Introduction

The concept of “global competence” has been something of a buzzword in the education literature for a few decades. For instance, the proceedings from the American Council on International Intercultural Education (ACIIE) Conference (1996) stated that “Global education is now recognized as a dominant component of meaningful, futuristic, and applicable education. We can provide our learners with nothing more valuable than quality, comprehensive global education.” In the same vein, but more than a decade later, Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association (NEA), commented on the significance of “global competence” in education by stating that:

The 21st century isn’t coming; it’s already here. And our students have the opportunity and challenge of living and working in a diverse and rapidly changing world. Public schools must prepare our young people to understand and address global issues, and educators must re-examine their teaching strategies and curriculum so that all students can thrive in this global and interdependent society. (NEA, 2010, p.1)

Global competence is a reality that teachers cannot afford to disregard in their classrooms. The world became a global village some time ago, and with transportation and technological revolutions, globalization is increasingly becoming part of daily life. This is true to everywhere in the world, not only to the Western World as some may claim. To remove any doubts about the relevance of the concept to the Arabian Gulf Region, and particularly to Saudi Arabia, please read through this brief episode from a day of my life in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Thursday, January 11, 2014

I think by now you must agree with me that if global competence should be addressed in any classroom in the world, the Saudi, and more generally the Gulf classroom, might come top of the list. Global competence is simply a daily necessity in this part of the world.

In addition to this revealing episode, I would also like to share few more reasons why I personally believe the concept of global competence is of extreme relevance. First, the world, and the Gulf particularly, is witnessing increasing linguistic and cultural diversity. The trend is most evident in the Gulf with the increasing number of job vacancies available for expatriates. Second, the world economy is becoming largely interdependent. Saudi Arabia, for example, plays a significant role in stabilizing oil prices worldwide. The Arabian Gulf region is becoming one of the important economic gravity centers in the world. Third, many challenges that humanity is currently facing are global in nature. No country can defeat Ebola, combat terrorism, or resolve global warming by itself. Not long ago, the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had donated millions of dollars to support the United Nations efforts to combat Ebola in Africa, which clearly reflects the Saudi perspective. Fourth, a great deal of students in the Gulf aim to pursue their graduate studies abroad in reputable universities. In order to achieve their goal, they need to be globally competent. Finally, today’s aggressively competitive world requires highly qualified job applicants. Global competence definitely contributes to one’s marketability and employability.

Relevant Definitions

The term global competence has been given different definitions. Among the most commonly quoted are:

• ACIIE Proceedings (1996) A globally competent learner is “able to understand the interconnectedness of people and systems, to have a general knowledge of history and world events, to accept and cope with the existence of different cultural values and attitudes, and indeed, to celebrate the richness and benefits of this diversity.”

• William Brustein, Director, Center for International Studies, Pittsburgh University (2003) Global competence is defined as “the ability to communicate effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries and to focus on issues that transcend cultures and continents.” (as cited in Hunter, 2004 pp.9–10)

•  The NEA (2010) “Global competence refers to the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and understanding of international issues, an appreciation of and ability to learn and work with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, proficiency in a foreign language, and skills to function productively in an independent world community.” (2010, p.1)

You may form your own understanding from these, as well as other, definitions of global competence. The underlying common elements are international awareness, knowledge of major world issues, intercultural understanding, effective communication transcending cultural boundaries, and adaptability to linguistically and culturally diversified study and work settings. This is, by no means, a call to alienate oneself from one’s own local community. Global competence, in fact, requires very good knowledge of one’s own culture and values. It is this knowledge that forms the base for exploring other people’s values and cultures and surviving as well as competing in today’s world.

Implementation in the ELT Classroom

This section starts with good news for English language teachers. Most recent ELT textbooks have already adapted to the growing trend of globalization. Hence, there is no need to reinvent the wheel and devise suitable teaching materials from scratch. To show some evidence, I have examined 10 recent textbooks from various tracks—namely, general English, academic English, English for specific purposes, and grammar textbooks—and all of them include rich global content to varying degrees. For example, Focus on Grammar 4 compares cities in Brazil, Egypt, South Korea, and Canada as best places to live; discusses how lifestyles differ between Brasilia and Washington; reviews the services of McDonald’s all over the world; and narrates the story of a writer torn between Poland and Canada. Another example is American Headway 2, which shares the stories of professionals travelling between different countries including Korea, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It describes examples of wonderful markets around the world in Thailand, France, and Morocco. It also describes London as “the world in one city” as stories from Nigerian, Turkish, Korean, and Portuguese immigrants are captured. Hence, instructors are more in need of adapting their teaching strategies than they are in need of new textbooks.

A useful approach here is to adopt a global competence matrix to guide teaching strategies and ensure that global competence is addressed systematically in the classroom. A good example will be the “Global Competence Matrices,” developed by the U.S. Council of Chief State School Officers and Asia Society: Partnership for Global Learning, which can be found at www.edsteps.org. The matrices, devised to help teachers and students understand the concept of global competence and discover ways to apply it in class, are composed of a main global matrix and six discipline-specific matrices that address content areas like mathematics, sciences, social studies and, for our interest here, English. The matrix recommends varied teaching strategies categorized under the following four headings (Edsteps.org):

1.     Investigate the world: Students investigate the world beyond their immediate environment.

2.     Recognize perspectives: Students recognize their own and others’ perspectives.

3.     Communicate ideas: Students communicate their ideas effectively with diverse audiences.

4.     Take action: Students translate their ideas and findings into appropriate actions to improve conditions.

In addition to the strategies recommended by the website, I am certain that you can come up with many other strategies that you already like using that can help achieve the abovementioned categories. For example, watching the CNN subtitled news, reading through the news sections in newspapers, and celebrating international days can help students investigate the world. Engaging students in role-plays, simulations, and debates can encourage them to recognize different perspectives. Involving students in projects where they need to address varied audiences, including creating magazines, preparing documentaries, and delivering oral presentations, will enhance students’ communication skills with diversified audiences. As for taking action, students can write letters to real readership advocating certain causes, participate in visits to charity associations, launch campaigns on campus promoting certain causes/events, and so on. I am certain that a brief brainstorming session will help you develop a much longer list.

Conclusion

Becoming globally competent has become an imperative to our EFL learners and global citizens. English language teachers have a great role to support their students’ acquisition of global competence. Textbook writers have already adapted to this global demand. Teachers are already working toward it, but perhaps in a nonsystematic manner. Including this competence as an integral part of our curriculum is important to ensure systematic treatment. Catering for this need does not only do our students a huge service, but also helps create a meaningful, authentic, motivational, and enjoyable learning environment.

References

American Council on International Intercultural Education. (1996, November). Educating for the global community: A framework for community colleges. Proceedings from conference convened at the Airline Center, Warrenton, VA.

Edsteps.org. Global competence matrices. Retrieved from www.edsteps.org

Hunter, W. D. (2004). Knowledge, skills, attitudes and experiences necessary to become globally competent (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from www.globallycompetent.com/research/WDH-dissertation-2004.pdf

National Education Association. (2010). Global competence is a 21st century imperative. An NEA Policy Brief. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/PB28A_Global_Competence11.pdf

Dr. Dina El-Dakhs is director of Prince Salman Research & Translation Center and assistant professor at the English Department, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.