Enhancing Intercultural Communication Competence In Initial Language Teacher Education: A European Proposal

21st-century societies are a clear example of globalization. Travel, migratory flows, and the democratization of communication technologies—including social media—have blurred borders and interwoven cultures across the globe. In this context, the European Union was envisioned as a common project, wh...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Mediavilla Martínez, Beatriz
Formato: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
Repositorio:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:riubu_______::758b7a7b906712cbf4f5e40388a6af45
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11542
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palavra-chave:European Union
Intercultural communication competence
Initial language teacher education
Critical intercultural pedagogy
Social justice
Unión Europea
Competencia en comunicación intercultural
Formación Inicial del profesorado de idiomas
Pedagogía crítica intercultural
Justicia social
Comunicación intercultural
Lenguas modernas-Estudio y enseñanza
Intercultural communication
Languages, Modern-Study and teaching
5701.11 Enseñanza de Lenguas
6301.05 Lengua y Cultura
5801.03 Desarrollo del Programa de Estudios
Descrição
Resumo:21st-century societies are a clear example of globalization. Travel, migratory flows, and the democratization of communication technologies—including social media—have blurred borders and interwoven cultures across the globe. In this context, the European Union was envisioned as a common project, where its citizens could benefit from the cultural, professional, educational, and leisure opportunities available to their fellow Europeans. However, despite a shared history, European citizens often feel disconnected from their neighbours and either cannot or do not wish to communicate beyond their own borders. European bodies, such as the Council of Europe and the European Commission, have sought to address this disconnection in recent years, particularly through education and mobility programmes, both physical and virtual. Within this framework, the language classroom is recognized as the ideal space to foster intercultural communication competence among future generations. However, the very concept of “culture” is complex to define, and the imposition of certain cultural norms—without accounting for social or classroom-specific nuances and realities—risks reproducing and perpetuating dynamics of oppression (Freire, 1970a; hooks, 2014). In fact, the lack of training and clear guidelines for language teachers often leads them to replicate the approaches used in their own education, thereby perpetuating such dynamics. This may help explain why, despite the European Union’s efforts, today’s societies—and educational institutions—remain spaces where discrimination and hate crimes continue to rise. For this reason, this thesis focuses on developing an educational proposal to foster intercultural communication competence among trainee language teachers, first at a theoretical level and then through a case study analysis, enabling them to promote this same competence in their future classrooms. The results show that the students who participated in the case study, carried out at the University of Burgos, developed intercultural awareness, critical thinking, and are better prepared to approach the intercultural classroom from an inclusive perspective.