Reflexionando sobre las conexiones lengua-cultura : una exploración de las nociones de la CCI en las narrativas de estudiantes adultos colombianos.

Abstract

This study reports on a narrative inquiry research exploring understandings of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in Colombian adult learners' narratives. This study responds to the growing need to implement intercultural awareness within the English classroom. For this purpose, we made participants engage in a syllabus on language-culture connections. We carried out two of the four lessons we had planned due to hurdles during the covid-19 crisis. In these sessions, we discussed assumptions on language-culture connections of native and foreign societies. As a result, the participants used narratives to reflect on their beliefs, values, and costumes, which we later analyzed to identify the ICC traits they displayed. Results show that the students mainly manifested intercultural skills of cultural knowledge, critical cultural awareness, and decentering. Nonetheless, data also indicates that it is necessary to rethink the latter in Colombian EFL learners. This work should contribute to the discussion on culture teaching in English as a foreign language.