The Spaces in Between: Foreign Language Education as Critical and Intercultural Education

Abstract

This contribution will focus on a much needed critical and interdisciplinary reflection on fields which are too often treated separately, Foreign Language Education and Intercultural Education. Giorgis discusses the issue from the double perspective of a foreign language teacher and researcher, briefly presenting some data from a research study to then focus more in detail on a classroom activity designed to favour a critical awareness on both language and interculture. The author's own position of teacher-researcher allows her to address another fundamental issue: the urgency of co-working and integrated cooperation between academic research and factual school practice. 1. Presentation From the Romantic concept of Volksgeist, to early studies in Linguistic Anthropology , to more recent investigations which have highlighted linguistic differences within the same culture, the notion that language and culture are intrinsically connected has often risen divergent interpretations. Given these premises, it is no wonder that Foreign Language Education has undergone several radical shifts, ranging from conveying an essentialist view of the target language/culture to a more nuanced, if not critical, view of the relation between language and culture. By breaking the "natural" link word-world, Foreign Language Education can unveil how Paola Giorgis Taboo, Summer 2018 Paola Giorgis is an independent researcher who is co-founder and a member of the collective wom.an.ed-women's studies in anthropology and education-and a teacher of high school English language, literature, and visual arts in Turin, Italy. Her email address is paola.giorgis@womaned.org