Description
Convener: Ana Matos

The rationale for our focus highlights the imperative of researching the intercultural dimension in language education and the concepts that underpin it.

As greater diversity and rapid transformation have become part of our lives, we aim to explore the potential, possibilities and limitations of intercultural concepts and models applied to second language learning in educational contexts, from primary to higher education. Through theoretical and empirical investigation and comparative research we aim to examine the meanings and values, the complexities and limitations of terms such as “cultural awareness”, “identity”, “intercultural communicative competence”, “plurilingual competence” and “multiliteracy practices”.

The Council of Europe recognizes the importance of intercultural competence (Council of Europe, 2017) and of intercultural citizenship education (Council of Europe, 2016) in key reference documents meant to guide the learning process of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries. This reinforces the urgency of examining the role that intercultural education and intercultural citizenship education should play in educating citizens for the 21st century when assuming the responsibility of promoting social and linguistic diversity as sources of wealth; in requiring cultural translation, mediation and interpretative practice as tools to generate mutual intelligibilities between different worldviews; and in contributing to more engaged and critical citizens for a more inclusive world.

The use of languages as a medium of communication and as social construction offer a space for intercultural citizenship to inspire and complement education in second language education. Interculturality is here used as a research space generating interdisciplinary dialogue between different scientific fields, and seeking to promote intersections with the other strands that form the core of TEALS: b) CLIL; c) Languages, curriculum and teacher education; and d) Translationality.

Continuing the work developed so far, some of our aims are:

  • To investigate practices and approaches to intercultural education and citizenship education, and its assessment, in second language education in Portugal;
  • To examine the role of literature (including non-canonical texts such as illustrated narratives) and multiliteracy practices in supporting intercultural education and citizenship education;
  • To engage in international exchanges, teaching experience and dialogue with colleagues who work in cognate areas of academic expertise.
  • To collaborate in research projects within the MA and PhD programmes in language education.
  • To strengthen contacts and cooperation with colleagues who work within second language education and citizenship education;
  • To promote joint actions (projects; Erasmus exchanges) with a view to comparing multiple contexts (methodologies; teacher education; teaching practice; curricula; resources);
  • To explore new possibilities of intercultural analysis within the scope of comparative studies.

Council of Europe (2017). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Companion volume with new descriptors. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Council of Europe (2016). Competences for Democratic Culture: Living together as equals in culturally diverse democratic societies. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Byram, M. (2014) ‘Twenty-five years on – from cultural studies to intercultural citizenship’, Language, culture and curriculum, 27 (3). pp. 209-225.

Guilherme, M. & G. Dietz (2015) Difference in diversity: multiple perspectives on multicultural, intercultural, and transcultural conceptual complexities, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 10:1, 1-21.

Integrated researchers:

  • Ana Gonçalves Matos (coordinator)
  • Carlos Ceia
  • Sandie Mourão
  • Margarida Morgado
  • Maria del Carmen Arau Ribeiro
  • Mark Wakefield
  • Clarisse Costa Afonso
  • Nic Hurst

Collaborators (PhD students):

  • Ana Leão
  • Noémia Rodrigues
  • Beatriz Moriano
  • Helena Mota Lopes

Higher education institutions

Engaging in international exchanges, teaching experience and dialogue with colleagues who work in cognate areas of academic expertise:

  • Faculty of Education, Universität Hamburg, Germany
  • Departamento de Estudos Ibéricos e Ibero-americanos da Universidade de Varsóvia, Polónia
  • University of Heidelberg, Germany
  • University of Liverpool, UK

Associations/organisations

  • NECE (Networking European Citizenship Education, supported by bpb, Germany)
  • SDSA (School Development Support Agency, Leicester, UK)

 


PEPELT (Picturebooks in European Primary English Language Teaching)

An initiative by Sandie Mourao, Tatia Gruenbaum, Gail Ellis & Anneta Sadowska to support & promote teaching primary English by means of picturebooks.

https://www.facebook.com/PEPELT21/

International projects

Recently submitted proposals :

  • Erasmus+
    • Project Title: Intercultural and Global Citizenship Education (INCITE)
    • Action: Strategic Partnerships for higher education (KA203) Call for proposals: 2019
    • Applicant organization: FCSH / NOVA CETAPS
  • Erasmus+
    • Project Title: Creative Approaches to New Democracy through Innovative Inclusive Citizenship Education (CANDIICE)
    • Applicant organization: School Development Support Agency (SDSA), Leicester, UK
    • Non-governmental organisation
  • Erasmus+
    • Project Title: Intercultural Citizenship Education through Picturebooks in early English Language Learning (ICEPELL )
    • Applicant organization: FCSH / NOVA CETAPS
  • COST [Proposal in-progress]
    • Culture in the teaching-learning of foreign languages
    • Professor Thomas Szende,
    • Director of the Plidam Research Laboratory, Inalco, Paris, France
  • ALL=IN Citizenship Learning for Inclusion and Diversity (supported by NECE&SDSA)

All=In Network: Citizenship Learning for Inclusion and Diversity

The All = In Pathfinder is an interactive, online multiple choice quiz that helps you to think through some tricky issues and then suggests some links and resources that you may find useful for your work teaching citizenship.

The video sets out some challenging issues and questions for teachers. Together with these training activities, we hope it will encourage colleagues to reflect on their practice and improve their work promoting human rights, participative democracy and equity in the increasingly diverse communities of Europe: http://allinnetwork.eu/animation/

Together with these training activities, we hope it will encourage colleagues to reflect on their practice and improve their work promoting human rights, participative democracy and equity in the increasingly diverse communities of Europe

Preparation of special issue for Language and Intercultural Communication (SCOPUS indexed)


  • Preparation of book publication (international): (2019). Literature and Intercultural Learning in Language and Teacher Education, Peter Lang


  • (2016-2017) colaboration with the European Project “Intercultural Communicative Competence. A competitive advantage for global employability” (ICCAGE), co-financed by Erasmus+. http://iccageproject.wixsite.com/presentation.

 

  • ReCles.pt 2019
    • pt 2019 International conference | 3 – 4 October 2019 | University of Algarve
  • Approaches to Teaching and Learning Languages for Specific Purposes:
    • Building bridges across the classroom and the professional world. To the website
  • Picturebooks and graphic narratives in the classroom (one-day conference), February, 27, 2018, NOVA FCSH/CETAPS
  • Workshop sobre o projecto europeu,  BOYS READING, Prof Doutora Margarida Morgado, 12 de Maio, 2016, NOVA FCSH/CETAPS.Open seminar, “The potential of literary negotiation”, Prof. Doutora Elisabeth Bracker, Universidade de Hamburgo, 18:00 – 22:00, 17 de Novembro, 2016, NOVA FCSH/CETAPS.
  • Open seminar, Intercultural, interculturalism or interculturalidad(e)? ‘Glocal languages’ in higher education in Brazil, Prof. Doutora Manuela Guilherme, Marie Curie Research Fellow, 18:00 – 22:00, 4 de Fevereiro, 2016, NOVA FCSH/CETAPS.
CETAPS