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Intercultural Competence: Another Challenge
Competencia intercultural: otro desafío
Keywords:
intercultural competence, standards, culture, culture teaching, ideologies, discourses (en)competencia intercultural, estándares, cultura, enseñanza de la cultura, ideologías, discursos (es)
This paper intends to draw the attention of language teachers and educational authorities to the area of culture teaching in foreign language education at a time when the recently issued Basic Standards of Competencies in Foreign Language have conferred modest attention to this aspect of language education. The paper first describes the notion of Intercultural communicative competence. It then discusses the tensions between this new understanding of the teaching of culture and the prevailing teaching practices, approaches, beliefs and discourses associated with the learning and teaching of culture. Third, it reports on the results of a study which critically analyzed the academic discourses of in-service teachers in Colombia regarding the cultural component of foreign language programs; finally, it proposes ways to start taking new directions.
El presente artículo intenta llamar la atención de maestros y autoridades educativas sobre el área de la enseñanza de la cultura en lenguas extranjeras en un momento en el que los recientemente publicados Estándares Básicos de Competencias en Lenguas Extranjeras - Inglés prestan modesta atención a este aspecto. Primero se describe la noción de competencia comunicativa intercultural. Luego se discuten las tensiones entre este nuevo concepto de la enseñanza de la cultura y las prácticas de enseñanza, los enfoques, creencias y discursos asociados con el aprendizaje y la enseñanza de la cultura. Se reportan también los resultados de un estudio que analiza críticamente los discursos académicos de profesores colombianos acerca del componente cultural en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. Finalmente, se proponen formas de iniciar nuevos rumbos.
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