Developing intercultural competences through the exploration of the Spanish cultures and language

Abstract

The development of intercultural competences is fundamental in a multicultural society. The main objective of this study is to develop intercultural competences through the teaching of Spanish language and cultures related to the language. This objective is aimed to answer the main research question of this study “how can the teaching of Spanish language and cultures related to the language help students develop intercultural competences?”. For the purpose of this study a qualitative methodology was applied together with an action research design as five lessons were produced and conducted with one year 8 group (12 students). In this study a triangulation of data sources was applied, which was made up of: an interview of the observing teacher; researcher’s reflective journal; students’ questionnaires; and students’ reflective questions as part of the lessons. The findings showed that participants’ perception towards the concept of culture and cultural contact were altered to the positive. By the end of the study, the majority of the participants regarded contact between cultures as something beneficial. This study also exposed different factors which influenced students’ development of intercultural competences such as the experience of being abroad or being in a minority. In addition, it was also exposed how knowledge acquisition about other cultures, increased awareness of the self-culture. Lastly, the development of intercultural competences was also shown by an improvement in the interrelationships between students and by an improvement in the classroom climate.