = French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (German, Russian,
Chinese, Swedish etc)
CULTURE
• ICEBERG concept – surface, shallow, deep culture
• Business context – negotiation strategies,
organizational styles, key negotiating pointers,
nonverbal communication, stereotypes …
(Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hampden-Turner, …)
CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS
• new interdisciplinary discipline
– cross-cultural capability
– cross-cultural skills
– cross-cultural competence
– cross-cultural awareness
– inter-cultural studies
– intercultural communication
– intercultural effectiveness
– intercultural awareness
– intercultural communicative competence
CROSS-CULTURAL AWARENESS
• “language learning should lead to insight and increased
understanding of the society and culture of speakers of other
languages, but also of learners´ own society and culture and the
relationship between the two, a cognitive learning process (…)
Language learning should lead to positive attitudes towards
speakers of other languages, an affective change.” Byram and
Fleming (1998),
LANGUAGE STUDY x LANGUAGE AND CULTURE STUDY
L3/C3
L3
L2
L2/C2
L1/C1
L1/C1
L4
L = language
C= culture
L4/C4
METHODS ENHANCING CROSS-CULTURAL
AWARENESS
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Study abroad
Role-plays
Simulations
Case study
Native lecturers / businesspersons
Our Project
STUDY ABROAD
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• Linguistic change
• Cultural change
• Personal change
• Not accessible for all
students
• Expensive
• Time taking
ROLE-PLAYS and SIMULATIONS
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Linguistic change
Knowledge application
Presentation skills
Negociation skills
Independent work
Team work
Accessible for all
students
• Cross-cultural interaction
CASE STUDY
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Knowledge application
Linguistic change
L3/C3 context
Accessible for all
students
• Cross-cultural interaction
NATIVE LECTURERS / BUSINESSPERSONS
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• L3/C3 context
• Accessible for all
students
• Time limited
• Insufficient interaction
OUR PROJECT
• „Intercultural Dimensions of Organizational Culture in MNCs –
Comparative Study in Romance Cultures“
• 2 years project
• 20 students (master´s program)
• 4 pedagogues (French, Spanish, Italian)
• Quantitative and qualitative research project
OUR PROJECT - HYPOTHESES
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Cultural differences and cultural stereotypes enter into business
relationships, influence and directly affect management and corporate
communication. Perception of these differences is rather intuitive, but
there are procedures to effectively enhance intercultural communication
and awareness.
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There is a link between the cultural characteristics of a nation and the
style of management. Cultural paradigms enter into the organizational
structure of the company and affect the manner and style of
management, depending on where the company is located.
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Romance cultures (French, Spanish, Italian) are specific and differ from
the Czech culture. Cultures that meet within an organisation create a
new culture with patterns of both (more) cultures.
OUR PROJECT - QUESTIONS
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What are the specific features of negotiation and persuasion in
negotiation meetings of each studied culture, what are the differences
between the Romance cultures and a Czech speaker (e.g., the
relationship to authority, time, emotions, individualism, collectivism,
nonverbal communication, ...)?
Which forms of intercultural communication training organizations offer
to their employees (courses, seminars, trainings, intercultural coaching,
counselling etc.)?
What are the most important differences between the Czech mentality
and the mentality of given Romance culture (negotiation behaviour,
stereotypes, customs, rituals etc.)?
What are the roles of the Czech and Romance languages in the
Romance MNCs in the CR?
OUR PROJECT - METHODOLOGY
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Theoretical part = excerpts, synthesis and analysis of the theoretical
data (Czech and French/Spanish/Italian/English bibliography)
Quantitative research = questionnaire survey
– 80 items questionnaire = basic rules for questionnaire item
construction; different question types – dichotomous, nominalpolytomous, ordinal-polytomous, continuous etc.
– predefined organizations in the Czech Republic and abroad;
Qualitative research – interview
– aims to gather an in-depth understanding of business
behaviour, and the reasons that govern such behavior.
– MNC´s and other Romance organizations in the Czech Republic
and abroad (Erasmus)
BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS
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Direct contact with target culture (C3)
Theoretical knowledge acquirement
Research methods
Language competences
– Lexical, gramatical, pragmatic and intercultural
• Professional communication within the business environment,
especially in international companies
• Direct contact with practice, practical application
• Independent work; team work
STUDY IN OWN COUNTRY x STUDY ABROAD
L1/C1
L = language
C= culture
L2/C2
L1/C1
L2/C2
TAXONOMY
STUDY ABROAD
STUDY IN L1 COUNTRY
OUR PROJECT
CONCLUSION
• „If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad
must go to the mountain“
• „If the student will not come to L3/C3, then L3/C3 must go to the
student (with teachers´ contribution)“
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
MERCI POUR VOTRE ATTENTION!
DĚKUJI ZA VAŠI POZORNOST!