This webinar will explore how we can help learners’ develop as effective, intercultural language users. We will see how sensitive, supportive, person-centred resources and lesson activities about cultural and religious festivals enrich learners’ language learning, translingual practices and self-expression.

Festivals are part of what defines our identity and our humanity and are a wonderful opportunity to develop language, interpersonal and intercultural skills in the language learning classroom. Each religious and cultural festival is specific and unique, but people engaging in such rituals and festivals is a common feature of human society and culture. They represent a valuable part of how people interact and share connections.

Language learning resources rarely include content on religious or cultural festivals due to valid concerns over respect for the topic. However, taking a person-centred approach, using resources which carefully focus on Equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging, these festivals offer a window into our common humanity and represent a valuable part of how people interact and share connections.

Helping our learners to discover, understand and share these connections with others is essential to successful intercultural communication and interpersonal relations, as festivals lie at the crossroads of beliefs, values, attitudes, rituals, identity and ‘existential’ competences (savoir etre). By sensitively exploring and extending this awareness, we can help learners develop sociocultural knowledge and intercultural skills outlined in the original CEFR and grow key skills in online interaction, mediating concepts and mediating communication from the 2020 Companion Volume.

Sensations-English-webinars-–-Cultural-festivals-intercultural-communication-and-ELT

Adam Scott

Adam has extensive experience as a teacher trainer, teacher, materials writer and editor. His wide-ranging interests include teacher development, language development, identity and inclusion, classroom research, inclusive phonology and global issues. He’s a CELTA trainer, joint coordinator of IATEFL PronSIG and the ELT Specialist at Sensations English, and passionate about developing inclusive, high-quality, evidence-based approaches and learning materials.

Sensations English is great for sustainability

We’re a 2021 finalist in the British Council ELTons awards for learner resources! Our high-quality, global, news-based study resources take a person-centred approach, representing diverse cultures and identities across our seven learning themes. The wide range of video and article news reports include interactive games and study tools which connect the issues with students’ language learning.

As all resources are graded at five levels (A2-C1), they make sometimes complex topics accessible to all learners. With Sensations English, it’s easy to explore language features and improve sub-skills using inclusive resources which also help to connect lessons to learners’ own situations and experiences. This helps learners to think about their own contexts and develop their own voices.