Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom

The globalised world in which we live demands multilingual and cross-culturally aware professionals. The role of intercultural awareness is now, more than ever, crucial in the language classroom in order to allow students to become competent and independent adults who will be highly employable beyond graduation. The recently published Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2018) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) points out the impact of interculturality on the learner by saying that "the learner does not simply acquire two distinct, unrelated ways of acting and communicating. The language learner becomes plurilingual and develops interculturality. The linguistic and cultural competences in respect of each language are modified by knowledge of the other and contribute to intercultural awareness, skills and know-how" (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 43). This paper reflects on the notion of interculturality and gives an overview of the methods used in a class of students from China to foster intercultural awareness. The range of activities implemented, the students' view on the practice and limitations of the project will also be presented. [For the complete volume, "Professional Competencies in Language Learning and Teaching," see ED595297.]