Kingdom Culture as a Plumb Line in Cross-cultural Engagement

Authors

David Catterick, Briercrest College and Seminary

Keywords

Intercultural communication; ELT; Kingdom culture; English language teaching

Abstract

This article seeks to add a faith-based perspective to existing intercultural communication theory. It explores the relationship between the theoretical construct of national culture commonly used by scholars in the field of intercultural communication and a construct that the author terms Kingdom culture. The article introduces Kingdom culture and explores the way it relates to national culture before suggesting that it serves as an effective plumb line by which national cultures including one’s own can be measured. The article concludes with a worked example from a cultural context common in English language teaching in order to demonstrate the expanded spectrum of choices available to Christian English language teachers (CELTs) as a result of Kingdom culture. It is hoped that this article will provide CELTs a broader and deeper theoretical understanding with which to engage in the cultural incidents so common in the field of ELT.

Recommended Citation

Catterick, David (2020) "Kingdom Culture as a Plumb Line in Cross-cultural Engagement," International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching: Vol. 7, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/ijc-elt/vol7/iss1/4