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Contentid20944
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TitleIPIC Framework
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by Linda Forrest, CASLS Research Director

In recent years, language educators have become increasingly aware of the need for their learners to acquire ‘intercultural communicative competence,’ or ICC. Briefly stated, ICC is the ability to say and do the right thing, at the right time, in the right manner, depending on the culture in which one is operating.

Although the basic idea of ICC is easy to state, the specific details are rather vague. A theoretical framework provides a structure for understanding the vague idea, ‘the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately.’ The framework identifies and defines the subcompacts of the vague idea, providing users with guidelines for developing products, such as learning activities and assessments. Currently, CASLS is developing a theoretical framework, the Intercultural Pragmatic Interactional Competence (IPIC) framework, to guide their development of an assessment that will provide educators with a profile of students’ intercultural, pragmatic, and interactional competence.

The IPIC framework identifies four dimensions that are critical to successful multi-cultural interaction: knowledge, analytical abilities, subjectivity, and awareness.

Dimension

Indicators of competence

Knowledge

  • Recognizes and produces varying speech styles.
  • Identifies and produces routine formulae in multiple domains.
  • Interprets and produces implicature in multiple domains.
  • Demonstrates knowledge of varying cultural dimensions and social distinctions.

Analysis

  • Uses conscious strategies to repair miscommunication.
  • Identifies and evaluates intended interlocutor meaning.
  • Describes dimensions impacting discourse patterns.

Subjectivity

  • Demonstrates the ability to make conscious choices about discourse patterns and behaviors.
  • Can discern individual personality behaviors from cultural norms.

Awareness

  • Demonstrates awareness of others’ perspectives.
  • Recognizes the motives and reasons for actions of oneself.

Consider a situation in a Spanish culture where an apology is appropriate. Expert speakers prefer to use hearer-oriented strategies, such perdóname or discúlpame ('excuse me'), with an explanation. However, speaker-oriented strategies, such as lo siento ('I'm sorry'), are also possible. Learners have greater Knowledge when they know more strategies. They demonstrate Analysis when they can choose these strategies consciously based by pre- and post-mitigators, such as how serious the offense was, and can explain their choices. Subjectivity is shown when the learner makes choices such as not apologizing, with full knowledge of the likely consequences. Learners demonstrate Awareness when they reflect on the interaction, determine how effective it was, and why it was or was not effective.

The IPIC framework is designed to account both for interactions that follow the normative patterns of a culture and those that diverge due to individual preferences and deliberate flouting of “the rules,” but which are nonetheless successful. In this way, the framework attempts to account for the full range of human communicative interaction.

SourceCASLS Topic of the Week
Inputdate2016-03-12 17:20:39
Lastmodifieddate2016-04-18 03:29:56
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Publishdate2016-04-18 02:15:02
Displaydate2016-04-18 00:00:00
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