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Previous research focusing on e-tandem virtual exchanges where learners practice each other’s languages has examined mainly aspects related to form-focused interaction, linguistic development, and intercultural competence (see Akiyama & Cunningham, 2018, for an overview). The present paper examines learners’ introspective data about the benefits they obtained from participating in a Spain-Canada e-tandem virtual exchange. Particularly, the participants’ alternating roles as language learners and language experts and their intercultural understanding were examined to provide insights into their evaluation of the experience of taking part in the exchange. Introspective data was collected on how this exchange helped learners theorize about language learning and teaching and about their intercultural understanding. Learners highlighted that focusing on communication, having patience, and collaborating and cooperating with others were their most frequent concerns when they reflected on their role as language experts helping others practice their dominant language. The findings also indicate that learners’ perceptions about the intercultural understanding gained during the virtual exchange show appreciation of multiculturalism and a tendency to speak about one’s own culture.

This dissertation investigates the practice of global English education at a South Korean university, focusing on its influence on students’ global competence and cross-cultural understanding of global issues. Employing a mixed methods approach, the study integrates qualitative data from interviews and classroom observations with quantitative data from surveys to comprehensively explore global English courses’ challenges and opportunities. Findings suggest that participation in global English education enhances students’ adaptability, cultural curiosity, and global worldview. However, challenges stemming from large class sizes and teacher-centered instruction limit active learning and engagement. While positive attitudes towards global English education are evident in survey results, areas for improvement are identified, emphasizing the need for a holistic assessment of learners’ experiences and outcomes. This research underscores the importance of enriching global English education with practical experiences to foster critical thinking and engagement with global issues. It aims to advance pedagogical approaches and educational frameworks for English language learners by informing educators, policymakers, and researchers.

The main aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of critical pedagogy and high-order thinking skills in upgrading values-based education and intercultural understanding. Critical pedagogy is a transformational approach that aims to embrace educational values, intercultural identity, the commonality of beneficence and the value of individual freedom in today’s globalised world. In this regard, the teacher’s role is to help learners to aggrandize their intercultural and critical cultural responsibility for acceptance of otherness, that is, self-reflection, essentialism, and cosmopolitanism in a value based educational system. This article used EFL teaching materials that drew on critical literacy (two culturally based units and a short story analysis) stemming from the critical pedagogy lens (praxis pedagogy). The data of this study were analysed qualitatively through the three stages of disciplinary Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis: description, interpretation and explanation; it is an approach that considers language as a form of political and social practice. The findings revealed that critical pedagogy and high order skills developed values-based education as well as intercultural understanding.

Preservice teachers are soon-to-be graduates expected to deliver the Cross-Curricular Priority ‘Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia’. Teachers of all learning areas are expected to teach about Asia, irrespective of their knowledge or capabilities in Asian contexts. The curriculum review has revised expectations for ‘Asia literacy’ in graduates. The changes de-emphasise cultural knowledge, and instead, promote relationship-building and intercultural understanding. This research identified 31 preservice teachers’ perceptions of their Asia literacy and preparedness to teach the related curriculum initiative. Grainger and Christie’s (2016) linguistic model was used to define and measure Asia literacy. Thematic analysis identified (1) how participants conceptualised ‘meeting’ expectations for Asia literacy, and (2) how the tertiary provider might better respond to their learning needs. Like previous research (see Australian Government, 2023; Halse & Cairns, 2018), we found that most respondents felt unqualified to teach about Asia. Participants expressed the desire for more content knowledge, authentic opportunities (such as in-country experience or language capability), and pedagogical skills. We argue that the national improvement of Asia literacy in preservice teachers is tied to its assessment. There is a need to consistently define, delimit and assess Asia literacy within a framework of cultural literacy. These theoretical considerations underlie future, systemic efforts to track and evaluate a long-term government initiative.

This empirical paper draws from the literature to review the inclusion of the Cross-Curriculum Priority (CCP), Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, in the Australian Curriculum (for students aged 5 to 16 years), together with some of the challenges and opportunities Geography teachers face in planning to implement this CCP. Referred to as the Asia priority, it is one of the three CCPs in the tripartite design of the Australian Curriculum together with learning areas and general capabilities (GCs). Discussion focuses on the Asia priority as a contested form of knowledge in the current curriculum, and highlights some of the theoretical and epistemological issues concerned with knowing Asia, prior to examining the curricula implications for decision-making in teaching Geography. The paper argues that both discipline-specific knowledge offered by Geography, together with knowledge of contemporary issues such as highlighted by the Asia priority, are required to help young people to engage with their present world, as well as to prepare them to live in an increasingly complex world.

This qualitative study explored the effects of a humanitarian-focused trip to Vietnam in 2017 on secondary students from a Queensland independent school investigating how this form of learning was transformative. Qualitative data obtained allowed the researcher-participant to record and observe this change with the application of thematic codes aligned inductively to distinct themes within the data. Hammer’s (2011, 2012) Intercultural Development Continuum provided the conceptual framework for this study. This research contributes to understanding the value of Australian secondary school students’ intercultural encounters in an Asian country, with the findings indicating a development of intercultural understanding, active citizenship and empathy.

This chapter explores how studies of Asia and Australia’s involvement with some of the countries and cultures in this region can be taught in ways that foster intercultural understanding in educational settings as part of a future-focused curriculum. It offers strategies for learning about and engaging with diverse cultures that go beyond the instrumentalism of national economic and security interests in Asia. Rather, it explores how learners can be encouraged to recognise commonalities and differences as well as appreciate and empathise with the lived experiences of diverse peoples and local communities in Australia and Asia. Put simply, this chapter argues that studies of Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia matters. Learners need to understand their own cultural traditions, values and beliefs as well as engage with the experiences and ideas of others. This form of Asia capability will enable them to navigate the multiplicity of 21st century intercultural relations as local, regional and global citizens.

