Tales of Cities: Using Literature to Bridge Cultures. A qualitative study on students’ intercultural competence development through literature

Abstract

The world has become a diverse small village where members of different cultures interact in different disciplines to develop this village. Multiculturalism has become a new characteristic of modern societies. Therefore, the development of intercultural competence emerges as a necessity for communication enhancement between members of different cultures. This necessity emphasises the role of education in developing this competence in future generations. In language teaching, it is argued that literature is a suitable material to develop intercultural competence due to its ability to broaden students’ worldviews. In this sense, understanding students’ perspectives of this process is a crucial factor to improve educators’ methods and approaches to manage cultural differences in literary texts. This study aimed to investigate students’ attitudes toward using literature to develop their intercultural competence by interviewing six upper secondary school students. The results showed that students’ intercultural competence has been enhanced through encountering new ideas and perspectives in literature. Through internalising these new ideas and perspectives and comparing them to existing ones, students developed a critical view of various cultures, including their own. Moreover, literature increased students’ openness and curiosity to learn about new cultures. Furthermore, the teacher and the activities used in combination with reading played a vital role in helping students realise and overcome cultural differences. The results also indicated the need for further research investigating the influence of literary genres and teaching methods and approaches on students’ intercultural competence development from their perspectives.