Conceptualizing interculturality as a forecast for mutual recognition, learning and reflecting in the EFL classroom

Abstract

Essentially, each person has a personality and an identity that makes him and her different from others; those foundations could be shaped by nature and nurture: since each person is shaped by the background and the surroundings, people’s vision is modeled by the cultures they experience. In this case study, we discuss how students become aware of those cultural mixtures resulting as Interculturality from a reflective perspective guided by language tasks; promoting classrooms and schools as settings of dialogue, respect and appreciation of diversity. In our research, we applied field notes complemented with audio recordings, student’s journals and artifacts to analyze students’ reflections towards Interculturality; the findings revealed that even when students were aware of cultural differences, they were able to conceive culture and Interculturality as something appreciable in every context even theirs which is developed along interaction. Besides, dialogue and respect became key Intercultural tools to make the most of diversity, self and others recognition to favor intercultural exchanges even inside local contexts; since languages make communication part of learning about the world we live in. These intercultural experiences allowed students to express themselves along social aspects that end up as culture; its construction varies from person to person promoting the dialogue and the research as experiences of learning.