The ethnic and cultural diversity of many schools calls for teachers with well-developed intercultural understanding. Teacher education programmes have traditionally offered international fieldwork in bilingual settings to challenge ethnocentric attitudes to teaching. However, an international practicum in a ‘similar but different’ education system with English as the dominant language offers a different pathway, providing opportunities to deepen intercultural understanding and global education. This study investigates the impact of a three-week international teaching practicum in the American Midwest on two groups of Brisbane-based pre-service teachers in 2014 (n = 9) and 2015 (n = 4). Their reflective journals and reports indicate that international professional experience disrupts stereotypes and fosters global education and intercultural understanding. The paper presents key programme measures to promote intercultural understanding and concludes that the benefits of international teaching in a ‘similar but different’ education system are a nuanced understanding of cultural diversity and increased readiness for the classroom.

UNESCO (2019) argues that in the current, turbulent and globalised landscape, intercultural dialogue has become more crucial than ever to promote and disseminate values, attitudes and behaviours among school students that are conducive to improved co-operation and dialogue among diverse peoples. In 2018, Victorian teachers were tasked for the first time with reporting on Intercultural Capability (ICC) within the curriculum, with many having little to no formal training in ICC curriculum or pedagogy. This study investigated how three teachers and early ICC innovators made meaning of the curriculum when teaching a middle year’s (7 – 10) secondary unit at schools in differing geographical locations in the state of Victoria. A narrative inquiry approach was engaged to analyse teachers’ interpretation of the ICC curriculum, the pedagogical decisions they made in the midst of teaching their respective units, and the perceived challenges they confronted in the intercultural (IC) classroom. Working with narrative data drawn from two semi-structured interviews with each teacher, undertaken before and after the teaching of a curriculum unit, I adopted the sequential planning theories of Clandinin and Connelly (1990) as an initial framework. This was supplemented with Aoki’s (2005) Deleuzian-inspired ‘curriculum-as-lived’ frame, to build an account of events and relational episodes in the IC classroom, and their impact on understandings of what it means to be an IC teacher. A strong theme in the teacher narratives was the development of professional and personal self-knowledge through a process of teachers reflecting upon their own cultural background and considering this as part of classroom activities with students. In addition, both the cultural composition of the classroom and associated views and values held by students impacted on how the teachers’ pedagogical approach evolved. The thesis contributed fresh perspectives on how the challenges of a new curriculum area are n

Across Australia and internationally, the number of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds entering schools has increased. This has led to a greater complexity in pedagogy, curriculum and student populations (Banks, 2011). This thesis entitled Cultural diversity and drama education within an Australian context is a qualitative research project that methodologically involved a reflective practitioner study (Schön, 1983). The researcher developed and taught an educational unit of work entitled Cultural diversity and drama. The unit of work comprised eight lessons and was taught to a junior secondary drama class at a coeducational independent school. Central to this study were the experiences of the culturally diverse drama students engaging in the drama curriculum. Through the reflective practitioner’s own culturally diverse perspective, this study was also an examination of the drama teacher. As part of the reflective practitioner research, a combination of data was collected that included observation of drama classes, reflective practitioner journal, student journals, field notes, written documents and interviews with drama staff and students. The key findings of this study revealed that the drama students identified and discussed their own ethnic identities. It was found that trust facilitated the advancement of the unit of work between the reflective practitioner, drama students and drama teacher. The study revealed that embodied learning about cultural diversity enabled the drama students to generate their own contemporary meanings of themselves, others and of Australia. In this study it was found that stories about refugees can effectively engage drama students to understand and enact people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Sabine MacCormack fue una gran viajera y lo fue en muchos sentidos, no sólo en el espacio de varios mundos y numero-sas culturas. Su vida vino a reflejar así como una síntesis de realidades, como un conjunto que supera la mera suma de sus partes. Lejos de limitarse a un pasado hecho de cosas perdidas y de conflictos, ella dibujaba en el pasado nuevos territorios de sanación personal y de entendimiento cultural interdisciplinario. La experiencia extensa y directa de Sabine del mundo andino ayudó a conciliar su pensamiento, su sentido comunitario y su pertenencia y presencia espiritual en el mundo físico., Sabine MacCormack was a voyager in many worlds and many cultures throughout a life that came to reflect a synthesis of realities into a whole greater than the sum of the parts. Out of pasts that signified loss and war she charted new territories of personal healing and interdisciplinary cultural understanding. Sabine’s extensive and direct experience in Andean landscapes came to guide her thinking, reflecting community, belonging and her spiritual presence in the physical world.

In 2012, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) embedded seven General Capabilities, including the intercultural understanding capability, to the nationally adopted curriculum that guides school education in Australia. The way in which capabilities have been incorporated varies from state to state, from sector to sector, and from school to school. Currently, there is no study that examines the integration of intercultural understanding into Christian Studies in the context of Lutheran secondary education. This qualitative case study research addresses the research problem: How do Lutheran schools embed the Australian Curriculum capability intercultural understanding within their Christian Studies program? In order to investigate the research problem, two research questions were explored: (1) How do educators implement intercultural understanding in their Christian Studies program on the basis of their Christian Studies Curriculum Framework? (2) In what ways does the Christian Studies program allow for students to develop intercultural understanding? The framework for this study is provided by Dewey's constructivist approach of inquiry-based learning and student-centred learning, and Vygotsky's model of social constructivism. These constructivist theories are applied in this study in two ways--by examining the educational practices and materials based on constructivist ideas, and by incorporating a constructivist approach to the interview process. This study is concerned with understanding how students develop intercultural understanding as well as how educators implement this capability into their Christian Studies program and units of work. For a qualitative case study that aligns with the theoretical framework of constructivism, literature from Stake (1995) is employed. Qualitative data were collected from the key documents--the Christian Studies Curriculum Framework (CSCF) and the Christian Studies units of work from Years 7-9, and, Thesis (Masters), Master of Education and Professional Studies Research (MEdProfStRes), School Educ & Professional St, Arts, Education and Law, Full Text

