MASTEROPPGAVE Project Sci-fi: I n v i t i n g a l i e n s a n d r o b o t s i n t o t h e E n g l i s h c l a s s r o o m , h o w f i c t i o n a l c u l t u r e s c a n p r o m o t e d e v e l o p m e n t o f i n t e r c u l t u r a l c o m p e t e n c e Tove Lora Andrews 06.11.2019 Master Fremmedspråk i skolen Avdeling for økonomi, språk og samfunsdag Abstract Little focus has been placed on why English teachers in Norway should favour intercultural competence over cultural facts. Yet knowing cultural facts do not make pupils effective communicators, which is the purpose for language learning. Intercultural competence prepares pupils for intercultural encounters, through a conglomeration of open attitudes, accurate knowledge, insightful understanding, appropriate skills, and practical application. Literature is a common and efficient means of exploring culture and intercultural encounters within a classroom setting. Both multicultural literature and science fiction explore cultural themes and identity, but the latter explores a broader range of contemporary topics. Therefore, this thesis sought to explore to what extent science fiction could be used to promote intercultural competence in the English classroom. Analysing fiction and imaginary cultures circumvented pitfalls common to multicultural literature. Aliens and robots could offer pupils a safe place to explore culture and nurture their intercultural competence. As follows, intercultural encounters within two carefully selected science fiction texts were extensively analysed. The ample data collected was encouraging, the analysed results were significant. Star Trek (Abrams, 2009) contained a multicultural cast, in-depth immersion into Vulcan culture, and explored biracialism and cultural duality. I, robot (Proyas, 2004) depicted characters from marginalised groups, challenged and deconstructed stereotypes, and explored prejudice through the perspectives of both the racist, and the victim of prejudice. By observing the human Kirk and half-Vulcan Spock, pupils could experience how culture affected perspectives and behaviour, gain awareness of cultural cues, and expand their intercultural competence for future intercultural encounters. By observing the robot Sonny and the human Spooner, pupils could gain awareness of attitudes, their wide spanning effect upon individuals and the environment, becoming more strategic in what attitudes and behaviours to present during intercultural encounters. Page 1 of 64 Acknowledgements I would like to convey my gratitude to the people who have supported me throughout this long, yet ultimately fun, writing process. My achievements are their achievements, because I could not have done this without them. It is thanks to Eva Margareta Lambertsson Björk and Jutta Cornelia Eschenbach, my two supervisors, that I was inspired to write about intercultural competence. Without their patient guidance, smiling encouragement, and enthusiastic interest in my project, I could not have completed this master thesis. Thank you both for supporting me, it has been an invaluable experience that I will never forget. In the future, I hope to become as good a teacher for others as you two have been to me. My family have also played an important part in the completion of my master thesis. My father, Barry John Andrews, is the parent I inherited my love for science fiction from. Thank you for being as delighted by my science fiction project as I was, and for continuously reminding me that I am my own worst critic. My mother, Anne Elisabet Kjeka Andrews, who sheltered and kept me sane when I was struggling. Thank you for always being there for me, for never losing faith in me, and for requesting continuous updates about my writing process. My sister, Vanessa Sofie Frost, who supported and kept me grounded. Thank you for believing I can be a good teacher, for listening to my incessant chatter about intercultural competence, despite not sharing my passion for language teaching, and for making me take a break when I really needed one. My brother-in-law, Ola Haug Frost, who happily talked about science fiction, computer games, and roleplay with me. Thank you for letting me invade your home and for sharing your hobbies when I needed a break from reality. Page 2 of 64 Table of contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Research aim and structure of dissertation .................................................................. 6 2 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Intercultural competence ............................................................................................. 6 2.1.1 Defining intercultural competence and its components ....................................... 6 2.1.2 Expressing and categorising culture ..................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Conveying meaning and the communicative dimensions .................................... 9 2.2 Literature ................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Multicultural literature ....................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 The science fiction genre .................................................................................... 11 2.2.3 Substituting multicultural literature with science fiction ................................... 12 3 The selection of materials ................................................................................................ 12 3.1 Multicultural literature criteria .................................................................................. 12 3.1.1 Multicultural literature thematic types ............................................................... 13 3.1.2 Multicultural literature text quality .................................................................... 13 3.2 Suitable science fiction texts ..................................................................................... 14 3.3 Limitations ................................................................................................................. 15 4 Review of two science fiction texts .................................................................................. 16 4.1 Text 1: Star Trek ........................................................................................................ 16 4.1.1 Setting and brief plot outline .............................................................................. 17 4.1.2 Multicultural thematic type analysis .................................................................. 17 4.1.3 Vulcan intercultural encounters.......................................................................... 18 4.1.4 Human-Vulcan intercultural encounters ............................................................ 24 4.2 Text 2: I, robot ........................................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Setting and brief plot outline .............................................................................. 30 Page 3 of 64 4.2.2 Multicultural thematic type analysis .................................................................. 30 4.2.3 Perception and prejudice .................................................................................... 31 4.2.4 Ethnicity and stereotype ..................................................................................... 35 5 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 40 5.1 The world is neither one-dimensional nor monocultural ........................................... 41 5.2 Attitude is everything ................................................................................................ 42 5.3 Understanding prejudice ............................................................................................ 43 5.4 Through a reflection, the real world .......................................................................... 45 6 Sum-up and conclusion .................................................................................................... 46 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 48 Appendix A: Communicative dimensions ............................................................................... 51 Appendix B: The 16 science fiction texts considered .............................................................. 52 Appendix C: Star Trek data ...................................................................................................... 53 C.1 Film scene character guide ........................................................................................ 53 C.2 Film scene analysis tables .......................................................................................... 54 Appendix D: I, robot data ........................................................................................................ 60 D.1 Film scene character guide ........................................................................................ 60 D.2 Film scene analysis tables