名古屋外国語大学論集第8号

2021年2月

Research Note

Integrating Critical Incidents in the Language
Classroom
Jessica ZONI UPTON

Abstract
Over the course of the years, educators around the globe have come to agree that
communication in a foreign language requires more than just linguistic skills.
Teaching skills such as critical thinking and cultural awareness have become
essential to nurture intercultural speakers. However, how can said skills be integrated in the language classroom? This paper aims to offer insights into the useof the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), a narration-based activity often used inintercultural communication classes and workshops. The paper will first explain
the origin of CIT and its importance in the language classroom. Subsequently,
the author will explain how to create an original critical incident, and finally
how to effectively conduct the activity in the classroom. This paper aims to bea practical guide to the creation and appropriate use of CIT, ultimately assistingteachers on how to nurture intercultural speakers.

INTRODUCTION
In the late 20th century, Bennett (1997) coined the term “fluent fool,” claiming that in order to avoid becoming someone who can speak the target language
303

fluently but cannot communicate appropriately, people “need to understand more
completely the cultural dimension of language” (Bennett, 1997, p. 16). In otherwords, in order to effectively communicate in the second language, one mustalso be aware of the cultural elements that are ingrained in the language use
itself. More specifically, an intercultural speaker should possess the interculturalcompetence (IC) which will allow her/him to avoid misunderstandings andstereotyping. To this day, there is no one absolute definition for IC. However, themost widely recognized definitions include the ones by Byram (1997), who statesthat “Intercultural Communicative Competence is the ability to communicate
effectively and appropriately in cross-cultural situations and to relate appropriately in a variety of contexts” and Deardorff (2006), who adds that said ability is“..based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (p. 247). In her
Process Model of Intercultural Competence, Deardorff (2016) further explains
knowledge as cultural self-awareness and cultural understanding of world views;
skills as observation, evaluation, analysis, interpreting, and relating; and attitudes
as respect, curiosity, and discovery.
As the world evolves to become more globalized every day, the necessity
for intercultural speakers grows, and the responsibility lies on the teachers in
the language classroom. Seminal researchers such as Byram (1997, 1999, 2002,2003), Fantini (1995, 2006, 2012), and Deardorff (2006, 2010, 2011, 2016) havefrequently underlined the importance of the intercultural dimension in language
teaching, leading to increasing awareness among language educators. Over time,a variety of activities have been introduced in classes and workshops specificallytailored to increase IC. However, language teachers who are new to promoting
IC in their classrooms might find themselves unsure on which activities tochoose and how to carry them out appropriately. As a result, an activity suchas the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), which can be created by anyone andintegrated alongside one’s original curriculum, would be most beneficial. As amatter of fact, the author has been using the technique in several of her classes304

Integrating Critical Incidents in the Language Classroom ■at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, ranging from academic writing courses
to communication-based courses.

CRITICAL INCIDENTS LITERATURE REVIEWOver the years, numerous techniques have been developed to help increase
learners’ cultural awareness and critical thinking skills. One example is thatof the CIT, originally developed in the 1950s by psychologist John Flanagan.
Flanagan (1954) describes the CIT as “a set of procedures for collecting direct
observations of human behavior in such a way as to facilitate their potential
usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychologicalprinciples” (p. 327). In intercultural communication, CIT was adopted, adapted,and promoted by several seminal researchers such as Hughes (1986) and Thomas(1996, 2000, 2010) for language classroom use. Hughes (1986), who gives it thename culture assimilator, defines it as “a brief description of a critical incident ofcrosscultural interaction that would probably be misunderstood by the students”(p. 167). After introducing short stories illustrating a cultural situation, often amisunderstanding, learners are encouraged to discuss and offer interpretations,explanations, and possible solutions to the situation.
While in psychology, its main focus lies on identifying human behaviors,
Spencer-Oatey and Harsch (2016) state that employing CIT for the purpose ofintercultural communication leads to the emergence of four main focus areas:(1) Identification of cultural values/standards,(2) Insights into cross-cultural transitions/adaptation,(3) Insights into intercultural interaction,(4) Development and evaluation of training resources. (p. 225)
In a way, CIT “encourages participants to tell their story” (Urquhart et al., 2003)
as it requires learners to share their thoughts and experiences in order to work
towards understanding unfamiliar ideas and situations. Through the use of boththe original narration and student narratives, students acquire new perspectives
305and foster each other’s intercultural development. After all, “narratives mediatemaking sense of the self and life events” (Noels et al., 2012, p. 55). Essentially,
the CIT in the language classroom can be described as a narrative activity which
begins with realistic scenarios of intercultural exchange, triggers pertinentstories from the audience, and ends with learners’ newly-gained understandingof themselves as well as of the stories it began with. Through the CIT activity,
learners can go through the processes of developing critical thinking, acquiring
different perspectives, and increasing cultural awareness. Despite its multiple
focus areas, teachers must “think through how the CIT may be interpreted andapplied most appropriately for their own particular research” (Chell, 1998, as
cited in Spencer-Oatey & Harsch, 2016, p. 224). As such, teachers can benefit
greatly from CIT as long as they are aware of their reasons for adopting thistechnique.