Sabine MacCormack was a voyager in many worlds and many cultures throughout a life that came to reflect a synthesis of realities into a whole greater than the sum of the parts. Out of pasts that signified loss and war she charted new territories of personal healing and interdisciplinary cultural understanding. Sabine’s extensive and direct experience in Andean landscapes came to guide her thinking, reflecting community, belonging and her spiritual presence in the physical world., Sabine MacCormack fue una gran viajera y lo fue en muchos sentidos, no sólo en el espacio de varios mundos y numero-sas culturas. Su vida vino a reflejar así como una síntesis de realidades, como un conjunto que supera la mera suma de sus partes. Lejos de limitarse a un pasado hecho de cosas perdidas y de conflictos, ella dibujaba en el pasado nuevos territorios de sanación personal y de entendimiento cultural interdisciplinario. La experiencia extensa y directa de Sabine del mundo andino ayudó a conciliar su pensamiento, su sentido comunitario y su pertenencia y presencia espiritual en el mundo físico.

This chapter draws from research on the ways in which a group of Australian and Malaysian preservice teachers reflected on their collaborative experiences during a short-term outbound mobility programme (OMP) in Malaysia. Funding was secured through the Australian Government’s Study Overseas Short-term Mobility Program (STMP), which aimed at promoting opportunities for more Australians at the tertiary level to undertake meaningful short-term international mobility experiences. The research focused on how both groups of preservice teachers reflected on themselves as culturally responsive global citizens during and after the two-week programme in Kuala Lumpur. The hypothesis was that when coupled with appropriate reflection, experiential and reciprocal learning might contribute to increased intercultural capacity and regional awareness of global concerns such as respecting religious differences and the impact of environmental degradation. Findings suggest that from initial ethnocentric assumptions, both groups developed a respect for cultural difference through their intercultural encounters with each other. The research also found that the Australian and Malaysian preservice teachers gained deeper insights into their cultural selves as global citizens and how global perspectives can be shaped through regional contexts in the Asia Pacific.

This thesis is a case study of programs in two schools connecting Australian students with communities in Cambodia. It examines the teachers’ practices and rationales for implementing such programs through the lenses of Global Education, Intercultural Understanding and Values Education. The findings of this research demonstrate the interconnectivity of these themes, and the importance of teacher experience and readiness to develop Intercultural Understanding.

Vi lever i ett allt mer globaliserat samhälle i vilket engelska språket används inom många olika sammanhang över stora delar av världen. Det är därför viktigt att både ha goda kunskaper i engelska språket och att utveckla en god interkulturell förståelse för att kunna samverka över, såväl som inom nationsgränserna. Även Lgr11 påpekar vikten av ett internationellt perspektiv i undervisningen. Enligt läroplanen ska eleverna ges förutsättningar att utveckla sin förmåga att reflektera över livsvillkor, samhällsfrågor och kulturella företeelser i olika sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används. Det är dock problematiskt att definiera vad ”sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används” innebär, detta är något som läromedelsförfattare och lärare måste tolka själva i utformningen av läromedlen och undervisningen. Syftet med denna studie är att analysera sex olika engelskläroböcker för årskurs 4-6 från två olika läroboksserier för att undersöka vilka engelskspråkiga länder som synliggörs och inkluderas i ”delar av världen där engelska används”, samt att undersöka om en mångsidig och nyanserad bild ges av de inkluderade länderna. Metoden för studien är huvudsakligen innehållsanalys men även diskursanalys. Studien är förankrad i de teoretiska begreppen engelska som världsspråk, det vidgade textbegreppet, monokulturell utbildning, hegemoni, interkulturell kompetens/förståelse, vithet samt intersektionalitet. Eftersom läromedel tenderar att ges en styrande roll i engelskundervisningen och inte längre kvalitetsgranskas av staten är det viktigt för lärare att kritiskt kunna granska och välja läroböcker. Utifrån analysen kan det konstateras att det endast är vissa engelskspråkiga länder: Storbritannien, USA och Australien, som ges betydande utrymme och synliggörs som engelskspråkiga i de analyserade läroböckerna. Engelskspråkiga länder som syns men ges betydligt mindre utrymme är Kanada, Nya Zealand och Irland medan Sydafrika inte ens nämns i någon av läroböckerna, We live in an increasingly globalized society in which the English language is used in many different contexts over large parts of the world. It is therefore important to have both a good knowledge of the English language and to develop a good intercultural understanding to collaborate across as well as within national borders. Even the current curriculum of 2011 (Lgr11) points out the importance of an international perspective in education. According to the curriculum, students should be given opportunities to develop their ability to reflect on the living conditions, social and cultural phenomena in different contexts and parts of the world where English is used. However, it is problematic to define what "contexts and areas of the world where English is used" means, this is something that authors of textbooks and teachers have to interpret themselves in the formation of teaching materials and teaching. The purpose of this study is to analyze six different English textbooks for grades 4-6 in Sweden from two textbook series to examine which English-speaking countries are made visible and are included in "parts of the world where English is used", as well as investigate whether a comprehensive and nuanced picture is given of the included countries. The method of study is essentially content analysis, but also discourse analysis. The study is grounded in the theoretical concepts of English as a world language, the expanded concept of text, monocultural education, hegemony, intercultural competence/understanding, whiteness and intersectionality. Since teaching materials tend to be given a governing role in English teaching and no longer quality audited by the state, it is important for teachers to critically examine and select textbooks. From the analysis it can be stated that only some English-speaking countries: UK, USA and Australia are given considerable space and visibility as English-speaking in the analyzed textbooks. English-speaking countries that are visible

Using a qualitative case study approach, this study examines how one government school in Queensland implemented international programs for fee-paying students from Asia at three specific time frames. Through an analysis of the policy processes that have driven international programs and approaches to Asia-literate school education in Australia, this study demonstrates that school based implementation processes were problematic and that efforts to enrich international programs in the school through Asia literacy were limited. Findings indicated the complexity of what happens in a school when top-down approaches to implementing policy occur without effective communication and the provision of staff professional development.

