Intercultural Communicative Competence. Picture Books in the Primary EFL-Classroom (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 2, University of Education Ludwigsburg, course: Language and Culture for Young Learners Seminar, language: English, abstract: In this work the author analyses the usage of a picture book as a key to develop intercultural communicative competence in primary schools with an "English as a foreign language"-setting.

In the paper at hand, the approach is rather humanistic and based on literature studies. It serves for a broad introduction into the relations of culture and education and is structured in the following way: First, we will define the terms culture and ICC more closely. A lot of details will deal with what ICC is about. Then, I present two examples of greater out-groups which have to face prejudices. The next point will deal with the connection of ICC and the primary school, which is followed by the link of ICC with picture books. Moreover, there is a detailed analysis of Joanna Troughton's "The Tiger Child" in relation to the given context. Last but not least, a creative teaching idea for a couple of lessons, thematising "The Tiger Child", is presented, and the work is ended with a compact conclusion. Among the most important resources are the Byram (1997) work, books of facts like the Enc. Britannica and the seminar slides.

To begin with, we have to clarify what culture means. The Oxford English Dictionary (2006) speaks of culture as the arts and other instances of human intellectual achievement regarded as a whole; refined understanding or appreciation of this; or the art, customs, ideas, and social behaviour of a nation, people, or group. The "Pyramid of mental programming" model by Hofstede & Hofstede (2005) specifies culture as specific to a group or category - a learned field or dimension-lying on a basis called "human nature" which is universal and inherited. "Personality" forms the top of this pyramid as something which is specific to the individual and learned but also inherited.