Leveraging Intercultural Experience for Motivation in Language Learning

Toyohashi chapter

A transformative intercultural experience facilitates the language learning process giving both the conceptual imagination—a vision of entering into the group of those who can communicate in the other language—and a personal connection, a meaningful highpoint that is part of one’s mythology of self, personal story and journey, and which helps propel forward the motivation and effort required for the long haul of language acquisition. This presentation will explore intercultural awareness as an educational-experiential tool to help students develop self-regulated learning strategies. Participants will learn techniques and strategies for cultivating intercultural awareness and leveraging student experience for language-learning motivation.