In this paper, a way to address multiculturalism from the discourse ethics of Karl–Otto Apel is proposed. The thread for this is hermeneutics conception of language and the difficulties to understand “cultures” or strange life forms. First the fundamental relationship between understanding and argumentation is exposed, then the reconstruction of the theory of speech acts by formal (Habermas) or transcendental (Apel) pragmatics to indicate the difficulties of conceptualizing the meaning or sense as a validity claim. From that diagnosis, one transcendental hermeneutic solution to resolve both “disputes sense” in a hermeneutical discourse as intercultural conflicts is offered., En este trabajo se propone una forma de abordar la interculturalidad a partir de la ética discursiva de Karl–Otto Apel. Para ello se toma como hilo conductor la concepción hermenéutica del lenguaje y las dificultades que se presentan en la comprensión entre “culturas” o formas de vida extrañas. Primero se expone la relación fundamental entre comprensión y argumentación, luego la reconstrucción de la teoría de los actos de habla por parte de la pragmática formal (Habermas) o trascendental (Apel) para indicar las dificultades de conceptualizar el sentido o comprensibilidad como pretensión de validez. A partir de ese diagnóstico se ofrece una solución hermenéutico–trascendental tanto en lo que se refiere a la posibilidad de resolver “disputas de sentido”, en un discurso hermenéutico, como a las consecuencias prácticas que ello presenta para conflictos normativos interculturales.

In this paper, a way to address multiculturalism from the discourse ethics of Karl–Otto Apel is proposed. The thread for this is hermeneutics conception of language and the difficulties to understand “cultures” or strange life forms. First the fundamental relationship between understanding and argumentation is exposed, then the reconstruction of the theory of speech acts by formal (Habermas) or transcendental (Apel) pragmatics to indicate the difficulties of conceptualizing the meaning or sense as a validity claim. From that diagnosis, one transcendental hermeneutic solution to resolve both “disputes sense” in a hermeneutical discourse as intercultural conflicts is offered., En este trabajo se propone una forma de abordar la interculturalidad a partir de la ética discursiva de Karl–Otto Apel. Para ello se toma como hilo conductor la concepción hermenéutica del lenguaje y las dificultades que se presentan en la comprensión entre “culturas” o formas de vida extrañas. Primero se expone la relación fundamental entre comprensión y argumentación, luego la reconstrucción de la teoría de los actos de habla por parte de la pragmática formal (Habermas) o trascendental (Apel) para indicar las dificultades de conceptualizar el sentido o comprensibilidad como pretensión de validez. A partir de ese diagnóstico se ofrece una solución hermenéutico–trascendental tanto en lo que se refiere a la posibilidad de resolver “disputas de sentido”, en un discurso hermenéutico, como a las consecuencias prácticas que ello presenta para conflictos normativos interculturales.

In this paper, a way to address multiculturalism from the discourse ethics of Karl–Otto Apel is proposed. The thread for this is hermeneutics conception of language and the difficulties to understand “cultures” or strange life forms. First the fundamental relationship between understanding and argumentation is exposed, then the reconstruction of the theory of speech acts by formal (Habermas) or transcendental (Apel) pragmatics to indicate the difficulties of conceptualizing the meaning or sense as a validity claim. From that diagnosis, one transcendental hermeneutic solution to resolve both “disputes sense” in a hermeneutical discourse as intercultural conflicts is offered., En este trabajo se propone una forma de abordar la interculturalidad a partir de la ética discursiva de Karl–Otto Apel. Para ello se toma como hilo conductor la concepción hermenéutica del lenguaje y las dificultades que se presentan en la comprensión entre “culturas” o formas de vida extrañas. Primero se expone la relación fundamental entre comprensión y argumentación, luego la reconstrucción de la teoría de los actos de habla por parte de la pragmática formal (Habermas) o trascendental (Apel) para indicar las dificultades de conceptualizar el sentido o comprensibilidad como pretensión de validez. A partir de ese diagnóstico se ofrece una solución hermenéutico–trascendental tanto en lo que se refiere a la posibilidad de resolver “disputas de sentido”, en un discurso hermenéutico, como a las consecuencias prácticas que ello presenta para conflictos normativos interculturales.

In this paper, a way to address multiculturalism from the discourse ethics of Karl–Otto Apel is proposed. The thread for this is hermeneutics conception of language and the difficulties to understand “cultures” or strange life forms. First the fundamental relationship between understanding and argumentation is exposed, then the reconstruction of the theory of speech acts by formal (Habermas) or transcendental (Apel) pragmatics to indicate the difficulties of conceptualizing the meaning or sense as a validity claim. From that diagnosis, one transcendental hermeneutic solution to resolve both “disputes sense” in a hermeneutical discourse as intercultural conflicts is offered., En este trabajo se propone una forma de abordar la interculturalidad a partir de la ética discursiva de Karl–Otto Apel. Para ello se toma como hilo conductor la concepción hermenéutica del lenguaje y las dificultades que se presentan en la comprensión entre “culturas” o formas de vida extrañas. Primero se expone la relación fundamental entre comprensión y argumentación, luego la reconstrucción de la teoría de los actos de habla por parte de la pragmática formal (Habermas) o trascendental (Apel) para indicar las dificultades de conceptualizar el sentido o comprensibilidad como pretensión de validez. A partir de ese diagnóstico se ofrece una solución hermenéutico–trascendental tanto en lo que se refiere a la posibilidad de resolver “disputas de sentido”, en un discurso hermenéutico, como a las consecuencias prácticas que ello presenta para conflictos normativos interculturales.

