The development of intercultural communication competence through cultural learning in textbooks

Authors

  • Antonio R. Raigón-Rodríguez Universidad de Córdoba

Keywords:

intercultural communication, language teaching, textbooks, culture, cultural learning

Abstract

Nowadays we live in an intercultural society and this should imply a revision of the language learning approach. Since a good level of linguistic competence does not guarantee successful communication, many scholars have turned to intercultural communicative competence (ICC), a trend reinforced by the Common European Framework of References for Languages (2001). Textbooks are the most important tool for the foreign language teacher (Sercu, 2000). Thus, it should be analyzed whether books are effective for cultural learning as part of ICC development. Following Paige (1999) and Lee (2009), we have designed an itemized three-category model (Culture in general, “big C” culture” and “small c” culture) to analyze three B2-level English textbooks. Using this model, we have recorded a number of incidences per item and per category in each book, differentiating between productive and receptive skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading). At the end of this paper, the results will be discussed regarding the different textbooks, categories and skills, highlighting the most relevant information in each case.

DOI: 10.20420/rlfe.2015.0001

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Author Biography

Antonio R. Raigón-Rodríguez, Universidad de Córdoba

Antonio Raigón es Profesor Ayudante Doctor del Departamento de Filologías Inglesa y Alemana de la Universidad de Córdoba, España. Sus líneas de investigación son la formación intercultural del profesor de lengua extranjera, la comunicación intercultural y ha realizado estudios acerca de los procedimientos de acreditación de competencia lingüística. Publicaciones: Raigón, A. y Gómez, E. (2005). The influence of ICTS in vocabulary learning: An empirical study. Porta Linguarum (4) 87-107; Gómez, E. y Raigón, A. (2009). The intercultural training of foreign language teachers: The Spanish case. El Guiniguada (18) 53-66; Larrea, A., Raigón, A. y Gómez, E. (2012). ICT for intercultural competence development. Pixel-Bit (40) 115-124; Raigón, A. y Larrea, A. (2013). Análisis y percepción por parte del alumnado del requisito lingüístico en el acceso al Máster de Formación del Profesorado de Educación Secundaria. Porta Linguarum (20) 63-76; Raigón, A. (2015). The impact of introducing foreign language requirements on the Spanish higher education system: The case of Córdoba University. Language Learning in Higher Education (5.1) 265-279.

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Published

2015-07-27

How to Cite

Raigón-Rodríguez, A. R. (2015). The development of intercultural communication competence through cultural learning in textbooks. Revista De Lenguas Para Fines Específicos, 21(1), 88–108. Retrieved from https://ojsspdc.ulpgc.es/ojs/index.php/LFE/article/view/241

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2015): Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos

Section

Sección Monográfica/Special Issue

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