A GUIDE TO MAKING ORIGINAL CRITICAL INCIDENTS
Critical incidents are often presented in the form of short stories depicting cultural misunderstandings which learners are often unfamiliar with. When creating
one’s own critical incident, there are numerous sources which one might use as
reference: (1) One’s own experience. Humans are social beings, meaning thatpeople communicate almost every day. When one finds oneself communicatingwith someone from a different background, intercultural communication isbound to take place. Therefore, said instances of intercultural communication canprovide the basis for one’s own critical incident; (2) Someone else’s experience.
Including family, friends, and acquaintances, everyone has stories. Among thosestories, one can always find some which can be great examples for learners toreflect upon; (3) News from a reliable source; (4) Popular stories which learners
are already familiar with, presented from a different perspective. Hollywood has
recently adopted a similar strategy with films such as “Joker” and “Maleficent”,
offering the audience a chance to see the perspective of the villain. The same can306

Integrating Critical Incidents in the Language Classroom ■be applied to critical incidents to provide learners with an opportunity to reflect
on a familiar situation from a new angle.
However, something to take into consideration when creating an originalcritical incident is research. Special care must be taken especially if the incident
is not based on one’s personal experience, and it is therefore essential to follow
up with appropriate research. Creating a story which one has not experienced
about a culture which one does not identify with, might in fact generate unnecessary generalizations and stereotypes. Moreover, depending on the course and thelevel of the students, teachers might also need to prepare a vocabulary list to help
students fully understand the critical incident/s and at the same time be able tosuccessfully express their opinions in the target language.
As far as the author is aware, there is no specific format for critical incidents,
which implicates that whether the critical incident is presented as text or as anillustration, it is to the discretion of the teacher. The author believes that thechoice should be made depending on the audience and/or on the purpose of theactivity, rather than adhering to one style each time for the sake of consistency.
Figure 1 below is an example of critical incident in written form.

Figure 1. Example of written critical incident created by the author.
307

Figure 2 below, on the other hand, provides an example of critical incident
in the form of illustration.

Figure 2. Example of illustrated critical incident created by the author.
Once the critical incident, in whichever form, has been created, it must be
properly conducted in the classroom.

A GUIDE TO CONDUCTING CIT IN THE CLASSROOMAs any activity, it would be wise to first explain the purpose of criticalincidents when introducing the activity to learners, along with the concepts of“critical thinking” and “cultural awareness”. Once learners are aware of thepurpose of the activity, they proceed to read the incident/s before continuing onto the follow-up discussion.
Critical incidents should always be accompanied by a series of questions,308

Integrating Critical Incidents in the Language Classroom ■since the follow-up discussion is where learners really have a chance to share
perspectives and learn. The focus of the follow-up discussion should cover thefollowing:(1) ‌Analysis of the critical incident (“What do you think is happening/happened?”)(2) Evaluation of the incident (“Who was at fault? Why?”)(3) Sharing how one would behave if involved in a similar incident(4) ‌Sharing one’s own experience in relation to a similar incident whenpossible
The author recommends conducting the activity in small groups, in order tomaximize the exchange of narratives, and consequently maximize knowledge
acquisition. Following group discussion, the author recommends concluding
with a class discussion. Class discussion allows further exchange of opinions,and also offers a chance for the teacher to share his/her opinion or experience
if necessary.
Evidently, the discussion aspect of critical incidents makes CIT a worthwhile
activity for foreign language classrooms where the main focus is on communication. However, the element of sharing opinions and experiences is an essential
element not only for English communication practice, but also to increase
learners’ IC knowledge. IC recognizes the importance of learners making useof their own cultural background in conversation, as through a narrative of theirexperiences, learners can exchange new knowledge and perspectives with peers.
Moreover, the narrative aspect of CIT allows it to be adequately integrated inwriting classes, where students can be asked to write their thoughts and experiences and share them instead of openly discussing in conversation, resulting
in students contributing their stories to an ever-expanding library of criticalincidents.