In this paper, a way to address multiculturalism from the discourse ethics of Karl–Otto Apel is proposed. The thread for this is hermeneutics conception of language and the difficulties to understand “cultures” or strange life forms. First the fundamental relationship between understanding and argumentation is exposed, then the reconstruction of the theory of speech acts by formal (Habermas) or transcendental (Apel) pragmatics to indicate the difficulties of conceptualizing the meaning or sense as a validity claim. From that diagnosis, one transcendental hermeneutic solution to resolve both “disputes sense” in a hermeneutical discourse as intercultural conflicts is offered., En este trabajo se propone una forma de abordar la interculturalidad a partir de la ética discursiva de Karl–Otto Apel. Para ello se toma como hilo conductor la concepción hermenéutica del lenguaje y las dificultades que se presentan en la comprensión entre “culturas” o formas de vida extrañas. Primero se expone la relación fundamental entre comprensión y argumentación, luego la reconstrucción de la teoría de los actos de habla por parte de la pragmática formal (Habermas) o trascendental (Apel) para indicar las dificultades de conceptualizar el sentido o comprensibilidad como pretensión de validez. A partir de ese diagnóstico se ofrece una solución hermenéutico–trascendental tanto en lo que se refiere a la posibilidad de resolver “disputas de sentido”, en un discurso hermenéutico, como a las consecuencias prácticas que ello presenta para conflictos normativos interculturales.

Vi lever i ett allt mer globaliserat samhälle i vilket engelska språket används inom många olika sammanhang över stora delar av världen. Det är därför viktigt att både ha goda kunskaper i engelska språket och att utveckla en god interkulturell förståelse för att kunna samverka över, såväl som inom nationsgränserna. Även Lgr11 påpekar vikten av ett internationellt perspektiv i undervisningen. Enligt läroplanen ska eleverna ges förutsättningar att utveckla sin förmåga att reflektera över livsvillkor, samhällsfrågor och kulturella företeelser i olika sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används. Det är dock problematiskt att definiera vad ”sammanhang och delar av världen där engelska används” innebär, detta är något som läromedelsförfattare och lärare måste tolka själva i utformningen av läromedlen och undervisningen. Syftet med denna studie är att analysera sex olika engelskläroböcker för årskurs 4-6 från två olika läroboksserier för att undersöka vilka engelskspråkiga länder som synliggörs och inkluderas i ”delar av världen där engelska används”, samt att undersöka om en mångsidig och nyanserad bild ges av de inkluderade länderna. Metoden för studien är huvudsakligen innehållsanalys men även diskursanalys. Studien är förankrad i de teoretiska begreppen engelska som världsspråk, det vidgade textbegreppet, monokulturell utbildning, hegemoni, interkulturell kompetens/förståelse, vithet samt intersektionalitet. Eftersom läromedel tenderar att ges en styrande roll i engelskundervisningen och inte längre kvalitetsgranskas av staten är det viktigt för lärare att kritiskt kunna granska och välja läroböcker. Utifrån analysen kan det konstateras att det endast är vissa engelskspråkiga länder: Storbritannien, USA och Australien, som ges betydande utrymme och synliggörs som engelskspråkiga i de analyserade läroböckerna. Engelskspråkiga länder som syns men ges betydligt mindre utrymme är Kanada, Nya Zealand och Irland medan Sydafrika inte ens nämns i någon av läroböckerna, We live in an increasingly globalized society in which the English language is used in many different contexts over large parts of the world. It is therefore important to have both a good knowledge of the English language and to develop a good intercultural understanding to collaborate across as well as within national borders. Even the current curriculum of 2011 (Lgr11) points out the importance of an international perspective in education. According to the curriculum, students should be given opportunities to develop their ability to reflect on the living conditions, social and cultural phenomena in different contexts and parts of the world where English is used. However, it is problematic to define what "contexts and areas of the world where English is used" means, this is something that authors of textbooks and teachers have to interpret themselves in the formation of teaching materials and teaching. The purpose of this study is to analyze six different English textbooks for grades 4-6 in Sweden from two textbook series to examine which English-speaking countries are made visible and are included in "parts of the world where English is used", as well as investigate whether a comprehensive and nuanced picture is given of the included countries. The method of study is essentially content analysis, but also discourse analysis. The study is grounded in the theoretical concepts of English as a world language, the expanded concept of text, monocultural education, hegemony, intercultural competence/understanding, whiteness and intersectionality. Since teaching materials tend to be given a governing role in English teaching and no longer quality audited by the state, it is important for teachers to critically examine and select textbooks. From the analysis it can be stated that only some English-speaking countries: UK, USA and Australia are given considerable space and visibility as English-speaking in the analyzed textbooks. English-speaking countries that are visible

The aim of this article is to report and reflect on a research project involving the conceptualization of the term International Mindedness, which is used across a range of International Baccalaureate (IB) global and local contexts. The research process involved both a critical analysis of IB official documents and a literature review of concepts related to this term, which revealed important differences in their interpretations. The results shed light on the process of articulating a concept that is used globally and interpreted locally.

