Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2012 Newsletter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------According to Kaikkonen (2001:70) and Sercu et al.
(2005:26) the reinforcement of one’s own cultural
identity is the starting point for an intercultural
education in foreign languages. This line of thought
is also corroborated by Byram (1997:24) when he
states that the encounter “with otherness itself
creates a clear sense of one’s own identity”.
Further, the shift to intercultural speaker presumes
that one is able to cross “borders and who can
mediate between two or more cultural identities
(…); who can develop skills as cultural
intermediaries between different ways of perceiving
and interpreting the world” (Byram, cit. by Elsen &
St. John, 2007: 23). For this to happen, Sercu et al.
(2005: 2) consider essential that the individual
undertakes efforts to develop a series of
predispositions, competencies and intercultural
skills and attitudes to mediate intercultural
encounters:
1 Willingness to engage with the foreign culture
2 Self-awareness and the ability to look upon
oneself from the outside
3 The ability to see the world through the other’s
eyes
4 The ability to cope with uncertainty
5 The ability to act as a cultural mediator
6 The ability to evaluate others’ points of view
7 The ability to consciously use culture learning
skills
8 The ability to read the cultural context
9 The understanding that individuals cannot be
reduced to their collective identities
To elucidate the intercultural speaker’s profile and
th