309CONCLUSIONAs stated in the abstract, this research aimed to bring awareness to theemployment of CIT in the language classroom. The purpose of language learningis that of communication, and in order to avoid becoming a fluent fool (Bennett,1997), teachers should encourage language learners to acquire IC. The employment of an IC-approach might be difficult for some teachers, depending on theirteaching contexts and curriculums. However, the benefit of an activity such as
the CIT is that it can be integrated in any language classroom without having
to make substantial changes to the curriculum. Critical incidents can be easily
created and integrated alongside the original course material. For the teachers
and researchers interested in integrating CIT in their classrooms, one need notlook further than one’s own experience to create a short narrative which canstimulate learners to engage in discussion. As long as teachers are clear about
the goals which they hope to achieve by integrating the CIT, learners will beable to benefit from the activity.
With this in mind, there are still limitations to the use of CIT. The first limitation is that any critical incident which is not based on one’s own experience, mustbe supported by research. This might be a limitation for teachers who have abusy schedule. Another limitation is that of the choice of vocabulary. Dependingon the teaching context and the level of students, teachers might need to spendsome time introducing new vocabulary prior to the CIT in order for students
to fully benefit from the narratives. However, aside from the above-mentioned
limitations, the CIT remains an invaluable activity to employ in any language
classroom to foster learners’ intercultural development.

REFERENCES
Bennett, M. J. (1997). How not to be a fluent fool: Understanding the cultural dimension of language.
In A.E. Fantini (Ed.), New ways in teaching culture (pp. 16–21). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.

310

Integrating Critical Incidents in the Language Classroom ■Byram, M., & Zarate, G. (Eds.). (1997). The sociocultural and intercultural dimension of language
learning and teaching. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Byram, M. & Risager, K. (1999). Language teachers, politics and cultures. Clevedon: MultilingualMatters.
Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002) Developing the intercultural dimension in language
teaching: A practical introduction for teachers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Byram, M. & Grundy, P. (Eds.), (2003). Context and culture in language teaching and learning.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Assessing intercultural competence in study abroad students. In M. Byram,& A. Feng (Eds.) 2006. Living and studying abroad. Research and practice (pp. 232–256).
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Deardorff, D. K. (2010). Intercultural competence in higher education and intercultural dialogue.
In S.Bergan & H. van’t Land (Eds.), Speaking across borders: The role of higher education infurthering intercultural dialogue (pp. 87–95). Council of Europe.
Deardorff, D. K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions for Institutional
Research, 2011(149), 65–79.
Deardorff, D. (2016). How to assess intercultural competence. In Z. Hua (Ed.), Research methods inintercultural communication: A practical guide (pp. 103–117). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Inc.
Fantini, A. (1995). Introduction-language, culture and world view: Exploring the nexus. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, 19(2), 143–153.
Fantini, A. & Tirmizi, A. (2006). Exploring and assessing intercultural competence. World LearningPublications. Paper 1. Retrieved from:http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/worldlearning_publications/1
Fantini, A. (2012). Multiple strategies for assessing intercultural communicative competence. InJ. Jackson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (pp.
390–405). Oxford: Routledge.
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. The Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327–358.
Hughes, G. H. (1986). An argument for culture analysis in the second language classroom. In J. Valdes(Ed.), Culture bound. Bridging the cultural gap in language teaching (p. 162–169). New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press.
Noels, K., Yashima, T., & Zhang, R. (2012). Language, identity and intercultural communication.
In J. Jackson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of language and intercultural communication (pp.
52–66). Oxford: Routledge.
Spencer-Oatey, H., & Harsch, C. (2016). The critical incident technique. In Z. Hua (Ed.), Researchmethods in intercultural communication: A practical guide (pp. 223–238). Chichester: John
Wiley & Sons Inc.
Thomas, A. (1996). Analyse der Handlungswirksamkeit von Kulturstandards. In A. Thomas (Ed.),
Psychologie interkulturellen Handelns (pp. 107–135). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Thomas, A. (2000). Globalisierung und interkulturelle Managementkompetenz. In B. Fahrenhorst,

311

and S. A. Musto (Eds.), Grenzenlos. Kommunikation, Kooperation, Entwicklung (pp. 162–174).
Berlin: Gesellschaft für Internationale Entwicklung.
Thomas, A. (2010). Culture and cultural standards. In A. Thomas, E. U. Kinast, & S. Schroll-Machl(Eds.), Handbook of Intercultural Communication and Cooperation. Basics and areas of application (pp. 17–27). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Urquhart, C., Light, A., Thomas, R., Barker, A., Yeoman, A. Cooper, J., Armstrong, C., Fenton, R.,
Lonsdale, R. and Spink, S. (2003). Critical incident technique and explicitation interviewing instudies of information behavior. Library and Information Science Research, 25(1), 63–88.

312