Australia has become one of the most highly multilingual and multicultural societies in the world today with people descending from 270 ancestries, who speak more than 260 languages (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011). Immigration is something that children encounter in their daily lives either through personal experience or through witnessing the lives of migrants at school, in the community, or through popular media, including children’s literature. Schools are frequently the initial interface for individuals who resettle in Australia and they ‘play a significant role in establishing meaningful connections to Australian society and a sense of belonging in Australia’ (Uptin, Wright, & Harwood, 2013, p. 1). Children's literature about cultural and ethnic diversity explores the impacts of migration and related issues creating ‘imaginary realms’ (Dudek & Ommundsen, 2007). These fictional interpretations of the migrant experience or the experience of migration are supported by distinctive “real life” cultural experiences. Picture books furnish teachers and students with an accessible means to investigate these complex issues through sensitive discussions. This chapter investigates how picture books about migration help deepen children’s perceptive understanding of migrants’ plights, and thereby nurture tolerance and empathy.

Engagement with global children's literature is an effective way to introduce multiple perspectives into the classroom dialogue. Yet teachers are often unfamiliar with ways of helping students understand diverse cultural practices and beliefs. The result is that global children's literature continues to be an underused resource. This action research study looked at 25 highly diverse educator study groups as they used global literature with pre-K - 12 students. The goal was to support the development of intercultural understanding. The study groups received $1,000 grants from Worlds of Words (wowlit.org) to fund their yearlong inquiry. The groups met face-to-face throughout the year to reflect on the interactions taking place in their classrooms. All groups met online on a members-only site. Data collected included proposals, reports, teacher vignettes, and interviews. The data was used to document range of study group structures and interactions with global literature. The study groups and online forum were supported by a grant from the Longview Foundation. Through constant comparative analysis, new transformative understandings were identified. Key elements in the development of intercultural understanding included open inquiry, recognition of complexity and multiple perspectives, thinking about culture at a conceptual level, and engaging in open dialogue. Teachers reported an increased understanding of their competence as professionals, their student's competence as problem-posers and thinkers, and the parents' competence as important contributors to intercultural understanding. The study concludes with implications for practitioners wanting to engage in classroom inquiries using global literature to support developing intercultural understanding. A second set of implications suggests ways in which the study group process can be made more effective. New questions are proposed for future research related to the use of global literature in various contexts, includin

En presentation av bakgrunden till ett tvåårigt interkulturellt samarbete mellan det statliga universitetet i Sankt Petersburg och Malmö högskola., A presentation of the background to a two-year intercultural project involving students and faculty from The State University of Saint Petersburg and Malmö University, Chapter in Report

Currently a range of national policy settings are reshaping schooling and teacher education in Australia. This paper presents some of the findings from a small qualitative pilot study conducted with a group of final year pre-service teachers studying a secondary social science curriculum method unit in an Australian university. One of the study’s research objectives aimed at identifying how students reflected on their capacity to navigate curriculum change and, more specifically, on teaching about Australia and Asia in the forthcoming implementation of the first national history curriculum. The unit was designed and taught by the researcher on the assumption that beginning social science teachers need to be empowered to deal with the curriculum change they’ll encounter throughout their careers. The pilot study’s methodology was informed by a constructivist approach to grounded theory and its scope was limited to one semester with volunteer students. Of the pre-service teacher reflections on their preparedness to teach, this paper reports on the content, pedagogy and learning they experienced in one segment of the unit with specific reference to the new history curriculum’s ‘Australia in a world history’ approach and the development of Asia literacy. The findings indicate that whilst pre-service teachers valued the opportunity to engage with learning experiences which enhanced their intercultural understanding and extended their pedagogical and content knowledge on campus, the nature of the final practicum in schools was also influential in shaping their preparedness to enter the profession.

This research addresses how the visual and artistic expression represents my cultures and gendered identities. My journey mapped cultural inheritances, ancestry and postcolonial influences from home country, my childhood memories, life experiences and migration transitions to Australia. A series of my artworks represent cultural markers, a sense of belonging, nostalgia and challenges of relocation. Findings support how art expression can forge ‘affective links’ and develop pedagogies for intercultural understanding through Art Education.

This work includes the integration experience developed during the last years in the IES Nieves Lopez Pastor of Villanueva of the Arzobispo (Jaén), based on the intercultural understanding in a community with a high percentage of students proceeding from Morocco and other countries, and gypsy ethnic group, too, in a city where the olives attracts numerous foreign workforce and teachers with excessive mobility. The actions are carried out with absolute normality and depart from the own educational project of the school and from the different collegiate organs, spreading to the whole educational community., Este trabajo recoge la experiencia integradora desarrollada durante los últimos años en el IES Nieves López Pastor, de Villanueva del Arzobispo (Jaén), basada en el entendimiento intercultural en una comunidad con un alto porcentaje de alumnado de procedencia marroquí y de otros países, así como de etnia gitana, debido sobre todo al entorno agrícola donde el olivar atrae a numerosa mano de obra extranjera y con un Claustro donde predomina la excesiva movilidad. Las actuaciones se realizan en un marco de absoluta normalidad y parten del propio proyecto educativo del centro y de los diferentes órganos colegiados, extendiéndose a toda la comunidad educativa.

This work includes the integration experience developed during the last years in the IES Nieves Lopez Pastor of Villanueva of the Arzobispo (Jaén), based on the intercultural understanding in a community with a high percentage of students proceeding from Morocco and other countries, and gypsy ethnic group, too, in a city where the olives attracts numerous foreign workforce and teachers with excessive mobility. The actions are carried out with absolute normality and depart from the own educational project of the school and from the different collegiate organs, spreading to the whole educational community., Este trabajo recoge la experiencia integradora desarrollada durante los últimos años en el IES Nieves López Pastor, de Villanueva del Arzobispo (Jaén), basada en el entendimiento intercultural en una comunidad con un alto porcentaje de alumnado de procedencia marroquí y de otros países, así como de etnia gitana, debido sobre todo al entorno agrícola donde el olivar atrae a numerosa mano de obra extranjera y con un Claustro donde predomina la excesiva movilidad. Las actuaciones se realizan en un marco de absoluta normalidad y parten del propio proyecto educativo del centro y de los diferentes órganos colegiados, extendiéndose a toda la comunidad educativa.

