Fostering Critical Interculturality in Foreign Language Education

Parks, Elinor

Abstract

While on the one hand interculturality, as a notion, has become an object of research, which is increasingly critical, on the other, we continue to witness discourses about culture and concepts such as intercultural competence within foreign language curricula, policy and practice, which portray images of identity that are largely defined and confined by national boundaries. The question “Where are you from?”, for example, often introduced within the first week of a beginner’s language course, is asked routinely, yet the opportunity for a critical discussion on what the question means is generally missed or avoided. Drawing on my own research and teaching practice in German as a Foreign Language in American and British universities, the paper interrogates assumptions about the development of ‘intercultural competence’ in language graduates and discusses ways in which critical interculturality may be fostered in Higher Education (HE).

Citation

Parks, E. (2024, September). Fostering Critical Interculturality in Foreign Language Education. Presented at XVIII CercleS Conference 2024, Durham University - TLC

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: XVIII CercleS Conference 2024
• Start Date: Sep 12, 2024
• End Date: Sep 14, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 28, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2898684