The Byram assessment
A record of my Intercultural Experience
- in language: (learner inserts language)
- place, period of time, age:
A. Feelings
- Ways in which my curiosity and interest were aroused (examples from ordinary daily life, especially when they made me re-consider my own culture):
- Periods when I felt uncomfortable/homesick (what made me feel like this, with particular examples if possible):
- Periods when I felt at home and comfortable (what made me feel like this, with particular examples if possible):
B. Knowledge
- The most important things I learnt about family life and/or life at school:
- The most important things I have learnt about the country, the nation, the state where I stayed - in the present and in its past:
- What I have learnt about customs and conventions of talking with people (topics which interest them, topics to avoid, how to greet people and take leave from them):
C. Actions
- Incidents or problems which I resolved by explaining different cultures to people, helping them see the points of view of different cultures and how misunderstandings can happen:
- Examples of times when I have had to ask questions and work out my own answers (from ,asking the way' to understanding cultural customs and beliefs):
A self-assessment of my Intercultural Experience
A. Interest in other people's way of life
- I am interested in other people's experience of daily life, particularly those things not usually presented to outsiders through the media.
Example:
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- I am also interested in the daily experience of a variety of social groups within a society and not only the dominant culture.
Example:
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B. Ability to change perspective
- I have realised that I can understand other cultures by seeing things from a different point of view and by looking at my culture from their perspective.
Example:
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C. Ability to cope with living in a different culture
- I am able to cope with a range of reactions I have to living in a different culture (euphoria, homesickness, physical and mental discomfort etc).
Example:
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D. Knowledge about another country and culture
- I know some important facts about living in the other culture and about the country, state and people.
Example:
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- I know how to engage in conversation with people of the other culture and maintain a conversation.
Example:
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E. Knowledge about intercultural communication
- I know how to resolve misunderstandings which arise from people's lack of awareness of the view point of another culture.
Example:
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- I know how to discover new information and new aspects of the other culture for myself.
Example:
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