En presentation av bakgrunden till ett tvåårigt interkulturellt samarbete mellan det statliga universitetet i Sankt Petersburg och Malmö högskola., A presentation of the background to a two-year intercultural project involving students and faculty from The State University of Saint Petersburg and Malmö University, Chapter in Report

This study explores cultural representations and cultural adaptations made by translators in translated children's picture books. This study has two focuses. In the first part of this study, which is a critical content analysis, I examine the cultural representations depicted in Korean-to-English and English-to-Korean translated picture books, using cultural studies as a theoretical framework. In the second part of this study, I compare original and translated editions of Caldecott and popular Korean picture books to find out how the translators adapt cultural, ideological, and linguistic conflicts in the process of translation, using translation as a dialogic process. For the first part of this study, I found four categories related to the cultural representations: (1) a sense of belonging and societal membership; (2) constructing and challenging gender stereotypes; (3) constructing images of childhood; and (4) dominant visual images of South Korea/the United States. These findings indicate that the insider authors of Korean culture try to show authentic images of South Korea, using contemporary fiction stories. The Korean translated books also deal with various images of American culture authentically from historical fiction to contemporary fiction. However, a small number of books do not show broad cultural representations of both cultures. In the second focus of this study on cultural adaptations, the analysis directly compared original and translated editions of the same texts. The themes of cultural familiarity, adaptations regarding illustrations, completely different translations, omissions, additions, and changes of titles or book jackets were identified. These findings indicate that most American and Korean translators purposely made cultural adaptations in the process of translation in order to help target readers to have better understanding of these international books. Additionally, they did not change essential authentic features, such as the characte

In 2011, the Innovation and Next Practice Division (INP) of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) conducted a field trial on intercultural understanding in partnership with a research and evaluation team from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. The field trial was sponsored by the Languages, English as another Language (EAL) and Multicultural Education Division of DEECD. The primary research question guiding the field trial was: 1. What is the impact on student outcomes of teaching and learning practice for intercultural understanding? 2. The secondary research questions were: 3. What knowledge and skills do both learners and educators need for intercultural understanding? 4. How is effective practice identified and measured? 5. What intercultural understanding capabilities can be developed at each developmental stage of children and young people in different cultural contexts? In order to explore these questions, schools across Victoria were initially nominated by International Division, the Multicultural Education Unit and by regional directors and INP based on three core criteria, which included school culture, capability and connections within the school and the wider community. Following an expression of interest process, 26 schools, including one independent school and two catholic schools were selected. Participation in the field trial included the following aims: • to stimulate thinking about current school policy and practice around intercultural understanding and interaction (ICU) • to trial projects that support the field trial’s primary research question  • to evaluate innovative ‘next practice’ and consider its relevance for the education system • to support the intercultural understanding general capabil

New learning environments with communication and information tools are increasingly accessible with technology playing a crucial role in expanding and reconceptualizing student learning experiences. This paper reviews the outcome of an innovative course offered by four universities in three countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Course objectives focused on broadening the understandingof indigenous and non-indigenous peoples primarily in relation to identity as it encouraged students to reflect on their own identity while improving their English skills in an interactive and experiential manner and thus enhancing their intercultural competence., Cada vez es más fácil tener acceso a nuevos entornos de aprendizaje que utilizan herramientas de comunicación e información en las que la tecnología desempeña un papel crucial en la expansión y la reconceptualización de las experiencias de aprendizaje del estudiante. En este artículo se revisa el resultado de un curso innovador que se ofreció en cuatro universidades de tres países: Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Los objetivos del curso se centraron en ampliar la comprensión de los pueblos indígenas y no indígenas, en particular en relación con la identidad. Esto alentó a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre su propia identidad, a la vez que mejoraban sus habilidades del inglés de una manera interactiva y experimental, logrando así mejorar su competencia intercultural.

New learning environments with communication and information tools are increasingly accessible with technology playing a crucial role in expanding and reconceptualizing student learning experiences. This paper reviews the outcome of an innovative course offered by four universities in three countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Course objectives focused on broadening the understandingof indigenous and non-indigenous peoples primarily in relation to identity as it encouraged students to reflect on their own identity while improving their English skills in an interactive and experiential manner and thus enhancing their intercultural competence., Cada vez es más fácil tener acceso a nuevos entornos de aprendizaje que utilizan herramientas de comunicación e información en las que la tecnología desempeña un papel crucial en la expansión y la reconceptualización de las experiencias de aprendizaje del estudiante. En este artículo se revisa el resultado de un curso innovador que se ofreció en cuatro universidades de tres países: Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Los objetivos del curso se centraron en ampliar la comprensión de los pueblos indígenas y no indígenas, en particular en relación con la identidad. Esto alentó a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre su propia identidad, a la vez que mejoraban sus habilidades del inglés de una manera interactiva y experimental, logrando así mejorar su competencia intercultural.

