Developing Intercultural Language Materials

• Souad Boumechaal ^[1]
  1. [1] University College London

     University College London

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: ELT journal: An international journal for teachers of English to speakers of other languages, ISSN 0951-0893, Vol. 79, Nº 1, 2025, págs. 141-145
• Idioma: inglés

• Es reseña de:

  • Developing Intercultural Language Materials

    Freda Mishan, Tamas Kiss

    Routledge, 2024

• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • In recent years, the intercultural dimension has gained considerable attention in language teaching, reflecting a growing recognition of the need to implement intercultural competence alongside linguistic proficiency. However, the practical implementation of intercultural competence in language education remains challenging and has been the subject of considerable critical examination by researchers. This is due to the concept’s multifaceted nature, which often clashes with the essentialist views of culture that have traditionally shaped language materials. Adding to this issue is the insufficient focus on intercultural learning in teacher education. Teacher training programmes often prioritize linguistic skills and traditional methodologies, neglecting this crucial dimension of language teaching and learning. As a result, many teachers feel ill-equipped to implement intercultural competence in their classrooms, let alone create and develop their own intercultural learning materials. This gap leaves teachers and practitioners with limited confidence and inadequate tools to explore the complexities of intercultural learning in meaningful ways. As a response to this gap, this book aims to cultivate the confidence and the awareness of practitioners/teachers to explore new pedagogies and approaches. The uniqueness of this book lies in its innovative theoretical framework and methodology. Mishan and Kiss take a bold step by incorporating the principles of complex dynamic systems (CDS) theory (Larsen-Freeman 2012), which aligns with the situated nature of intercultural learning. By doing so, they move beyond the limitations of current essentialist intercultural models, offering a fresh lens through which to view intercultural competence.