Can intercultural teaching develop cultural knowledge acquisition?

Many learners and their teachers, prior to the intervention, had acknowledged their

lack of cultural knowledge, and some teachers also admitted to their own

responsibility in this, again owing to time constraints. A key finding of the study was

that the cultural content of the intervention materials had resulted in learners having

gained further cultural knowledge in related fields. The gains made were both

topical/cultural and linguistic, with factual and vocabulary recall benefitting the most

from the intervention.

5.2.3.3. Can CLIL pedagogy and teaching materials positively impact on the development of learners’ intercultural understanding?

The intervention did not have any significant impact on learners’ enjoyment of

language learning. However, the impact of the intervention was more notable in

terms of learners’ motivation: the intercultural motivation following the intervention

was on a par with the ‘fun’ aspect, and the importance attributed by learners to

language learning doubled. Furthermore, for those learners who did not enjoy

languages still, the perceived difficulty of the subject had decreased, and where some

had said they disliked the subject because it was too different, none gave this as a

reason following the intervention, a possible indication that difference no longer had

a negative connotation for these learners. Another interesting finding was that,

following the intervention, learners expressed stronger motivation for intercultural

learning, while the instrumental and communicative value of language learning

decreased in importance. But, in answer to the question, ‘can CLIL pedagogy and

teaching materials positively impact on the development of learners’ intercultural

understanding?, the most significant finding was the positive impact which the

intervention had on learners’ acknowledgement that language learning can help you

understand how people may do things differently.

5.3. Summary

In this chapter, a discussion of the findings sought to provide responses to the

research questions, and whether findings were complementing existing literature, or

providing new or contrasting knowledge. When considering how much importance

learners and teachers attach to the development of intercultural understanding within MFL education, there was a marked gap between teachers’ beliefs that ICU

is an integral part of language teaching and learning, and the place they attribute to

its development in their everyday practice. Teachers’ views also seemed at odds with

those of their learners, who, despite perceiving the benefits of language learning in

instrumental terms for the majority, gave greater importance to aspects of ICU within

language learning. Furthermore, despite some of the literature, teachers surveyed did

not view the teaching of intercultural understanding as a political statement, but at

best as a tool for motivating learners, and in most cases, as an add-on to their

teaching, for which there was often no time, despite learners’ clear appetite for more.

When also considering in more depth the extent to which ICU is incorporated in

MFL teaching and learning, it was also clear that teachers limited their learners’

access to certain material types, such as authentic materials or multi-media resources,

as well as access to approaches which promote the development of ICU. In most

cases, these self-imposed constraints were based on teachers; perceptions of learners’

linguistic competence, the lack of importance attributed to ICU in assessment

frameworks, and a false perception that home and national context prevented their

learners from showing the required attitudes, knowledge and skills for accessing ICU

materials and teaching. Finally, when investigating the extent to which CLIL

materials can develop learners’ ICU, the study found that traditional materials

used in language lessons were not always most suited for teaching ICU, and also that

materials which could achieve this were underused in practice; yet when they were

indeed deployed, as was the case during the intervention phase, the impact on

learners’ perceptions and attitudes was notable in some instances, in particular with

regards to the use of video clips and film. The intervention also demonstrated the

potential of CLIL materials in facilitating learners’ acquisition of specific cultural

knowledge, but also as a tool for motivation, and as a means to reduce the perceived

difficulty they often attributed to the subject. Finally, and importantly in light of the

focus of this study, the intervention provided some evidence that a CLIL approach

was indeed useful in developing learners’ ICU, by increasing their ability to accept

otherness.

CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSION

This study stemmed from my belief that developing learners’ intercultural

understanding should form an essential part of foreign language instruction. In my

desire to contribute to the wider discussion on how this could be achieved, and with a

gap in empirical evidence and knowledge, particularly in the context of secondary

learners in England, I viewed my role as an agent of change, and the process of

action research as a means to this end.

This chapter seeks to evaluate the study, its successes and limitations in answering

the research questions; it also provides a reflection on the research process and the

methodology applied. Furthermore, it identifies the contributions made by the study,

in terms of the new knowledge developed and its implications for pedagogy, before

offering concluding comments.