New learning environments with communication and information tools are increasingly accessible with technology playing a crucial role in expanding and reconceptualizing student learning experiences. This paper reviews the outcome of an innovative course offered by four universities in three countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Course objectives focused on broadening the understandingof indigenous and non-indigenous peoples primarily in relation to identity as it encouraged students to reflect on their own identity while improving their English skills in an interactive and experiential manner and thus enhancing their intercultural competence., Cada vez es más fácil tener acceso a nuevos entornos de aprendizaje que utilizan herramientas de comunicación e información en las que la tecnología desempeña un papel crucial en la expansión y la reconceptualización de las experiencias de aprendizaje del estudiante. En este artículo se revisa el resultado de un curso innovador que se ofreció en cuatro universidades de tres países: Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Los objetivos del curso se centraron en ampliar la comprensión de los pueblos indígenas y no indígenas, en particular en relación con la identidad. Esto alentó a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre su propia identidad, a la vez que mejoraban sus habilidades del inglés de una manera interactiva y experimental, logrando así mejorar su competencia intercultural.

This study focuses on four English teachers’ perception of the concept of culture linked to teaching language. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in order to investigate how they perceive culture in relation to both their personal views and the steering documents for the educational system. To gain a more in–depth understanding of their perception we asked them about their own perception of their teaching methods and how they in turn perceive the students’ development with regards to intercultural understanding. We applied Eva Gagnestam’s four descriptions of culture to be able to explore the different ways in which the teachers worked with the concept of culture in the English classroom.

This study focuses on four English teachers’ perception of the concept of culture linked to teaching language. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in order to investigate how they perceive culture in relation to both their personal views and the steering documents for the educational system. To gain a more in–depth understanding of their perception we asked them about their own perception of their teaching methods and how they in turn perceive the students’ development with regards to intercultural understanding. We applied Eva Gagnestam’s four descriptions of culture to be able to explore the different ways in which the teachers worked with the concept of culture in the English classroom.

日本人または日本人学生と留学生に教育的な交流の場を提供し，参加者相互の異文化理解を促進する教育実践がさまざまな形で行われているが，その意義と効果を明らかにする実証的な研究の蓄積は少ないことが指摘されている（岩井2006)。そこで本研究では，小学校で行った６年生（３２名）と留学生（１３人）の交流活動の事前と事後に調査を行い，小学生の留学生に対するイメージの変化と，異文化を受容する態度の変化を調査し検証した。その結果，留学生に対するイメージの変化と異文化受容態度の変化に統計的に有意な差が現れ異文化理解を目的とした教育の効果が示された。また留学生との交流前に手紙の交換，ビデオ・レターの交換，質問交換などの事前のやり取りを通し，小学生が留学生と交流することについて感じている不安を軽減することができ，交流活動がより円滑に進められることがわかった。この結果から，交流会前のやり取りの重要性が示唆された。, The purpose of this study is to investigate educational effects of an intercultural exchange program between Japanese elementary school students and university foreign students. Thirty two elementary school students participated in this exchange program. They were asked to answer questionnaires before and after the exchange activities with foreign students. The results show statistically significant differences between the pre-questionnaire and the post-questionnaire. It is found that their initial image toward foreign students has changed to higher levels and their acceptance level of different cultures became higher than before the exchange. These results indicate that an intercultural exchange program contributes to intercultural understanding.

日本人または日本人学生と留学生に教育的な交流の場を提供し，参加者相互の異文化理解を促進する教育実践がさまざまな形で行われているが，その意義と効果を明らかにする実証的な研究の蓄積は少ないことが指摘されている（岩井2006)。そこで本研究では，小学校で行った６年生（３２名）と留学生（１３人）の交流活動の事前と事後に調査を行い，小学生の留学生に対するイメージの変化と，異文化を受容する態度の変化を調査し検証した。その結果，留学生に対するイメージの変化と異文化受容態度の変化に統計的に有意な差が現れ異文化理解を目的とした教育の効果が示された。また留学生との交流前に手紙の交換，ビデオ・レターの交換，質問交換などの事前のやり取りを通し，小学生が留学生と交流することについて感じている不安を軽減することができ，交流活動がより円滑に進められることがわかった。この結果から，交流会前のやり取りの重要性が示唆された。, The purpose of this study is to investigate educational effects of an intercultural exchange program between Japanese elementary school students and university foreign students. Thirty two elementary school students participated in this exchange program. They were asked to answer questionnaires before and after the exchange activities with foreign students. The results show statistically significant differences between the pre-questionnaire and the post-questionnaire. It is found that their initial image toward foreign students has changed to higher levels and their acceptance level of different cultures became higher than before the exchange. These results indicate that an intercultural exchange program contributes to intercultural understanding.

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of t

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of teachin

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of teachin

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of teachin

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of t

The overall aim of the present study is to investigate how teachers deal with linguistic and cultural otherness in the French foreign language classroom at upper secondary school level in Sweden. The foreign language classroom is seen as a cultural meeting place where images of otherness are natural elements. In this respect, otherness should be regarded as one cultural aspect among others implying human as well as language phenomena. Analyzing the way in which the teachers in the study mediate this otherness to their students is expected to contribute to the pedagogical debate on intercultural understanding in language teaching and learning. The study is based on empirical data consisting of video recorded observations in three different classrooms. One class (class A) is treated as primary data where two activities are especially focused, namely working with texts and working with grammar. The verbal interaction from these activities has been transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. The first step of analysis concerns the learning aims which are transmitted to the students in the teacher’s introduction to the two activities. The second step deals with the teacher’s procedures to involve the students in the construction of knowledge which focuses on linguistic and cultural otherness. Finally, a comparative perspective is adopted. On the one hand, the two different activities are compared with each other, while on the other hand, the findings from class A are compared with class B and C. From a dialogical point of view, the way in which the classroom setting and the teachers’ acting can favour intercultural understanding is discussed. The results of the analyses highlight the fact that teachers seem to pay more attention to linguistic otherness than to cultural otherness. Furthermore, the study shows that the foreign language classroom has a dialogical potential when it comes to human relations and discourse. More attention could be paid to these aspects of teachin